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Beyond This Harbor: Adventurous Tales of the Heart
A memoir of an extraordinary life—poet, international human rights activist, founding member of Amnesty International USA, journalist, hostess, famous beauty, foreign policy advisor; friend to politicians, movie stars, the legendary; discoverer of Philip Roth, longtime wife of Bill Styron and together, America’s literary golden couple at home and abroad
“[Rose Styron] has lived a life in interesting times, among legendary characters, a life well worth telling—and reading about.” — The Washington Post
An intimate portrait of a celebrated magic life and the famous and infamous who dropped in, summered, traveled with, played with, and the decades of friendship with everyone from Truman Capote and Robert Penn Warren to the Kennedys, the Bernsteins, Alexander Calder, John Hersey, and Lillian Hellman.
Here as well are the years of dedication and risk, traveling the world, from Pinochet’s Chile to El Salvador, Belfast, and Sarajevo, as Rose Styron, in search of those hiding from dictators and autocrats, bore witness to atrocities and human rights violations . . .
Styron writes of her childhood, born into a German Jewish, assimilated Baltimore family; a rebel from the start, studying poetry at Wellesley, Harvard, Johns Hopkins; traveling to Rome and her (second) meeting with Bill (the first time, “I can’t remember even shaking hands. I wasn’t thinking about him at all.”); their eventual marriage, and their more than fifty years together—in bucolic Roxbury, Connecticut, and on Martha's Vineyard.
She writes of Bill's writing and of retyping his manuscripts, discussing his writing progress, having babies, with visits from neighbors Arthur Miller; Mike Nichols and various wives; Dustin Hoffman buying the house over the hill; James Baldwin moving in to Styron’s writing studio and writing The Fire Next Time , with Baldwin encouraging Styron to write Nat Turner in first person; Frank Sinatra, sailing into Vineyard Haven Harbor and soon dropping by for dinners chez Styrons; the Kennedys having rowdy sleepovers . . .
And she writes in detail about Bill Styron's full-on breakdowns, his recovery from the first depression; writing Darkness Visible . And fifteen years later, the second much worse crash; Bill Styron’s death; her year of grief, teaching at Harvard; living full time on the Vineyard and making a new full life there . . .
“[Rose Styron] has lived a life in interesting times, among legendary characters, a life well worth telling—and reading about.” — The Washington Post
An intimate portrait of a celebrated magic life and the famous and infamous who dropped in, summered, traveled with, played with, and the decades of friendship with everyone from Truman Capote and Robert Penn Warren to the Kennedys, the Bernsteins, Alexander Calder, John Hersey, and Lillian Hellman.
Here as well are the years of dedication and risk, traveling the world, from Pinochet’s Chile to El Salvador, Belfast, and Sarajevo, as Rose Styron, in search of those hiding from dictators and autocrats, bore witness to atrocities and human rights violations . . .
Styron writes of her childhood, born into a German Jewish, assimilated Baltimore family; a rebel from the start, studying poetry at Wellesley, Harvard, Johns Hopkins; traveling to Rome and her (second) meeting with Bill (the first time, “I can’t remember even shaking hands. I wasn’t thinking about him at all.”); their eventual marriage, and their more than fifty years together—in bucolic Roxbury, Connecticut, and on Martha's Vineyard.
She writes of Bill's writing and of retyping his manuscripts, discussing his writing progress, having babies, with visits from neighbors Arthur Miller; Mike Nichols and various wives; Dustin Hoffman buying the house over the hill; James Baldwin moving in to Styron’s writing studio and writing The Fire Next Time , with Baldwin encouraging Styron to write Nat Turner in first person; Frank Sinatra, sailing into Vineyard Haven Harbor and soon dropping by for dinners chez Styrons; the Kennedys having rowdy sleepovers . . .
And she writes in detail about Bill Styron's full-on breakdowns, his recovery from the first depression; writing Darkness Visible . And fifteen years later, the second much worse crash; Bill Styron’s death; her year of grief, teaching at Harvard; living full time on the Vineyard and making a new full life there . . .
