Sue William Silverman book signing
Schuler Books
2660 28th Street SE, Grand Rapids
Oct. 8, 7 p.m.

There are many reasons for a writer to hole up with their words before finally putting them to good use. But admitted word hoarder Sue William Silverman's reasoning is more harrowing than most.

"As much as I think the origins of creativity are mysterious, I'm fairly certain I became a writer because, growing up in an incestuous family, I never had a true voice," she says. "In other words, for years, I lived a lie - pretending my family was fine when it wasn't, pretending I was fine when I wasn't."

Silverman waited until she reached her twenties to set those words free, and she did so tentatively, but to great success. After winning the AWP Award in creative nonfiction for her first effort, Because I Remember Terror, Father, I Remember You, she published the memoir Love Sick: One Woman's Journey through Sexual Addiction, which made its way onto the small screen in the form of a Lifetime movie. Now, with these accolades and visits to The View and Anderson Cooper 360 under her belt, she's moved toward writing on writing - namely, how to pen a successful memoir.

"With this craft book, Fearless Confessions: A Writer's Guide to Memoir, I'm able to find a wider audience and share the message that we all have a story to tell, and that all our stories are important," says Silverman.
For this reason, and others like it, she'll keep on writing.

"I mainly write memoir and creative nonfiction to understand and explore my life - find the metaphors for my life," she says. "During the actual living, we're all so busy going a million ways at once that it's difficult to fully understand events and how they shape us. Memoir isn't just writing about what happened. Most importantly, I write to understand events and make sense of things. In short, writing is a journey."

If you wish to join her on that journey, head to Schuler Books on 28th Street on Oct. 8 when she'll speak on writing and publishing, in addition to signing books.