A fascinating topic, but the treatment of it doesn’t make for as seamless and engaging a meld of science and personal writing as I had expected (or hoped for)—the science is a little dry and repetitive, and the personal narrative is just not that compelling, for some reason. I also find Flaherty’s use of the term “writer’s block” a bit troubling, because I don’t think she means it quite in the sense that many people do in ordinary usage—and if she does, then I confess that I need a little help coming around to the idea of treating it with medication. She addresses this concern, but her arguments don’t quite convince me.

Fascinating look into the mind and the hows and whys about why people write or don’t write. Even if you aren’t a writer you will find this study a stunning read.