352 pages, Hardcover
Published June 13, 2023
61 people are currently reading
395 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
July 6, 2023
Very inside baseball, read like a diary (“and this happened and this happened…). Also repetitive, could have used an editor. A shame because I admire Bill Styron and she wrote about his depression well.
December 29, 2023
We're supposed to love this book--feisty poet who married a talented writer/narcissist--and meets the worlds' most interesting authors, politicians, artists. She also did a lot of cloak-and-dagger human rights work which is commendable.
But this book was a slog. Never liked name droppers and this is a list of bold-faced luminaries. Also Mr. Styron sounds like a total jerk.
UPDATE:
Her story smells of a little bit of payback for Mr. Styron's bad behavior. His grieving widow paints him as a self-involved, neglectful father, who stymied her own career aspirations and honestly, who could blame her for pointing that out? Still she seems to want to have it both ways--to get some digs in while remaining the keeper of his flame.
Her narrative seems an excuse to recount (without much compelling detail) Rose's encounters with the world's rich, famous, and/or intellectuals without a framework to hang it them on. Disjointed and frankly tiresome.
But this book was a slog. Never liked name droppers and this is a list of bold-faced luminaries. Also Mr. Styron sounds like a total jerk.
UPDATE:
Her story smells of a little bit of payback for Mr. Styron's bad behavior. His grieving widow paints him as a self-involved, neglectful father, who stymied her own career aspirations and honestly, who could blame her for pointing that out? Still she seems to want to have it both ways--to get some digs in while remaining the keeper of his flame.
Her narrative seems an excuse to recount (without much compelling detail) Rose's encounters with the world's rich, famous, and/or intellectuals without a framework to hang it them on. Disjointed and frankly tiresome.
August 21, 2023
Beyond this harbor was a very good book about the life of Rose Styron. Here is a woman who lived her entire life helping people around the world with amnesty international.
July 20, 2023
As with all memoirs, this one wanders around a bit, but the heart of the memoirist emerges fully and graciously. She is someone I would have liked to have known. I also learned much about Styron’s political activism, which I had known only a little about.
July 5, 2023
Entertaining read, packed life, some excellent writing, but needed a good editor!
December 17, 2023
Extremely skimmable. Some interesting material on her work with Amnesty International, vignettes about home life with William Styron (incl. their monogamish marriage, his writing routines, etc.), and of particular interest from my point of view her experiences of being his wife during WS's periods of being profoundly depressed. I liked his depression memoir Darkness Visible quite a bit, and the corresponding segments here make an interesting complementary perspective, especially given that he had a major relapse some years after the experience about which he had written.
So.....I don't have an exact count, but there's an excellent roughly 50-page book lurking here on topics listed above. Unfortunately, the actual book is 331 pages because (a) apparently Bill and Rose knew every famous person of the last couple generations and socialized with them quite a bit, and Rose remembers all of it -- the board games, the friendly tennis matches, the outdoor parties on Martha's Vineyard, and (b) there was apparently no editor on duty at Alfred Knopf this year.
I realize boredom is subjective, so see what you think of this fairly representative passage from near the end, p. 325:
"Carly Simon and I miss the frequent summer visits she [Mia Farrow] used to pay us on the Vineyard.
Unfortunately I haven't seen Carly this year. She had some leg problems and was less mobile and even more Covid-protective than some of us. And I never went to swim at her welcoming pool where we might possibly have visited. I hear she has designed and put up original wallpaper with her own floral patterns around the house. Could the wallpaper be as beautiful as her uniquely designed silk scarves I wear?"
Now there's a cliffhanger. What does Carly Simon's wallpaper look like? Can we confirm that she designed it herself? What are some other places besides the pool at which you did not see her this year? I demand a sequel to get to the bottom of these lingering questions!
I shouldn't be mean. Ms. Styron is highly accomplished and has led an eventful life, and I'm confident many more people are interested in her blow-by-blow reminiscences than would be in mine. But everybody needs an editor!
So.....I don't have an exact count, but there's an excellent roughly 50-page book lurking here on topics listed above. Unfortunately, the actual book is 331 pages because (a) apparently Bill and Rose knew every famous person of the last couple generations and socialized with them quite a bit, and Rose remembers all of it -- the board games, the friendly tennis matches, the outdoor parties on Martha's Vineyard, and (b) there was apparently no editor on duty at Alfred Knopf this year.
