Are personal essays inherently solipsistic? I’d like to take credit for that perfect word choice, but the credit belongs to my writer-friend, Leslie Berlin, with whom I just had an interesting discussion about just that. At the risk of being solipsistic myself (is blogging inherently so, too?), I thought I’d share a personal essay by Tim O’Brien that is one of the most amazing pieces of writing I’ve ever read: “The Vietnam in Me.” I keep it in my journal, and whenever I balk at opening myself up as I write, I reread it. It’s the most vivid reminder I’ve come across of the Red Smith advice about how to write: “All you do is sit down at a typewriter and open a vein.” – Meg
Meg Waite Clayton
Meg Waite Clayton is the New York Times and internationally bestselling author of nine novels, including the forthcoming TYPEWRITER BEACH (Harper, July 1, 2025), the Good Morning America Buzz pick and New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice THE POSTMISTRESS OF PARIS, the National Jewish Book Award finalist THE LAST TRAIN TO LONDON, the Langum-Prize honored THE RACE FOR PARIS, and THE WEDNESDAY SISTERS, one of Entertainment Weekly’s 25 Essential Best Friend Novels of all time. Her novels have been published in 23 languages. She has also written more than 100 pieces for major newspapers, magazines, and public radio, mentors in the OpEd Project, and is a member of the National Book Critics Circle and the California bar. megwaiteclayton.com
