I enjoy seeking out memoirs and journals written by people about my age. Or older! I found this captivating book, "At 82: A Journal" by May Sarton. Wow. I could not stop reading it and only reluctantly put it down to do other things.
I learned about how she is aging, which is helpful for me to know. My slowing down is not just me! She celebrates the little things like her adored cat Pierrot, flowers in bloom, her old house in Maine which she has rented for many years, visits from friends and publications of her books. Actually these are Big things.
She is 82 and recovered from a big stroke she had 12 years earlier at age 70. The year before she began this journal she had two small strokes and a TIA when in London. It is desperately hard for her to go ahead with her writing but she does.
I have not read her poetry, but this journal is perfection. I sort of fell in love with her. She is often depressed because her poetry, while beloved by readers, does not get the awards she feels she deserves. Like me she needs quiet time alone, naps and cheerful visits with friends.
She mentions her writing colleague and friend, Doris Grumbach, who lives near her in Maine. Sarton praises Grumbach so I bought and am reading now "Coming Into the End Zone" by Doris, written when she was 70.
I also bought May Sarton's After the Stroke: A Journal". A point in favor of her journals is they are quick reads, shorter than memoirs. Do you have any favorite journals or memoirs to suggest?
I don't have any suggestions, but now I'm intrigued by these. They sound very interesting!
ReplyDeleteI don't believe I've ever ready a journal before. Sounds interesting
ReplyDeleteI do enjoy memoirs.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds interesting I will have to check it out
ReplyDeleteCathy
Thank you for the recommendation of these journals.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I've read a published journal per se, but I have kept many. Perhaps, it's time for me to look through mine for some gems!
ReplyDeleteThe only "journal" i remember reading is Anne Frank's diaries.
ReplyDeleteI did read an excellent memoir by a vietnamese woman who described her journey from escaping that area in the 60s as a little girl and settling in Ohio. It was one of the best memoirs I've read although the title escapes me. I reviewed it on my blog a year or so ago so could find it if you want the title.
I've read a few memoirs. My faves were the ones Julie andrews wrote.
Dear Terra,
ReplyDeleteI so enjoyed reading your thoughtful post on May Sarton’s later journal, "At Eighty Two". I have long loved her journals and have read them all over the years, yet each time I return to them I seem to discover some new quiet truth hidden within the pages. There is something so rare now in her manner of writing. She observes the inward life with honesty and intelligence, yet without self importance, and she writes about solitude, friendship, ageing, creativity, and daily rituals with such luminous clarity.
If you have not already read it, I would especially recommend "The House by the Sea", which remains my favourite of all her journals and a book I return to very often. It is always somewhere near my bedside. It was the first journal she wrote after moving in 1973 from New Hampshire to the coast of Maine, and I fell completely under the spell of her descriptions of the house, the sea light, the changing seasons, and the friendships that sustained her there.
What continues to move me most about Sarton is her perceptiveness about people. She understood friendship in all its tenderness and difficulty, and she writes about human relationships with such generosity, even when she is wounded or disappointed. Her reflections on writing itself have also stayed with me for years.
I'm genuinely delighted to find another admirer of May Sarton!
You might also enjoy Frances Partridge’s diaries titled "Diaries 1939 -1972". They are extraordinary. There is an almost addictive quality to her writing, so intelligent, observant, and exacting in its point of view. One finishes a volume only to wish immediately for another.
Thank you again for your kindness and for visiting my own little corner of the world. Your thoughtful words always brighten my days more than you know.
Warmest wishes,
ASD
Seems very interesting 😊
ReplyDeleteYour review has encouraged me to read May Sarton. I have also taken note of ASD's recommendations.
ReplyDeleteI think my comment disappeared, or perhaps I forgot to press 'publish.' Regardless, I enjoyed your review very much.
ReplyDeleteAging carries its challenges, but it beats the alternative, at least more most of us at most times. I like the 'loafhat' diet of the previous post.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like an excellent read. Thanks for sharing it and I hope your week is going well.
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