Write for Your Life is a guide for those who don't, won't, or think they can't write, what Anna Quindlen calls "civilians." Using examples past, present and future—from Anne Frank to Toni Morrison to members of her own family—Quindlen makes vivid all the ways in which writing connects us, to ourselves and to those we cherish. From love letters written after World War II to journal reflections from nurses and doctors today, and using her personal experiences not just as a writer but as a mother and daughter, Quindlen makes the case that recording our daily lives in an enduring form is more important than ever. All of our histories, of current events and personal challenges, can be understood and passed down through the written word; "to write the present," Quindlen says, "is to believe in the future." Write for Your Life is a clarion call to pick up the pen, and find yourself.