Recovering: A Journal [Paperback]

May Sarton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1997

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. How her friendships, her love of the natural world, and her growing audience of readers brought her back is this journal's story.

"Sarton's 'art of making exquisite distinctions' and her vulnerability as a human being are her timeless gifts to her readers". -- Library Journal

Product Details

• Paperback: 246 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (December 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 039331717X
• ISBN-13: 978-0393317176
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #851,589 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

May Sarton is the pen name of Eleanore Marie Sarton (May 3, 1912 - July 16, 1995), an American poet, novelist, and memoirist. Her parents were science historian George Sarton and his wife, the English artist Mabel Eleanor Elwes. In 1915, her family moved to Boston, Massachusetts. She went to school in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and started theatre lessons in her late teens. In 1945 she met her partner for the next thirteen years, Judy Matlack, in Santa Fe, New Mexico. They separated in 1956, when Sarton's father died and Sarton moved to Nelson, New Hampshire. Honey in the Hive (1988) is about their relationship. Sarton later moved to York, Maine. She died of breast cancer on July 16, 1995. She is buried in Nelson, New Hampshire.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You Just Can't Go Wrong with Sarton, May 29, 2007

By 

Kelley Aaron (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Recovering: A Journal (Paperback)

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.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I enjoy May, no matter what, December 16, 2009

By 

Barbara Rose (central Ohio) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Recovering: A Journal (Paperback)

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.