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Necessary Sins: A Memoir
by
Lynn Darling
When Lynn Darling met Lee Lescaze at the Washington Post, they could not have been more different. He was older, married, more “establishment,” a celebrated foreign correspondent and editor. She, who entered Harvard at age sixteen, was a brilliant wild child of the sixties. She lived life in the present tense, where every affair was an adventure. Then Darling fell in love...more
Hardcover, 240 pages
Published
March 27th 2007
by The Dial Press
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I usually put a book down as soon as it becomes clear that adultery is the topic. It's sort of like my distaste for horror movies. I don't know why I am so sensitive to the topic of cheating, but I am. In the case of Shyamalan, I make an exception for movies, though, and in the case of adultery, I made an exception for Lynn Darling. I hope she has written other books. What prevented me from quitting this memoir of the initially adulterous affair of two Washington Post writers was Lynne Darling's...more
Necessary Sins is a lovely memoir for the author's marriage to Lee Lescaze, which ended with his death from cancer at the age of 57.
This is the story of her affair with Lescaze, which began when he was married to his first wife. Acutely conscious of the pain inflicted on others through her choices, Darling unsparingly holds herself accountable for this damage, while cherishing the memory of what she and Lescaze built in their relationship.
Each sentence pays tribute to Lescaze and their shared...more
This is the story of her affair with Lescaze, which began when he was married to his first wife. Acutely conscious of the pain inflicted on others through her choices, Darling unsparingly holds herself accountable for this damage, while cherishing the memory of what she and Lescaze built in their relationship.
Each sentence pays tribute to Lescaze and their shared...more
The book's based on Lynn Darling's life, beginning in her mid 20's through to about the age of 60. All I can say is that when you feel lost in any aspect of your life this book makes you feel a little less lonely and gives you a sense of hope about the future.
Be prepared to cry though. It will cause a few tears.
I'm such a nerd I actually pulled some quotes. Here are some examples:
“You know what it’s like when you first see Pompeii? It feels like it happened just yesterday. When I was there, I im...more
Be prepared to cry though. It will cause a few tears.
I'm such a nerd I actually pulled some quotes. Here are some examples:
“You know what it’s like when you first see Pompeii? It feels like it happened just yesterday. When I was there, I im...more
Darling is best at capturing and identifying with the state of career women in the feminist decades: “The women I knew improvised.” As a reporter for Washington Post Style, she becomes involved with the married head of the Style section; he divorces, they marry, and then Darling’s interesting soul searching gets blunted by melodrama as he suffers the death of a son, they have a baby, and then he dies himself, leaving Darling to fare forward with her daughter.
The very very beginning was full of humor and young abandon desires. As the book develops you begin to see how the author herself developed. What the world may have seen as a careless selfish decision was the moment that started a change in her that wasn't a mistake but a milestone in her life. It was a pivoting moment that took her down a path that I'm sure no one would encourage her to take, but nonetheless it was her path. On that path many discoveries were made about love, marriage, life, an...more
A wisp of a memoir. The author careens through life until she meets her soulmate and has to confront the two big issues of anyone's life -- love and death. She meets the challenge with heart-wrenching honesty.
Jun 05, 2007
meredith
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
everyone, women esp., young and old
Shelves:
readinthepastyear
what i learned from this book:
love is messy and complicated and beautiful and worth fighting for. so is your self-hood. lynn darling is so brave in this memoir. and i dare you as a young or old woman reader to read her words and not relate to them. we've all committed necessary sins, and these are indeed necessary -- they've made the narrator the woman she is today, strong enough to stand on her own two feet, share her story with the world. an inspiration. a heartsong.
love is messy and complicated and beautiful and worth fighting for. so is your self-hood. lynn darling is so brave in this memoir. and i dare you as a young or old woman reader to read her words and not relate to them. we've all committed necessary sins, and these are indeed necessary -- they've made the narrator the woman she is today, strong enough to stand on her own two feet, share her story with the world. an inspiration. a heartsong.
What an amazing love story. If you are able to get past passing judgement on how this relationship begins, you will discover a marriage that passes many tests and a couple that finds what many couples never do. I did not want this book to end. Very curious what the remaining family members feel about Lynn sharing so many details of her families past, but I'm so glad she did. What an incredible story. I was so sorry to see it end and wish her well.
Lynn Darling was very brave to write such a memoir -- and I'm glad she did. At many times raw, at other times touching, it will make you think about the choices you make in your life. And it very well might make you cry.
Lori Anderson
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I was disappointed in this book. It's about two reporters at the Washington Post who have an affair. I was hoping to learn more about journalism at the Post, but it's a memoir written by a very self-centered person, who never wanted to grow up. I think it grated more on me because the last book I read was about another insecure woman. I'm amazed she was able to have a career in journalism with her work ethic.
a surprisingly insightful at look at the decisions we make in life. typical but prudent questions arise in abundance such as:
*are we punished on earth for our so-called sins?
*knowing then what you know now, would you have acted differently?
*was it worth it?
not exactly an uplifting tale - but it is a moving piece of writing and a brutal yet beautifully honest view into one life.
*are we punished on earth for our so-called sins?
*knowing then what you know now, would you have acted differently?
*was it worth it?
not exactly an uplifting tale - but it is a moving piece of writing and a brutal yet beautifully honest view into one life.
Lynn Darling is an amazing writer and a great inspiration. This is a book merely about a love that is forbidden. Darling takes you every step of the way though her judgement and decisions as she recalls the many memories from a part of her life.. a part in which many people would have kept secret. You will laugh, you will cry, but most of all you will be able to relate in some way.
Interesting to newsies like me who find anything that happens in a newsroom interesting. The author is still feeling guilty, though, and I expected more of a great love story than I got.
One of those books that you simply cannot explain why it is so good. I love Lynn Darling. I love Lee Lescaze despite his adulterous ways. I love how unexpectedly sad this book makes me.
did not get very far
First book I ever bought at Target. I enjoyed an excerpt by Darling in Vivian Gornick's The Situation and the Story, but I didn't love this quite as much.
self-indulgent story of a Washington Post writer's affair with a married Post editor. Very nice writing, but over-romanticized.
eh. Rather self indulgent. I do have an insatiable need these days to read about early motherhood, and this included a little on that
Oct 02, 2008
Elle
added it
I like Darling's clean, crisp writing style. Easy reading but with depth. She takes reader through a range of emotions.
Poignant memoir about a young women in the 70's coming into her own and falling in love--if only it was that easy...
It's a little weird because its a love story told from the mistresses point of view.
Maybe 4 stars? I dunno. Nice to see a book from a mistress's point of view.
I think adultery sucks, but this was a pretty good book.
I just do not like sad books.
Jun 14, 2013
Kristie
is currently reading it
Jun 03, 2013
Jaela
marked it as to-read
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marked it as to-read
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“How wonderful, I thought every time I watched it: to stand next to the people who knew you best and hide yourself completely. To be simultaneously secret and exposed, to be concealed in plain sight, to keep yourself safe and to deliberately risk that safety.”
—
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