A Walk on the Beach: Tales of Wisdom From an Unconventional Woman
by By Anderson, Joan
Category: Biography & Autobiography , Women

From the author of the bestselling A Year By the Sea, comes the inspiring story about how her and Joan Erikson's friendship pushed them to remember the importance of transformation and sustained them through their unique challenges.  Shortly after arriving on Cape Cod to spend a year by herself, Joan Anderson’s chance   encounter with a wise and astonishing woman helped her usher in the self-discoveries that led to her ongoing renewal. First glimpsed as a slender   figure on a fogged-in beach, Joan Erikson was not only a friend and confidante when   she was most needed, but also a guide as Anderson stretched and grew into her unfinished   self. Joan Erikson was perhaps best known for her collaboration with her husband,   Erik, a pioneering psychoanalyst and noted author. After Erik’s death, she wrote   several books extending their theory of the stages of life to reflect her understanding   of aging as she neared ninety-five. But her wisdom was best taught through their   friendship; as she sat with Anderson, weaving tapestries of their lives with brightly   colored yarn while exploring the strength gathered from their accumulated experiences,   Joan Erikson’s lessons took shape on their small cardboard looms as well as in her   friend’s revitalized life. In writing about their extraordinary friendship, Anderson   reveals a need she didn’t know she had: for a mentor to help navigate the transitions   she faced as she grew beyond middle age. And when Joan Erikson had to face her husband’s   death and the growing limitations of her own body, Anderson was able to give back   some of the wisdom she had gleaned. To this poignant, joyful account, Joan Anderson   brings the candor and sensitivity that have made her an acclaimed speaker and writer   on midlife and its possibilities. A Walk on the Beach is an experience to savor and   treasure, a glimpse of the exuberant spirit that can be sustained and passed on in   all our friendships.