A Circle of Quiet

The Crosswicks Journals, Book 1

By: Madeleine L'Engle

Narrated by: Pamela Almand

Length: 7 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's summary

The beloved author of A Wrinkle in Time takes an introspective look at her life and muses on creativity in this memoir, the first of her Crosswicks Journals.

Every so often I need OUT.... My special place is a small brook in a green glade, a circle of quiet from which there is no visible sign of human beings.... I sit there, dangling my legs and looking through the foliage at the sky reflected in the water, and things slowly come back into perspective.

Set against the lush backdrop of Crosswicks, her family's farmhouse in rural Connecticut, this deeply personal memoir details Madeleine L'Engle's journey to find balance between her career as a Newbery Medal-winning author and her responsibilities as a wife, mother, teacher, and Christian.

As she considers the roles that creativity, family, citizenship, and faith play in her life, L'Engle reveals the complexities behind the author whose works - honored with the National Book Award, the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award, and countless other prizes - have long been cherished by children and adults alike. Written in simple, profound, and often humorous prose, A Circle of Quiet is an insightful woman's elegant search for the meaning and purpose of her life.

©1972 Crosswicks, Inc. (P)2017 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Absolutely wonderful!

Where have I been all my life! Madeline L’Engle is superb in every way and she I believe will go down in history as a great artist, writer, thought leader!

Thank you!!

I am so thankful to Madeleine for her vulnerability, her honesty and her recognizing, and acknowledging the mystery of the Love incarnate. Pamela‘s narration is exquisite and expressively reveals Madeleine’s personality through her voice.

Surprisingly Relevant

This book is beautiful and slow- a book about creativity, motherhood, self, identity, faith, art and life! It feels as if it could have been written in 2022- all of it is still relevant and thought provoking

Joy the writer the narrator the exploration

Nothing, loved hearing the enlightened journey and the makes this a total of fifteen words

A refreshing and life giving read.

I read this book back in 1986 and swore if I ever had a little girl I would name her Madeline because of L’Engle’s wisdom. How delightful to read this again as an audio book. Her love for others, generosity, and honesty written in the early 1970’s still holds true, if not even more so in our day-and-age. For a read in the spirit of Annie Dillard, or contemporary writers like Elizabeth Gilbert or Anne Lamont, “A Circle of Quiet” certainly delivers. If you need a little hope, a little joy, or words of an honest friend, grab a cup a coffee or go for a walk and give this a listen.

The woman reading did a lovely job. The only odd thing is the numbering of the chapters in the audio book is wrong (you go from being I believe in the teens to back to “one” again... several times). Don’t let it throw you.

Just What I Needed

Have you ever read just the right book at just the right time? That’s what this was for me. I honestly wasn’t thrilled about reading a memoir, but I had it and I needed something to listen to. Suddenly I realized it was hard to stop listening. Mrs. L’Engle’s wisdom was speaking so much truth to my soul.

With age I think there becomes a greater ability to let down one’s guard and tell it like it is. There is less fear of how one might come across or what others think. It is in this rawness that I learned so much. I find myself struggling with many of the balances Mrs. L’Engle as I try to balance my roles as an artist and mother. It has seemed like a lonely path, but after listening to this book I feel like maybe I’m not so alone, not so odd as I thought I might be.

I’m eager to read more of her memoirs.

A wrinkle in time and space and the heavens

Would you listen to A Circle of Quiet again? Why?

Yes, I would. The thoughts and wondering of the author are the same as all of us and she has good ideas for a lot of my doubts. It had some slow moments, though, but I was expecting her fiction style, maybe

Which scene was your favorite?

All of her family memories and her thoughts on life in general are little nutshells of wisdom and peace and how she finds happiness in all the questions of our times.

Any additional comments?

The audiobook is one you'll listen to a lot. The narration is superb and sounds just like I would picture Madeleine L'Engle having a cup of coffee with me and chatting about life.

I Love Madeleine L'Engle!!!

I loved this book so much! And reading this reminds me of how much I love Madeleine L'Engle and how much I want to read (and re-read) everything she wrote!

I shouldn't really be surprised given how much I love L'Engle's Wrinkle in Time books. And this book gives us her thoughts on everything from theology, writing, children’s education, writing books for children vs. adults, and more.

There is also encouragement here for those who want to see their own books published: A Wrinkle in Time was rejected 26 times before it was published!

#Spirituality #Inspiring #writing #tagsgiving #sweepstakes

Wonderful!!

I really enjoyed getting to know L’Engle a little bit by hearing her story in her voice. What an amazing woman.