I realize boredom is subjective, so see what you think of this fairly representative passage from near the end, p. 325:
"Carly Simon and I miss the frequent summer visits she [Mia Farrow] used to pay us on the Vineyard.
Unfortunately I haven't seen Carly this year. She had some leg problems and was less mobile and even more Covid-protective than some of us. And I never went to swim at her welcoming pool where we might possibly have visited. I hear she has designed and put up original wallpaper with her own floral patterns around the house. Could the wallpaper be as beautiful as her uniquely designed silk scarves I wear?"
Now there's a cliffhanger. What does Carly Simon's wallpaper look like? Can we confirm that she designed it herself? What are some other places besides the pool at which you did not see her this year? I demand a sequel to get to the bottom of these lingering questions!
I shouldn't be mean. Ms. Styron is highly accomplished and has led an eventful life, and I'm confident many more people are interested in her blow-by-blow reminiscences than would be in mine. But everybody needs an editor!
February 26, 2025
I have been a fan of William Styron's work ever since I first watched "Sophie's Choice" and then read the book (one of the few times a movie was as good, if not a little better, than the book). I have read just about every book related to Styron, although admittedly, I have not read any of his other novels. Of course, I knew he was married, but I never knew that much about Rose Styron. I listened to the audiobook and have to admit I was a bit thrown when the author, now 96, read the opening chapter before the regular narrator took over. If she had read the entire book, I doubt I would have completed it.
Like many memoirs, especially one written by someone famous, there are a lot of dropped names in this book, but, of course, since it's about her and she experienced all she is writing about, that is not unexpected. I think the most moving part of the book came when she discussed William Stryon's depression. His short book, "Darkness Visible" was written after his first major bout, and I read it when it came out. I had no idea, however, that he had gone through a second battle, which he never really overcame.
This is not a perfect book, but I still gave it five stars because it started slow but greatly improved. It is definitely worth the time.
Like many memoirs, especially one written by someone famous, there are a lot of dropped names in this book, but, of course, since it's about her and she experienced all she is writing about, that is not unexpected. I think the most moving part of the book came when she discussed William Stryon's depression. His short book, "Darkness Visible" was written after his first major bout, and I read it when it came out. I had no idea, however, that he had gone through a second battle, which he never really overcame.
This is not a perfect book, but I still gave it five stars because it started slow but greatly improved. It is definitely worth the time.
July 25, 2023
A thoroughly engrossing and fascinating tale of a remarkable woman. I tore through this book, savoring sections and stories of her childhood, adolescence and adulthood traveling the world and raising a family with Bill (one of America’s greatest), befriending the famous (and not), and relishing life through many, many fascinating trips and gatherings. I had the pleasure of meeting Rose once, in the mid ‘90s, when she and Bill hosted a small, post-event dinner at an NYC restaurant. Sitting next to her for hours, I was captivated by her gentleness, eloquence, curiosity and mind boggling courage. I so enjoyed devouring this marvelous telling of so many wonderful stories. This woman loves, and cares, more deeply than most. We are truly fortunate to have her contributions. Thank you, Rose, for this glorious book!
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August 4, 2023Rose Styron seemed destined for a charmed life.
When she was just 10 years old, on vacation to Mexico City, Rose announced she wanted “more than anything” to meet the great realist painter Diego Rivera.
A few days later, she was in his studio. After showing her his “beautiful and horrible pictures,” the larger-than-life muralist shook her hand and said: “I hope someday you’ll be as great a painter as I.”
Styron didn’t become a painter, but like Rivera, she did become an artist (a fine poet), political activist, and celebrity magnet.
Her new memoir, “Beyond This Harbor: Adventurous Tales of the Heart” (Knopf), chronicles her star-studded exploits with her novelist husband, Bill Styron.
Read the rest of my story for The NY Post here: https://nypost.com/2023/07/22/poet-ro...
