A Memoir in 65 Postcards & The Recovery Diaries
Inspired by Julia Cameron’s classic The Artist’s Way, Eleanor set out on a project to write every morning, and crucially, to publish it on Substack that same morning; a commitment to press the button as soon as she’d finished, and before she had time to regret it. She set rules: she’d do no forward planning, she’d tell whatever story came to mind, the writing would take no longer than an hour, the reading of it, no longer than a minute. What came was A Memoir In 65 Postcards, the personal story that had been knocking about her system for well over twenty years. Questions were answered, and a puzzle was put together. Using the same rules of engagement, its follow up, The Recovery Diaries, became a deeper exploration of what emerged and how she is now.
With humour and honesty, from a pagan commune to sobriety, this collection of essays and stories form a unique exploration of wealth, survival, the questions that haunt us, and what makes us human. It’s you and me. It’s where our worlds collide.
Praise for A Memoir in 65 Postcards & The Recovery Diaries
‘Too good.’
– Sam Bain (Peep Show, Four Lions, Fresh Meat, Babylon, The Stand In, The Retreat, Corporate Animals)
‘Anstruther gets herself all over the page. Messy, fevered and most of all compelling, her diaries are a kaleidoscope of memory, grief and hope. You can also pick up some very cool British slang if you’re just a lowly yank like me.’
–Tommy Swerdlow (Cool Runnings, The Grinch, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish)
‘Eleanor’s intimate and defiant essays shimmer beyond anyone else’s writing… and I really do mean anyone else. She gets to the truth. The point of it all. It’s gold dust.’
– Tor Udall (A Thousand Paper Birds)
‘An eye, and ache, and a pinch of sorcery. This prose is stunning.’
– Adam Nathan (Scheherazade, Finisterre)
‘Eleanor Anstruther approaches the mysteries of life head on in a language that is both honest and breathtaking. Her writing contains darkness and light, like all the best things.’
– Deirdre Lewis (Snaps)