Gift from the Sea

By: Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Narrated by: Claudette Colbert

Length: 2 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's Summary

In this inimitable, beloved classic - graceful, lucid, and lyrical - Anne Morrow Lindbergh shares her meditations on youth and age; love and marriage; peace, solitude, and contentment as she set them down during a brief vacation by the sea. A mother of five, an acclaimed writer and a pioneering aviator, Lindbergh casts an unsentimental eye on the trappings of modernity that threaten to overwhelm us and helps readers find a space for contemplation and creativity within their own lives.

A groundbreaking, best-selling work when it was originally published in 1955, Gift from the Sea continues to be discovered by new generations of readers. With a new introduction by Lindbergh's daughter Reeve, this 50th-anniversary edition will give those who are revisiting the book and those who are coming upon it for the first time fresh insight into the life of this remarkable woman.

©1955, 1975, 1983, 2003 Anne Morrow Lindbergh; 2005 Random House, Inc. Random House Audio, a division of Random House, Inc.

A Treasure

I do not normally re-read books. But this is one I keep coming back to. As a wise friend told me - "It's a book someone gives you in your 30s, but you understand it in your 40s."

Oh, Anne - you continue to have such wonderful lessons for women as we go through different phases of our lives.

Claudette Colbert's voice was perfect for these gifts of reflection. Definitely a treasure.

7 of 7 people found this review helpful

Timeless Advise for Women (and everyone else)

Anne Lindbergh (the aviator's wife) collected her thoughts on life lessons/behaviors/needs while sitting on a beach in Florida. While her published work is aimed at women, her advise is sound for everyone. Live the simple life. Seek quiet moments for yourself in meditation. Interact intimately with others. Be unified in your marriage. Expand the neglected sides of self - heart, mind, and spirit. Seek to become whole.

The narration is not dry. Ms. Colbert reads and enunciates as if she was the author which brings the right amount of passion into the audiobook.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Excellent Reading of Poignant 1955 Essays

This reading by Claudette Colbert of Anne Morrow Lindbergh's wonderful, small book of essays on the need for solitude, quietude and simplicity, and the dance of individuals as couples, is a quiet masterpiece.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Excellent book wonderfully read.

What did you love best about Gift from the Sea?

It is written in an easy style that was a pleasure to read (I also bought the book) and an absolute pleasure to listen to.

Who was your favorite character and why?

There are no characters in this narrative. Just Lindberghs wonderful reflections on life and relationship.

What about Claudette Colbert’s performance did you like?

Her voice is amazing. I will listen to this again and again just to hear her read. Also, she is in character for Lindbergh and does it superbly.

What did you learn from Gift from the Sea that you would use in your daily life?

Look at the shell of your life and know yourself is just the begining. Her reflections on relationships is right on.

Any additional comments?

I read this book with a book club. The discussion went twice as long as usual. The book is just that good.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Worth revisiting

A book that can be re read over and over again. Seems to be timeless. It is amazing how poignant what she wrote so many years ago is still pertinent today.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Didn't Speak to Me

I read this as a book club selection. It isn't one I would have chosen on my own, and to be honest, I didn't enjoy it. I found it a bit dull, and a lot dated. This is not to say that the information Lindbergh shares isn't relevant or important; it just didn't speak to me. I didn't learn anything new from the book and I didn't walk away from it feeling any stronger or uplifted. In my opinion, the postscript is the best part of the book as it gives an update on Lindbergh's view of the topics she covers in her essays.

Claudette Colbert narrates it very well. Her voice adds nuance to the text and her reading feels very much like a theater performance. A very good one.

I'd recommend this book only to spiritually-minded women. If you find yourself stressed and overwhelmed by the responsibilities placed on you and you also like sea metaphors, you'll probably enjoy this book.

4 of 5 people found this review helpful

Encouraging and appropriate

As a wife and mother of five I found the storyline entertaining and insightful. Ironically, I was flying to vacation as I listened which is recommended by the author. Woman need to be reminded to take care of themselves to better care for their loved ones. Great book.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

This is a book you'll read over and over.

This pairs greatly with sacred marriage by Gary Thomas, best yes by Lysa turkeurst, and Mary heart in a Martha world (can't remember the female author).

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Disapointing

The Publisher's Summary and a recommendation from a friend is the reason I downloaded this book. I like these type of self-help books. The narrator was good but that is the only positive thing I can say about this listen. The author wrote as if addressing ignorant, child-like readers. The serene tone droned on and on and whatever point she made, she overly explained. I had no patience for it and gave it up midway. I would not recommend the purchase of this book.

7 of 12 people found this review helpful

Page 106

“One cannot collect all the beautiful shells on the beach.” Opening passages, 7th Chapter, P. 106 of the book.

Nor do I expect to read/listen to all the books and audiobooks in my library, or available more and more everywhere.

This “Gift” of a book written in 1955 is minimally anachronistic by 2019’s fierce sense of pride and heightened, prickly sensitivities, yet still vital, prophetic regarding “self-help” core themes.

The world still needs, more than ever, the book’s closing words: “Patience—Faith—Openness, is what the sea has to teach...Simplicity—Solitude—Intermittency...”