When she was just 10 years old, on vacation to Mexico City, Rose announced she wanted “more than anything” to meet the great realist painter Diego Rivera.
A few days later, she was in his studio. After showing her his “beautiful and horrible pictures,” the larger-than-life muralist shook her hand and said: “I hope someday you’ll be as great a painter as I.”
Styron didn’t become a painter, but like Rivera, she did become an artist (a fine poet), political activist, and celebrity magnet.
Her new memoir, “Beyond This Harbor: Adventurous Tales of the Heart” (Knopf), chronicles her star-studded exploits with her novelist husband, Bill Styron.
Read the rest of my story for The NY Post here: https://nypost.com/2023/07/22/poet-ro...
December 29, 2023
Some of the international intrigues and underground activism of the author's had my heart pounding as I read. A dinner party at which Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Bill Clinton covertly managed some diplomacy is probably worth the cover price by itself. So many luminaries are mentioned on every page that I sometimes felt envious, excluded. But I think that's partly because the author's tone is so lucid and so understated that the book comes off more modestly than it needs to. She's an accomplished and important American literary figure and I'm glad this chronicle exists. I was disappointed at first that the book has no index; it surely could benefit from one. But I wonder if that was a deliberate choice meant to keep people reading rather than flipping through to search for mentions.
June 7, 2025
Having known Rose and the Styron family for some time—and serving as Mr. Styron’s private nurse until his passing—I had a rare window into their world, particularly in his later years. Rose is a remarkable woman who has lived an extraordinarily colorful life. This book captures her voice, her perspective, and the layered complexity of her thoughts and experiences. She poured her heart into these pages. It’s raw, honest, and, at times, beautifully chaotic—just like life itself.
Being around both Rose and Mr. Styron deeply inspired me to pursue my own passion for writing. My debut novel is largely drawn from that chapter of my life and the profound impact it had on me as a writer and a person.
Being around both Rose and Mr. Styron deeply inspired me to pursue my own passion for writing. My debut novel is largely drawn from that chapter of my life and the profound impact it had on me as a writer and a person.
October 10, 2024
Being the descendant of close friends of Mrs.,Styron’s Baltimore, Maryland and having seen her interviewed I was eager to read her memoir. It was shockingly slow. Major criticism as the constant name dropping. Benefit of the writer: she didn’t want to leave anyone out.. But it came off as insecurity. I perceive her as fun and a great conversationalist. Where was the editor brave enough to cut through the names?
January 1, 2024
It’s a well written biography. I would have liked more focus on her activist activities and work as a poet. I liked the part about her struggles with her husband’s depression. Not so much all the info about the movers and shakers they entertained on the vineyard. Sometimes felt like she was trying to chronicle every encounter she ever had with some celebrity or political person.
October 25, 2023
Watched the documentary, which was fascinating, then read the book. Great insight into the lives of the Styron’s and their incredible band of talented friends. Anyone who loves literature, politics and social activism will be glad they sought this one out. Highly recommend.
May 8, 2024
i skimmed a lot of parts as they ran together lists of bold type names so often it went from amusing to kind of pathetic really. but the parts on her husband william styron were interesting and very sad.
May 22, 2024
Fascinating-riveting-revealing. I loved this book!! Styron has fully lived an active and activists life. Her friends and cohorts are also people who fascinate me-I loved hearing such a first-hand account of her many contemporaries-highly recommend!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 17, 2023
Extraordinary. I knew nothing about Rose Styron, but she has had quite an interesting life. Full of politics, writing, creativity, and activism.
March 15, 2024
This book made me feel as though I was a companion on this brilliant lady's adventures. Totally enjoyable.
January 17, 2025
This book was disappointing. The writing was dull, often repetitive. The constant name-dropping was a real turnoff.
October 6, 2025
Couldn't quite finish. Great writer but felt too braggy. About 30 pages short of the end.
October 11, 2025
Audiobook. Even at 1.5 speed this dragged. Way too much ‘we had dinner with this one, that one and the other one’. I wouldn’t recommend it.
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February 24, 2024A hint of ego, but I don’t blame her. Fascinating life.
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July 29, 2023A strong start, but DNF.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews