Gift from the Sea is a beautiful story about the author's summer of solitude on the shore. She uses the different shells she finds to represent the different stages of a woman's life. While living alone in a beach shack, she learns to appreciate living simply, finding joy in the mundane while reflecting on the richness of life.

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A classic that never goes out of style.

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Anne Morrow Lindbergh's sensitive study of family relationships through the lessons of nature. A timeless classic.

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Amazon.com
I found a 1955 printing of this book in an old waterfront cabin and was struck by the care with which the previous owner had read it. Eve (the name inscribed inside the front cover and then again above the heading for chapter 3) made pencil marks on nearly every paragraph of the book, underlining a phrase, highlighting many passages with strong vertical marks, scratching out some words that she seems to have found superfluous and even x-ing out whole sections that apparently missed their mark with her altogether. Two rusting paper clips isolate several pages, absent any marking at all. Anne Morrow Lindbergh's lyrical words are still relevant and presage so many of the themes of today's most popular books: simplicity, peaceful solitude, caring for the soul, a woman finding her place in society and life. I heard that the woman who had lived in the cabin had actually passed away some time before. Thank you, Eve, for your gift... from the sea.

Book Description
modern-day classic. "Gift from the Sea is like a shell itself in its small and perfect form . . . It tells of light and life and love and the security that lies at the heart."--New York Times Book Review.

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Author reflects on "the profound need in women for self-realization; the need for each woman . . .to learn and relearn the painful lesson that 'woman must come of age by herself - she must fine her true center alone.'"

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Listened to the audio this afternoon after @Butterflyamore and her husband, Josh, made a You-Tube video and mentioned this book as one of Josh's favorite books. It is a very short book (143 Pgs) with lots of wisdom from Charles Lindbergh's wife, Anne Morrow Lindbergh. I enjoyed it very much and even though it was written in 1955 the messages are relevant even today. As it was a 2 hour 24 minutes audiobook, I would highly recommended to all!

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Thoughtfully written. A wonderful escape while reading and a good guide to life's lessons.

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Anne Morrow Lindbergh has a perception of the stages of a woman's life that transcends decades into women's lives thoughout this century. I feel every woman can identify with her as she eloquently compares the sea shells with the stages of a woman's life. I find it hard to describe the empowerment I feel after I have given much of my power over to the challenges of life. It is renewing.

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A book that stays with you forever. Thought-provoking, easy to read. Wonderful!

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A beautifully written book from many years ago that contains some wonderfully timeless messages for women. A quick read with bits of perhaps old-fashioned wisdom that can still offer help in today's society with all its many stresses and demands.

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Each woman must learn and relearn the painful lesson that 'woman must come of age by herself-she must find her true center alone.'

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If you love walking along the seashore gathering up seashells. If you enjoy sitting quietly with interesting and unique thoughts being shared with you, you will appreciate Gift from the Sea. I read this book at least once a year -- the pages are covered with yellow marker and red circles.

Relationships are a challenge to live and understand. This book offers rich insights. It is not a book to speed read, but to open, read a few lines and then let them wander your mind for a while. "A good relationship has the pattern like a dance and is built on some of the same rules."

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AML speaks eloquently of the need for solitude.

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Lovely and wise. I related so strongly to her thoughts on motherhood and her struggle for independence despite the extraordinary demands of caring for children and a home.

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An most inspiring book for quiet reading and perusing.

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Thought provoking! Provides one with good fodder for the mind or, as they say, grist for the mill. Women can find themselves in this book.

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In this memoir, Anne Morrow reflects on the lives of Americans, particularly the lives of American women, in the mid-twentieth-century. She shares her meditations on youth and age; love and marriage; peace, solitude and contentment with life using the beach, the sea and the descriptions of several seashells that she discovered washed up on the sand as a backdrop. Written during a two-week vacation to Florida's Captiva Island in the early 1950s, Anne seeks to answer life's deeper questions and find inner tranquility.

I actually tried to read this book for the first time sometime in 2003 or so, but was only able to finish the first chapter, I think. I had set the book aside because it was just not catching my attention at the time. Anyway, I was looking to read something short after finishing Quinn by Iris Johansen and decided to give Gift From the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh a second chance.

While I am certainly glad that I eventually read this book, I found it to be slightly abstract and I ended up not enjoying it as much as I thought I would. This book was one that I acquired from a library book sale that Mareena and I went to on September 11, 2001, and was one of several books that I found stashed in my closet last night. I give Gift From the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh a B+!

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Very good read. I've read this twice so far and purchased a new copy to share with a friend. Thought provoking and insightful writings that reflected my own internal dialogue and struggles. If you know about the authors private life, it's even more humbling and inspiring.

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