"Now available in paperback, the entrancing story of how one woman's journey of self-discovery gave her the courage to persevere in re-creating her life.
Life is a work in progress, as ever-changing as a sandy shoreline along the beach. During the years Joan Anderson was a loving wife and supportive mother, she had slowly and unconsciously replaced her own dreams with the needs of her family. With her sons grown, however, she realized that the family no longer centered on the home she provided, and her relationship with her husband had become stagnant. Like many women in her situation, Joan realized that she had neglected to nurture herself and, worse, to envision fulfilling goals for her future. As her husband received a wonderful job opportunity out-of-state, it seemed that the best part of her own life was finished. Shocking both of them, she refused to follow him to his new job and decided to retreat to a family cottage on Cape Cod.At first casting about for direction, Joan soon began to take pleasure in her surroundings and call on resources she didn't realize she had. Over the course of a year, she gradually discovered that her life as an "unfinished woman" was full of possibilities. Out of that magical, difficult, transformative year came A Year by the Sea, a record of her experiences and a treasury of wisdom for readers.This year of self-discovery brought about extraordinary changes in the author's life. The steps that Joan took to revitalize herself and rediscover her potential have helped thousands of woman reveal and release untapped resources within themselves."

A Year by the Sea by Joan Anderson
Genres: Nonfiction

Also by this author: A Walk on the Beach: Tales of Wisdom From an Unconventional Woman

 

I have recently watched the movie “A Year by the Sea” and I remembered I read the book as well about two or three years ago, along with another book signed Joan Anderson, “A Walk on the Beach“. She became friends with another Joan, Joan Erikson, known for her collaboration with her husband, Erik Erikson (psychoanalyst and author).

The movie was OK, but I liked the book better. Good thing I saved some quotes (below) on Goodreads while I was reading.

“The one who leaves is always wrong, while the other partner, who passively goes along, gets all the sympathy. Most men, I’ve noticed, are reluctant to walk out. They may want out of their marriage, but set it up so the wife actually does the walking.”

“When will I ever learn to accept what is given instead of always yearning for more? My lavish expectations too often tarnish my blessings.”

“You mustn’t fret. There is no arriving, ever. It is all a continual becoming.”

“You are never free to do as you please when you stay with the familiar.”

“So many women believe that love is a feeling of being dependent. Sometimes having a husband can be a sort of alibi for a woman. Look, you’ve slammed one door, but oh, how you’ve opened another! People develop in aloneness and are only led to the truth after being disillusioned.”

“[…] it takes action to create change.”

“There is so much relief and comfort in sharing truths with a dear friend—being with someone with whom you don’t have to justify everything.”

“I’m learning that what’s important is not so much what I do to make a living as who I become in the process.”

“I’ve come to believe that love happens when you want it to. It is an intention, rather than a serendipitous occurrence. Only when one is open to receive and absorb love can it occur.”

“Vital lives are about action,” Joan Erikson tells me. “You can’t feel warmth unless you create it, can’t feel delight unless you play, can’t know serendipity unless you risk.”

“A good husband is the workmanship of a good mother.”

“Ah, but you must always retain some part of yourself which is nobody’s business. The minute you let others in on your secrets, you’ve given away some of your strength.”

“I must live a little each day, greet the sun as it rises and revel in its setting, swim naked, sip coffee and wine by the shore, generate new ideas, admire myself, talk to animals, meditate, laugh, risk adventures. I must try to be soft, not hard; fluid, not rigid; tender, not cold; find rather than seek.”