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Dec 16, 2009

Rachael rated it:

This is one of those books that really will change your life, and it's one that absolutely should.

Lindberg (the wife of Charles Lindberg) explores the necessity of not only looking inward, but of focusing on one's development in order to fully live as a person, a woman, a mother, and a wife. She is especially potent when discussing the necessity of occasional moments of solitude in order to realign one's priorities and give freedom to creative expression, rather than running oneself More...

1 comment like (15 people liked it)

Feb 28, 2008

Kristin rated it:

I absolutely LOVE this book!! I highly highly recommend it. It is the perfect gift to give a friend/sister/mother or to buy for yourself to read and re-read. It is also a really quick read which is a nice little bonus. If you want a really professional review read Lucy's. (I really think Lucy should become a book critic). But here's what I thought about it...this was my second time reading the book. The first time I read it I was around 18 and getting ready to leave for college. My mom had read More...

0 comments like (9 people liked it)

Feb 28, 2008

Joel rated it:

I love walking around a bookstore and picking up five or six books of varying genres that catch my eye, sitting down and skimming. If I'm interested I may read a chapter or two, a dozen poems, maybe even ponder buying it before I put them all back on the shelf. This was number four in a stack of nine that I picked up today at Borders. After skimming the introduction, I flipped to the first chapter... forty-five minutes later I had left the store to get a pen from my car and had picked up three n More...

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Aug 26, 2008

Sandy rated it:

I remember reading this at BYU for a class and having to do a paper on it. I remember wondering what all the hoopla was about it... it just didn't do all that much for me. But now, some 30+ years later, it had a whole new meaning for me as I truly understood and felt exactly what she was expressing...
It is amazing that though this book was written over 50 years ago, so many of her observations still ring true today, and I found myself marking up page after page. Perhaps the most I got from More...

6 comments like (5 people liked it)

Jul 25, 2008

Inder rated it:

Okay, my favorite part of this book was the afterwards, wherein Ms. Lindbergh acknowledges just how dated the book's appraisal of feminism was (the book was written in 1955, so you can't blame her for what she didn't know was right around the corner - still, her somewhat negative appraisal bugged me and I was relieved that she acknowledged its problems). She also hints at how difficult it is to follow her type of super-zen advice in real life.

I hate to say it, because so many women j More...

2 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jan 24, 2012

Lisa Kay rated it:

★★★★★I loved this book. My mom gave it to me as a gift when I was a teen and I've read it a couple of times. Still relevant today. Beautifully read by Claudette Colbert.
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7 comments like (5 people liked it)

Jul 18, 2009

Chrystal rated it:

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! Her writing is soothing, enlightening, and full of wisdom and beauty.

Some of my favorite quotes:
Woman's life today is tending more and more toward the state William James describes so well in the German word, "Zerrissenheit--torn-to-pieces-hood." She cannot live perpetually in "Zerrissenheit." She will be shattered into a thousand pieces. On the contrary, she must consciously encourage those pursuits which oppose the centr More...

2 comments like (3 people liked it)

May 25, 2011

Rachel rated it:

I devoured this book in one day. I love it so much. With all the turmoil in my life I can't overstate how much I related to Anne's search for inner peace. Its amazing how a housewife and author from the 1950s could speak to me, a modern single girl of 2011.
I felt like she was talking to me when she says, "What a circus act we women perform. We put the trapeze artist to shame. Look at us. We run a tight rope daily".
I think the hardest thing in life to achieve is balan More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Sep 21, 2008

Rebecca rated it:

I believe this book was mentioned in The Poisonwood Bible, which is why I took the time to read it. It was ok. I did like the comparisons she made from the different shells to life, but felt that it was dated. She does admit this in the "re-opened" section at the end of the book. Some true statements I found in this book are:

pg.39: "Eternally, woman spills herself away in driblets to the thirsty, seldom being allowed the time, the quiet, the peace, to let the pitcher f More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Aug 05, 2008

Sydney rated it:

What a little gem of a book! I've had this one sitting on my shelf for at least 8 years. I can't remember if I recieved it for a graduation gift from college or grad school. For some reason I picked it up this weekend and I'm so glad I did. It was a very soothing read. What struck me is the book was written in 1955, yet the thinking is quite progressive. The author speaks of what women need to do to make sure they don't lose themselves in daily life. There's talk of taking time for yourself More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 30, 2010

Charyce rated it:

In Anne Morrow Lindburg's book A Gift From The Sea, she describes her insights into the complexity of womanhood and life as she discovered them in a brief vacation by the sea.

She helps us see ways to reconcile our most deeply personal needs with obligations to family, friends, lovers, and work, ways to separate loneliness from replenishing solitude, and ways to find solace in the simplest of daily tasks.

It is a book that has brought me peace many times when I have felt af More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 16, 2009

Lisa rated it:

Good book. I wanted to give it more stars but my clicker wouldn't click. The author reveals to the reader that most of us live life in some kind of shell but the important thing is being happy with the shell we are in at any given moment. The secret to living a real,authenic life.
loved it.

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Dec 24, 2009

Kristen rated it:

Amazing. The fact that this was written in another generation yet still applies so seamlessly (and will for generations) is just a mark of its timelessness. A poignant, sit-and-ponder compilation of meanderings without being preachy or trite. You just feel like you're sitting with the author over a cup of tea, as she looks off in the distance and remembers/ponders. This is one I must buy and want to read again and again as I grow. Both the quasi-women's rights, quasi-futureSAHM parts of me relis More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 08, 2011

Patti rated it:

surprising to find a book written in the 1950's that still speaks true today.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 19, 2011

Diana S rated it:

While I was reading this book, I was wondering: what would I ponder upon while looking at the sea?
What "Gift from the Sea" do I need at this time in my life? I love the concept of the book! A book that gets you a thinkin'!

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 26, 2011

Ginia rated it:

There's so much to this book even though it's short. It's deep and thoughtful and it's a fresh ocean breeze to me. I pine for the beach, and for solitude. The author stresses that solitude (being alone) is essential for our relationships to work, be it with our children, and spouse, and friends. I don't think it's out-dated. It has stood the test of time.

My favorite so-true quote:

Distraction is, always has been, and probably always will be, inherent in a woman's life. (I More...

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 17, 2009

Em rated it:

This book had a lot of great advice in it. I've never been one that enjoys metaphors, I would rather people just say what they mean in plain english, but I think that Anne Lindbergh did okay with hers. I agreed completely with her point that women need to be more centered. I'm definatly not into self-help books at all, but this was one of the better ones. I find myself waking up everyday, planning every minute of the day. It's gotten so bad that everynight before bed Kaitlyn will ask me what we More...

1 comment like

Feb 23, 2009

Holly rated it:

My Aiti gave me this book a couple of years ago for Christmas and I'm so glad (and a little embarrassed) that I finally got around to reading it. A super short read but one which has lasting effects. I had a hard time deciding whether it deserved four or five stars because I definitely felt amazed after I finished.

Mother, poet, and pilot Lindbergh wrote this during a brief vacation by the sea in 1955. In it she shares her meditations on finding contentment in each of the different More...

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Jul 10, 2008

Linda rated it:

I'm sure I read Gift from the Sea at least 30 years ago and have probably bought and given away as many as thirty copies over the years. Gift from the Sea is one of those books that speaks to a person differently through different stages of one's life. I love it and think every woman should read it. I have since read other books (memoirs, diaries, letter of sorts) by Anne M. Lindbergh and have enjoyed them very much. I was happy to come across the 50th anniversary edition as a gift to myself More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Nov 06, 2011

Rachel rated it:

Lately in the busy-ness of being in grad school, I find that they days can often seem lonely. The day usually involves hours of practicing (alone), and then many of the human interactions that I have are usually based around working or school. I find myself coming home with the frequent feeling of not being known, in the way that a good coversation or valuable one-on-one time can make you feel.

I found Gift from the Sea at a church book sale, and it really was a gift (if no More...

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Oct 13, 2011

Michelle rated it:

Some books are so good that my own words feel inadequate to do them justice. Gift from the Sea is one of those books. Lindbergh's writing is so rich, her thoughts so clear, her images so powerful, that my own words pale in comparison.
Gift from the Sea is comprised of Anne Morrow Lindbergh's musings on her life, prompted by shells she finds during a private retreat on an island. Each shell she selects describes a certain phase of life. The 50th anniversary edition that I read had an afterw More...

