Abigail Thomas has four children,12 grandchildren, two great grandchildren, eleven books, and a high school education. She was asked to leave Bryn Mawr freshman year when she told the Dean she was pregnant, and she never went back.  She had always wanted to be a writer, but for a long time the closest she came was bopping around her kitchen to Paperback Writer, by the Beatles. When she was forty-eight, after an interesting adventure, when she got home, she left her ego outside, and began to write a story. It didn't work, but instead of crumpling it up saying "who do you think you are?" sat in a different chair, and another, and at the end of the afternoon, she had written a story. It was published in the Columbia Journal of Poetry and Prose. She had learned you have to keep at it. Writing is work of the best kind. She has written two short story collections, one novel and four works of non-fiction, including the memoirs Safekeeping; A Three Dog Life; What Comes Next and How to Like It; and a book about writing, Thinking about Memoir. Still Life at Eighty: The Next Interesting Thing is her latest memoir.   In this episode: Finding inspiration in unlikely places [4:13] The allure of getting older [10:49] Deciding on writing from a side door to deal with difficult material [18:18] Abigail’s go-to source for analyzing words [23:49] Tips for editing your work [28:29] Writing exercises she gives to her students [36:40] The requirement of ruthlessness in memoir [40:59]   Connect with Abigail Thomas: Website: https://www.abigailthomas.net Books: https://www.abigailthomas.net/books/ Photo Credit : Jennifer Waddell   FREE PITCHING GUIDE: Find out more about this episode at  https://estelleserasmus.com/podcast. You also get a free pitching guide if you sign up for her newsletter.   Sign up for Estelle’s Micro Memoir Workshop with Writer’s Digest on May 23 https://www.writersonlineworkshops.com/courses/making-your-mark-with-micro-memoir   Sign up for Estelle’s Writing Parenthood Class for NYU https://www.sps.nyu.edu/professional-pathways/courses/WRIT1-CE9225-writing-parenthood.html   Sign up for Estelle’s Personal Essay Class for Writer’s Digest  https://www.writersonlineworkshops.com/courses/writing-the-personal-essay-101-fundamentals Connect with Estelle: Writing That Gets Noticed: Find Your Voice, Become a Better Storyteller, Get Published: https://estelleserasmus.com/books/writing-that-gets-noticed/  Sign up for her  Substack https://estelleserasmus.substack.com (with craft advice and writing opportunities)  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/EstelleSErasmus TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@EstelleSErasmus   For another episode focused on a top memoirist, episode #81 The Art of Shaping a Compelling Story Featuring Maggie Smith  https://estelleserasmus.com/81-the-art-of-shaping-a-compelling-story-featuring-maggie-smith/ Estelle’s New Articles I’m Learning to Listen in New Ways (Shondaland) https://www.shondaland.com/live/family/a46102451/im-learning-to-listen-in-new-ways/ What to Do PreLaunch to Get Your Book Noticed (Writer’s Digest) https://www.writersdigest.com/getting-published/what-to-do-pre-launch-to-get-your-book-noticed   How to Resist the Temptation of AI When Writing (Wired) https://www.wired.com/story/how-to-resist-ai-temptation-writing/