Summary of May Sarton's Journal of a Solitude

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 I am afraid of being alone again. I have made an open place for meditation, but I am afraid I will not be able to find myself inside it. I think of these pages as a way of doing that.

#2 I have begun to realize that the anguish of my life here is hardly mentioned in Plant Dreaming Deep. The book gives a false view of my life. I live alone, perhaps for no good reason. I am an impossible creature who is set apart by a temperament I have never learned to use as it could be used.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Apr 27, 2022
• ISBN: 9781669394891

IRB Media

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Book preview

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

I am afraid of being alone again. I have made an open place for meditation, but I am afraid I will not be able to find myself inside it. I think of these pages as a way of doing that.

#2

I have begun to realize that the anguish of my life here is hardly mentioned in Plant Dreaming Deep. The book gives a false view of my life. I live alone, perhaps for no good reason. I am an impossible creature who is set apart by a temperament I have never learned to use as it could be used.

Insights from Chapter 2

#1

I visited my old friend Perley Cole, who was dying, and I was attacked by a storm of tears when I saw how lonely he was. I wanted to hold him like a baby, but I was afraid of breaking his bones.

#2

The young girl who sent me a letter was not expecting praise or recognition, but she had still written to me to ask for advice. It is troubling how many people expect applause, recognition, when they have not even begun to learn an art or a craft.

Insights from Chapter 3

#1

The value of solitude is that there is nothing to cushion against attacks from within, and nothing to help balance at times of particular stress or depression. The reasons for depression are not as important as how you handle them.

Insights from Chapter 4

#1

The most hopeful sign in these hard times is how much individual initiative manages to make its way through the