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Jul 29, 2011

Hattie rated it:

Friday, July 29, 2011
GIFT from the SEA by Anne Morrow Lindbergh

charleslindbergh

The above sea shells are only a few of the ones written about in GIFT from the SEA by Anne Morrow Lindbergh. The author wisely sees her life and the potential for the lives of other women while walking, writing or just sitting and contemplating life in her seaside cottage in Captiva on the Florida Gulf coast. Gift+Sea+Anne+Morrow+Lindbergh
This book is a treasure. Someone recommended More...

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Mar 30, 2011

Mallie rated it:

I am glad I read this book but there was still a lot of it that I felt I could not relate to. My favorite part was the lilting language, reminiscent of the waves lapping on the shore.

Favorite quotations:

On solitude:
"The world today does not understand, in either man or woman, the need to be alone.
How inexplicable it seems. Anything else will be accepted as a better excuse. If one sets aside time for a business appointment, a trip to the hairdresser, a More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 08, 2011

Melanie rated it:

A favorite of mine that will forever hold a place on my shelf... I reread this one every so often when I need to recharge my soul.

I have many, many favorite passages from this book; here are just a few of my favorite gems:

"For it is not physical solitude that actually separates one from other men, not physical isolation, but spiritual isolation. ... When one is a stranger to oneself than one is estranged from others, too. If one is out of touch with oneself, then one canno

More...

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Feb 01, 2011

Valerie rated it:

I just finished reading Anne Morrow Lindberg's book called Gift From the Sea. From her book, one would never know of her accomplishments. Married to Charles Lindberg, the famous aviator, I was surprised to learn through an internet search that she accompanied him on his historic flights. She too had a well-established career in science and technology. If I had these accomplishments to my benefit, you can be sure I would find a way to bring them into my book. I was impressed by her humility and h More...

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Dec 24, 2010

Mary rated it:

I was a little bit worried at the beginning that the tone would be too self-helpy and there would be too many cliches about centering yourself, etc, but it turned out I really enjoyed Lindbergh's musings and was pretty convinced she hit on some difficult, but also beautiful, truths. I'm in Chicago for Christmas and I picked this off the shelf at my parents' house; Anne Lindbergh is a favorite of my mom's, and I can see why. Though I wanted her to share more specifics about her own life, and ap More...

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Jul 30, 2010

Betsy rated it:

This was a lovely little book. Not long, but filled with rich writing and, I thought, well expressed ideas. I'd say it's about keeping yourself intact in an increasingly busy world. The ideas shared aren't new (Lindbergh quotes several philosophers, going back to Ancient Greece; so not new indeed) but she pulls them together in a lovely way.

It's aimed towards women, in that Lindbergh uses a time of solitude by the ocean to come to an emotional or spiritual balance as a writer, a m More...

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Feb 01, 2010

Falicia rated it:

A true testament to the many layers we wear as women - mother, daughter, wife, co-worker - and how easily one's singular identity can be lost (and rediscovered). Favorite excerpt:

When you love someone, you do not love them all the time, in exactly the same way, from moment to moment. It is an impossibility. It is even a lie to pretend to. And yet this is exactly what most of us demand. We have so little faith in the ebb and flow of life, of love, of relationships. We leap at the flo More...

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Jan 31, 2010

Jan rated it:

I liked this slim little book so much that I read it all in just a couple of hours. Written by Anne Morrow Lindbergh, wife of famed aviator Charles Lindbergh, it is a collection of her thoughts about the nature of a woman's life.

I found it interesting how much this book could still ring true more than 50 years after it was written. It is amazing that, in many ways, the issues that we face today - the struggles we turn over in our minds - have changed very little, despite the fact tha More...

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Oct 28, 2009

Diane rated it:

First written in 1955, this book was written on a brief solo vacation by the author. Amazingly the author used the imagery of shells as a symbol of the different stages in a woman's life. The author composed some meditations for the various stages of life: youth, aging, love, marriage, solitude, peace and contentment. Especially memorable was a section of "simplifying one's life", and to take to to reconcile our personal needs without feeling guilty about doing something for us.
More...

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