That desire to write

“If the desire to write is not accompanied by actual writing, then the desire must be not to write.” – Hugh Prather

 

An American self-help writer, lay minister, and counselor, Prather was most famous for his very first book, Notes to Myself, which sold over 5 million copies.   The work underscored the importance of gentleness, forgiveness, and loyalty. 

Prather, born during this week in 1938 (he died in 2010), also wrote or co-wrote over a dozen other books that touched on thoughts about life, love and spirituality, one of the most well-known being I Touch The Earth; The Earth Touches Me. “It's this simple: If I never try anything, I never learn anything,” he wrote in that book.   “If I never take a risk, I stay where I am.”

Much of Prather’s writing underscores the importance of gentleness, forgiveness, and loyalty, themes many readers loved and others scorned as “thoughts seen through rose-colored glasses.”  

 “Negative feedback is better that none,” Prather responded with his usual sunny outlook.  “I would rather have a man hate me than overlook me. As long as he hates me I figure I must’ve made a difference.”

 

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