 | Price Comparisons: Rental | | Sorry, the textbook you were looking for is not available as Rental, at any of the stores we searched. | Summaries and Customer Reviews are supplied by Amazon.com | In her funny and wistful new book, Reeve Lindbergh contemplates entering a new stage in life, turning sixty, the period her mother, Anne Morrow Lindbergh, once described as "the youth of old age." It is a time of life, she writes, that produces some unexpected surprises. Age brings loss, but also love; disaster, but also delight. The second-graders Reeve taught many years ago are now middle-aged; her own children grow, marry, have children themselves. "Time flies," she observes, "but if I am willing to fly with it, then I can be airborne, too." A milestone birthday is also an opportunity to take stock of oneself, although such self-reflection may lead to nothing more than the realization, as Reeve puts it, "that I just seem to continue being me, the same person I was at twelve and at fifty." At sixty, as she observes, "all I really can do with the rest of my life is to...feel all of it, every bit of it, as much as I can for as long as I can." Age is only one of many subjects that Reeve writes about with perception and insight. In northern Vermont, nature is an integral part of daily life, especially on a farm. Whether it is the arrival and departure of certain birds in spring and fall, wandering turtles, or the springtime ritual of lambing, the natural world is a constant revelation. With a wry sense of humor, Reeve contemplates the infirmities of the aging body, as well as the many new drugs that treat these maladies. Briefly considering the risks of drug dependency, she writes that "the least we [the "Sixties Generation"] can do for ourselves is live up to our mythology, and take lots of drugs." Legal drugs, that is -- although what sustains us as we grow older is not drugs but an appreciation for life, augmented by compassion, a sense of humor, and common sense. And of course there is family -- especially with the Lindberghs. Reeve writes about discovering, thirty years after her father's death and two and a half years after her mother's, that her father had three secret families in Europe. She travels to meet them, learning to expand her self-understanding: "daughter of," "mother of," "sister of" -- sister of many more siblings than she'd known, in a family more complicated than even she had imagined. Forward from Here is a brave book, a reflective book, a funny book -- a book that will charm and fascinate anyone on the journey from middle age to the uncertain future that lies ahead. |
Average Customer Rating:   Forward From Here Too much of the past stories of her life. Title misleading- not current and looking forward Reeve Lindbergh looks forward. About a year ago I read Forward From Here by Reeve Lindbergh. It is a fascinating book telling stories about her present life, and a bit about her childhood years as the daughter of Charles Lindbergh. Parts of the book are humorous, parts are serious. All of the book is optimistic. I liked it so much I bought another copy (from Amazon) to send to my sister who is delighted. It's Nice to Know You're Not Alone Thanks to the author for making me at least consider leaving middle age an unexpected adventure! That point of view will take a bit of getting used to, I'm afraid. These well-written essays about one person's life observations are very comforting, enjoyable and optimistic. I can relate to many of her experiences and thoughts and appreciate her sharing them. I also enjoyed the humor especially in Chapter 17, "Living With the Dog". So true and the very last page of that chapter had me in tears from laughing so hard!
Well done, Reeve. And by the way, I think I'm in love with your husband! What a jewel! Great read for anybody entering or passing through middle age! I usually try to read at least one book per week and, also, listen
to one book on tape or CD . . . it was difficult to find the time to
do the listening while away, so this past week I instead managed
to read a second book . . . its review follows:
Turning sixty is something I can relate to, in that I'll be celebrating
that birthday next June.
Anne Morrow Lindbergh in FORWARD FROM HERE describes
how she went through a similar experience . . . as she enters
the period her mother once described as "the youth of old
age," the author details the many unexpected surprises
she has encountered.
Her observations were amusing at times, yet also
oh-so-insightful--such as this one:
* As I grew older and older, I got more used to the idea that death
would happen to everybody, including me, but that in my case it
would not happen for a very very very very long time. By the time it
happened, I hoped, I would be so old that it wouldn't bother me. This
is not quite true yet, but again, I think I may be getting there. I hope it
takes me a while longer. There's no need to rush.
As I journey on, I carry my lost loved ones with me: my sister, my mother,
and all the others. I have learned over the years that I can do this, that
love continues beyond loss. It continues not abstractly but intimately,
and it continues forever. My experience has also made me understand
that loss is inevitable, and that loss, too, continues forever, right along
with love.
I also liked what the author had to say about pets of all kinds . . . she
devotes two chapters to birds . . . however, it was this observation
about her dog that especially caught my attention:
* Many of our visitors, seeing that we had a dog, entered the house
with loud voices and waving hands, making a noisy fuss over him. This
kind of behavior just caused the poor dog to slink off into a corner
and stay there until the visitors left. Helen Wolff came in without
commotion and then sat quietly and drank her tea, like the well-behaved
guest that she was. The dog came over to greet her, eventually, sniffing
her hand and wagging his tail, probably grateful for her good manners. She
told me once that she felt it was better to let animals or children come
to her, if they wished to, rather than the other way around.
The part of FORWARD FROM HERE that most caught my attention
was Lindbergh's account of how she discovered thirty years after
the death of her father (famed aviator Charles Lindbergh) that
he had three secret families in Europe . . . upon this discovery,
she then went to meet them--discovering that her new extended
family was far more complicated than she had ever imagined.
A wonderful; book and thoroughly enjoyable This is one of the best books that I've ever read. I've ordered others for my friends. |  |
Select button not working? 
