Beachcombing at Miramar: The Quest for an Authentic Life [Paperback]

Richard Bode (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 1997

Bode went to a California beach to discover the truth about his life. Contemplating the sea & the shore, tuning in to the rhythms of the tides, he observed, he experienced, he remembers. This book has the power, like the sea, to reshape our lives.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

It's a common enough fantasy, moving to a hut on the beach, but Bode, author of the word-of-mouth bestseller First You Have to Row a Little Boat (1993), lives it. In this lyrical memoir, he imparts some of the quiet wonder he's found in his simple, unhurried existence. Before Bode came to Miramar, Calif., he toiled for years at a New York public relations firm that promised to make him a millionaire. But he fled, to work as a freelance writer. After 30 years of marriage, his children grown, he divorced his wife and settles on the beach. Bode cautions that "a beachcomber's life is a demanding one that calls for discipline and zeal... it's the endless seeing that causes the psychic strain. It's the richness of life in the tidal zone." The seeing here is clear-eyed and limned in sculpted, resonant prose, as Bode tells of soaking up natural beauty while confronting personal demons. He recoils when an old business associate pressures him to ghostwrite a speech: A "ghost" is what he doesn't want to be. Frantic, lonely people cross his path, as does a vibrant Portuguese woman. A dowdy, elderly couple walk past his porch. The man is bald and the woman has a wart on her cheek, but their smiles are radiant. With contemplative intensity, Bode creates here one of those small miracles of writing able to pierce the heart. Author tour.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal

To become a beachcomber and be able to walk the beach at leisure is a dream of many. Bode (First You Have To Row a Little Boat: Reflections on Life and Living, Warner, 1993) leaves a job from which he was deriving no personal satisfaction and a wife of 30 years to become a beachcomber. He gets a beach house at Miramar Beach, California, and uses his time walking the beach and ruminating about sand dollars, jellyfish, and the mist and tide in his self-described journey to the center of himself. The days and nights of irregular and random beachcombing allow him to reflect on who he is, who he wants to be, and what it means to be human. This striving for an authentic life makes this book sensitive and worthwhile reading. Recommended for public libraries.?David Schau, Kanawha Cty. P.L., Charleston, W. Va.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (July 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446672769
• ISBN-13: 978-0446672764
• Product Dimensions: 5 x 0.5 x 7.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #687,638 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars INTROSPECTIVE NOVEL WITH AMAZING IMAGERY!, May 11, 2000

By 

Monica Catherine "monica-081" (Orlando, Florida United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beachcombing at Miramar: The Quest for an Authentic Life (Paperback)

Beachcombing at Miromar is a wonderful insight into Richard Bode's quest for inner peace and beauty. It is full of fascinating imagery that literally leaves the sensory minded person speechless in its descriptions! Richard Bode's writing melts into a scenery of tranqulity with fascinating images and phrases! Included along the way are a few of Richard Bode's favorite encouraging poems, books, and songs. I bought this book on a whim, looking for something intriguing to read...I was not disappointed! Richard Bode more than surpassed my expectations with this novel. I would recommend this book mainly for those who appreciate tranqulity and crave beauty...and for those who have known what it is like to feel lost admist life's travels, wishing only for a solace from the world. Beachcombing at Miramar makes a wonderful solace.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It improved my life!, November 25, 1999

By 

Andrew Clive Laarz (Jasper, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beachcombing at Miramar: The Quest for an Authentic Life (Paperback)

I first bought this book in a bookstore by accident, and I ended up reading it. Ever since, I have given away at least a dozen copies of it to other people, and they have also given away many more copies to my knowledge. At that multiplication rate, if you don't buy it - you should recieve it soon anyways. It is such a relaxing read. It shows you the pace at which life should be lived. I do encourage you to read it.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Compares Favorable With Lindberghs Gift From The Sea, February 11, 2001

By 

Peter Fennessy (Bloomfield Hills, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beachcombing at Miramar: The Quest for an Authentic Life (Paperback)

These are the reflections of man who has dropped out of the fast lane and is spending his days in a gentle, reflective life, combing the beach for its treasure, but much more searching his life, his thought, and his experience for the meaning of life, love and ultimate concerns. Bode is thoughtful and perceptive in his observations, simple but beautiful in his writing, candid and generous in his sharing of himself with the reader. The book's setting and content invites a comparison with Anne Morrow Lindbergh's classic Gift from the Sea, and it compares very favorably. Read it, you'll enjoy it.