This is a guide for those who don't, won't, or think they can't write. 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. "To write the present," Quindlen says, "is to believe in the future."