In this moving sequel to her national bestseller A Year by the Sea, Joan Anderson explores the challenges of rebuilding and renewing a marri...
read full description
reviews
Oct 21, 2009
Lori
rated it: 
I loved Joan Anderson's book "A Year by the Sea" and I was very happy to see that she had written another book about her life. I wasn't disappointed with this novel and read it in one sitting. I have come to the conclusion that either you like this writing style, a memoir with a homey feel, or you don't. With that said, what this book is, is Joan's opinions about her life and her observations about her marriage. This book won't appeal to everyone. Not everyone will agree with her opini
More...
Jul 10, 2009
Jacki
rated it:
Being fairly new to this marriage business (we've been married just over a year), it was so interesting to hear a perspective from the other end. Joan and Robin had been married for 30 years when she got fed up and needed to be solo. I guess that was the subject of her last book, which I never read.
This book is what happened after that- her first year rejoined with her husband.
Her thoughts and ideas about marriage and life and children and friends were just delicious a More...
This book is what happened after that- her first year rejoined with her husband.
Her thoughts and ideas about marriage and life and children and friends were just delicious a More...
Mar 06, 2011
Cindy
rated it: 
Another wonder by a favorite author of mine. I love her wisdom. So many quotables exist. After living alone in A Year By the Sea, Joan and her husband begin the task of reassembling their lives together.
pg. 46 "After a time, life with another should not be about gazing at each other, but instead looking outward together at the same sight."
pg. 102 "The damnable thing about married children is their enormous need to create boundaries around their space. It's More...
pg. 46 "After a time, life with another should not be about gazing at each other, but instead looking outward together at the same sight."
pg. 102 "The damnable thing about married children is their enormous need to create boundaries around their space. It's More...
Sep 01, 2009
Sonya
rated it: 
An Unfinished Marriage is Anderson's follow up memoir to A Year by the Sea, which told the story of her sabbatical from her marriage as she tried to find her way back to herself. Now, she's back with her husband as they try to remember what brought them together originally, what they have in common, and how to make a life with each other now that their boys are grown and out of the house. My experience of this book was much like her last. Though I am fascinated by the concept, Anderson's traditi
More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Feb 20, 2011
Mary
rated it: 
Another good one by Joan Anderson... filled with self-realization, forgiveness and acceptance. How many couples look at each other after the kids are grown and gone--or even before--and wonder: "Now what?" It's a gift that Anderson (as well as her husband) is willing to share her personal story of almost giving up, then finding her way back to friendship, affection and happiness in a 30-plus year marriage. This book is like a meditation, slowly unfolding against the landscape of Cape C
More...
Jan 13, 2010
Gloria
rated it:
An appropriate sequel to Anderson's A Year By the Sea-- where she took a year "away" from her husband to rediscover herself after 30+ years of marriage.
This book deals with the following year, where they come back together ... residual bitterness and slight misunderstandings still hovering. But it's beautiful in that it offers such a picture of grace and reality. It wasn't all romance and reconnection once together again. It was patience, perseverance, realizations, and adapt More...
This book deals with the following year, where they come back together ... residual bitterness and slight misunderstandings still hovering. But it's beautiful in that it offers such a picture of grace and reality. It wasn't all romance and reconnection once together again. It was patience, perseverance, realizations, and adapt More...
Oct 25, 2009
Eileen
rated it:
Interesting follow-up to A Year by the Sea. And fortunately I finished one book and started the next seamlessly. The growth of a woman "finding" who she was by herself, then settling back into her marriage. Both she and her husband had to work out how their lives would once again join to become one. Retirement can be especially hard for men, I think, when they find they have a feeling of losing their identity or self-worth. How am I so lucky to have a husband who doesn't have thes
More...
Aug 04, 2009
Diana
rated it:
This bestseller is by the same woman who wrote another bestseller--"A Year by the Sea"--it is about the author's efforts to mend her marriage after a year of seclusion, while she was trying to "find herself." There are some great insights about marriage and relationships with adult children in the book--but the conversations seem so unreal--stilted speeches, not the way that people speak--that I found myself sighing and shaking my head in disbelief as I read it.
Aug 31, 2009
Thewritingmommy
rated it:
i couldn't imagine doing what she did. i enjoyed the book and at the same time, i couldn't understand her. i felt she was being selfish at first and almost didn't finish the book, but then, i began to see how my mom would have benefited from such honesty with herself, and indeed how we all could benefit from it. I haven't had a "year by the sea" but i did enjoy the book and new considerations it brought.
Jul 21, 2010
Rebecca
rated it:
I found this to be a thought provoking and inspiring account of how one woman is negotiating the seasoning of her marriage. Some of it didn't seem entirely genuine--I couldn't believe that she really remembers all of the details that she recounts. But I still found it moving, and her overriding theme is one that I can learn from--that we are responsible for our own growth as human beings, and our partners are there to share our progress with us.
May 14, 2010
Amy
rated it:
A well written book. I only wish I could have agreed with the author more. After 12 years of marriage and 2 children, I think I have enough experience to say that Anderson's conclusions about middle aged marriage don't have to be so humdrum and lacking in passion. She had so many other insightful things to say. I was disappointed when I came to the end.
Mar 30, 2011
Xunnie
rated it:
I read this as I was working through a rough patch in my own marriage and I loved the hope and the strength that Joan showed in her writing. A quick, fairly easy read. And one that I ended up blogging about. I loved that Joan reminds us to think in longer, broader terms sometimes and to realize that there are many facets to a relationship.
Mar 14, 2011
Heather
rated it:
Book 2 (yes I'm reading them out of order) of the life of a middle aged woman coming to terms with who she is, now that the children are grown and what her marriage is all about, now that the husband has retired. A compelling look at a couple's past, present and future, when the roles never stay the same and the objectives are constantly shifting. I loved it. Thanks Mimi for suggesting it.
Feb 26, 2009
Chelsea
rated it:
This book is so dead on. Joan Anderson has so much wisdom and has a way with words to make you think about your own life. If you are interested in Joan Anderson, read A Year By The Sea An Unfinished Woman and then read this book. I look forward to all books by Anderson...she has something to say to all women of all ages.
Aug 27, 2009
Lori
rated it:
Another insightful book by Joan Anderson. I get a lot from her honest vulnerability and wisdom. She inspires me and leaves me feeling light hearted, prepared to experience life more fully; to be more aware of the value of life, nature, challenges and others for what they offer.
Nov 08, 2009
Anne
rated it: 
This book made me sad because I felt the author went back to allowing people to walk all over her again and that she gave up all the personal gains she had made in A Year by the Sea. I plan to read her next book but need a break from her story after this one : (
Mar 12, 2011
Sandy
rated it:
very good book. thought provoking and enlightening in lots of ways. am referring it to numerous long-married friends who will appreciate its insights, conflicts and frustrations of being married and the coming to resolution and peace about things
Mar 28, 2009
Trying to get the rest of the story I read this one. Joan talks about trying to live again with her partner. She describes many of the things I found difficult as well. I guess my life isn't so different than so many others....
Oct 02, 2011
Pam
rated it:
This was a sequel to "A Year by the Sea" and while I enjoyed it, I didn't connect with it as much as her first memoir. Some of it was a little confusing - the timeline for instance. But, again, she did say many things that spoke to me.
Jun 18, 2011
Candace
rated it:
Made me understand this marriage stuff is a day to day and year to year
thing. Just keep on plugging and eventually it all comes together if you stay together. Good book!
thing. Just keep on plugging and eventually it all comes together if you stay together. Good book!
Aug 25, 2011
Tracey
rated it:
This followup to A Year by the Sea is simply okay. Good points include the introduction of the husband, and he and Joan exploring the aspects of this new chapter in their lives. Again, Anderson's writing is subtle, and the book is far, far too short to delve deep into some of the necessary components to rebuilding a marriage. Yet that almost makes it seem more truthful: sometimes, life doesn't have big whiz-bang moments as much as it has a string of small happenings and observations, connected t
More...
Aug 13, 2010
Nancy
rated it:
This was a sweet read. I enjoyed Joan's perspectives on her evolving marriage, her maturing son, and evolution of motherhood. I loved the reflective literary quotes used and her emphasis on the power of connecting with nature.
May 14, 2009
Terimorse
rated it:
I think everyone gets in a rutt after being married for a long time to the same person, so this was a good read for me. Like this book says,
"stay in the present, but welcome change".
"stay in the present, but welcome change".
Mar 30, 2010
Ellie
rated it:
Excellent book, the follow up to 'A Year By The Sea'. You will want to read both powerful books for women.
Dec 02, 2008
Debbie
rated it:
I've read this twice (once with my husband). It was an instrumental tool for saving our marriage.
Jun 27, 2011
Amie
rated it:
A look into someone else's life can many times better prepare us to live our own.
Dec 28, 2010
Sylvia
rated it:
interesting to find out what happens when husband reenters author's life
Jan 02, 2012
Chris
rated it:
