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The Nude Beach Notebook
In this engaging new memoir, a loose sequel to her earlier Prairie Reunion, Barbara Scot explores her reluctance and longing to reconnect with a much-loved brother, lost to alcoholism for thirty years.
Scot uses long, meditative walks on the “clothing optional” beach of the idyllic Sauvie Island near Portland, Oregon, to explore family responsibility, time’s passage, and faith. She weaves entries from her notebook—a record of the island’s wildlife, descriptions of the “Odd Ones” she encounters on the beach, and stories about the native people who once lived on the river—with the main narrative, tracing her search for her brother, her close friendship with a fellow writer, and daily life on the houseboat moorage where she lives.
The Nude Beach Notebook highlights the importance of place as a means for exploring and interpreting one’s own story. In the end, Scot’s walks on Sauvie Island lead to her own redemptive journey. She considers the uses of fiction and non-fiction in memory and in writing, the brevity and beauty of human existence, and the inscrutable, enduring mystery of death.
Scot uses long, meditative walks on the “clothing optional” beach of the idyllic Sauvie Island near Portland, Oregon, to explore family responsibility, time’s passage, and faith. She weaves entries from her notebook—a record of the island’s wildlife, descriptions of the “Odd Ones” she encounters on the beach, and stories about the native people who once lived on the river—with the main narrative, tracing her search for her brother, her close friendship with a fellow writer, and daily life on the houseboat moorage where she lives.
The Nude Beach Notebook highlights the importance of place as a means for exploring and interpreting one’s own story. In the end, Scot’s walks on Sauvie Island lead to her own redemptive journey. She considers the uses of fiction and non-fiction in memory and in writing, the brevity and beauty of human existence, and the inscrutable, enduring mystery of death.
192 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 22, 2015
Despite the title of this book, I enjoyed this book. It is not about being naked on a beach. But the nude beach on Sauvey Island in Portland Oregon does play a part in the book. This book is basically a memoir. It's a nice exploration of family relationships, aging, and in a small sense the role of memoirs and searching for the truth. And I also really enjoyed the historical aspect of the area (the main reason I was interested in reading the book). There were times when the writing style bugged me, but I enjoyed the themes in the book and found it to be enlightening in places. A very pleasant read.
July 30, 2015
I didn't really finish this book, just don't know how to get Goodreads to remove it from my shelf. Maybe it was just the wrong time for me to read it, but I couldn't keep track of all the names and found the journal entries self-indulgent. Sorry, I gave it back to the library.
November 10, 2016
Really enjoyed her writing. Will most likely pick up more of her books. Was very moving.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews