Grammar for the Soul: Using Language for Personal Change

In this wise and charming book, Lawrence Weinstein explores how self-expression reveals the psyche and how changing language can change lives. In chapters like "Tolerating Ambiguity" and "Getting Out of One's Own Way," he describes how the proper use of an element of punctuation or syntax, even the simple reversal of an object and subject, can help one become a whole human being. Clear examples, amusing anecdotes, and telling quotes support Weinstein's technique for teaching self-improvement through improved grammar.

From 1973 to 1983, Lawrence Weinstein taught at Harvard University, where he was in charge of the course "Expository Writing, Theory and Practice" and co-founded Harvard's Writing Center. Since 1983, he has been a member of the English Department of Bentley College in Waltham, Massachusetts. In 2001, the National Council of Teachers of English published his Writing at the Threshold, a book on writing instruction at the high school and college levels which has remained an NCTE bestseller ever since. In addition, Weinstein has written several full-length plays. One, "New Curtains for Macbeth", was produced in 2003 by the Lyric Stage Company of Boston, and was named a finalist at the International Playwriting Festival in the UK. Another, "The La Vidas' Landlord", will receive its world premiere at Theatre 3 in Dallas in March 2008.