An affecting diary of one year&’s hardships and healing, by one of the twentieth century&’s most extraordinary memoirists For decades, readers have celebrated May Sarton&’s journals for their candid look at relationships, success and failure, communion with nature, and the curious stages of aging. In Recovering, Sarton focuses on her sixty-sixth year—one marked by the turmoil of a mastectomy, the end of a treasured relationship, and the loneliness that visits a life of chosen solitude. Each deeply felt entry in the journal, written between 1978 and 1979, is laced with poignancy and honesty as she grapples with a cold reception for her latest novel, the sad descent of a close friend into senility, and other struggles. Despite the trials of this one painful year, Sarton writes of her progression toward a hard-won renewal, achieved through good friendships, the levity provided by her cherished dog, and peaceful days in her garden. A candid account of Sarton&’s revival from personal darkness back into light, Recovering is another stunning entry in the author&’s irrepressible oeuvre.
