The Un-Dissertation

This book was recommended by one of my UnDissertation Group members, who had this to say about it:

“I especially enjoyed this book because Staw reveals her own struggles and trials with writer’s block. She has her own personal experience with being blocked to describe, and as a writing coach she draws on her work with many clients, all of whom present interesting and revealing issues.

Most of all, Staw is a good writer, and a compassionate human being, who through the course of her book unravels the knots constellated around fears of failure and success as pertains to writing. She advocates sitting down to actually do the work of writing while practicing “deep compassion” with oneself in order to find an authentic and sustainable personal voice.”

I stumbled across this book after clicking on the wrong link. But what a find! While the brain science is iffy, the logic of achieving large outcomes by taking small steps — the heart of the Japanese philosophy of Kaizen — is something I preach at my UnDissertationers. (Non-stop, to make them sick perhaps ;-)

If you have trouble imagining yourself EVER finishing, start here. A quick read, but right on target for writing paragraphs, pages, and sections, that eventually lead to chapters and a dissertation — the UnDissertation Way.

Another book recommended by one of my UnDissertationers, who said: “To say this is a wonderful book is an understatement. It completely demystifies the dissertation writing process, without reducing its technical complexity or emotional challenge. The authors’ advice is precise, thorough, and organized so as to be helpful as a practical tool. I used this book as a model for writing my proposal, and will follow it again as I write the dissertation.”