Recovering: A Journal

by May Sarton

Book Overview

May Sarton's sixty-sixth year, 1978-79, was a difficult time: a cherished relationship came to an end, she had a mastectomy, she fought against depression. But, she writes, "When there is personal darkness, when there is a pain to be overcome, when we are forced to renew ourselves against all the odds, the psychic energy required simply to survive has tremendous force." This journal tells how she drew on that force, and how her friendships, her love...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 039330339X
• ISBN13: 9780393303391
• Release Date: January 1987
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Length: 246 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 4.2" x 7.0"

Customer Reviews

I enjoy May, no matter what

I am one of those people who May Sarton speaks to. I have read her books "out of order", but have no trouble adjusting to the period of time she is writing. I actually like Journal of a Solitude the best, followed by Plant Dreaming Deep, but this one was fine. I feel for her.....especially as she grows older, and is alone much of the time. But I have to say, she certainly has many friends, and sees them often, altho' less so in this book. I've only read her journals, but want to get one of the fiction books next. I always recommend May, altho' I know she's not for everyone.

You Just Can't Go Wrong with Sarton

Reading Sarton is like taking in fresh air! "Recovering" is no exception. Sarton is always an easy read, but you have to be prepared to "FEEL" - she is so open with her emotions and experiences. Sarton cuts right to the core of human experience and emotion in a simple, straight forward way. Although she expresses her grief and losses in a poignent and potent manner, she is not sentimental and "Recovering", like her other works, leaves one with a certian calmness even amid all of the emotional turbulance. "Recovering" also is typically "Sartonian" in that her eye for the beautiful simplicity in nature and the in small details is ever present in this journal.