Beachcombing at Miramar: The Quest for an Authentic Life

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About Beachcombing At Miramar: The Quest For An Authentic

Product Description EDITING ANNOTATION FOR ISBN -- 0446672769 TITLE: BEACHCOMBING AT MIRAMAR BY BODE RICHARD C0In this "restful book about the companions we choose and the pace at which we live our lives" ("Los Angeles Times"), the bestselling author of "First You Have to Row a Little Boat" recounts his decision to leave an unfulfilling career and move to a small beach cottage. There, as he walks on the beach and observes the people around him, Bode gradually gains insight into many of the deep mysteries of life. From Publishers Weekly It's a common enough fantasy, moving to a hut on the beach, but Bode, author of the word-of-mouth bestseller First You Have to Row a Little Boat (1993), lives it. In this lyrical memoir, he imparts some of the quiet wonder he's found in his simple, unhurried existence. Before Bode came to Miramar, Calif., he toiled for years at a New York public relations firm that promised to make him a millionaire. But he fled, to work as a freelance writer. After 30 years of marriage, his children grown, he divorced his wife and settles on the beach. Bode cautions that "a beachcomber's life is a demanding one that calls for discipline and zeal... it's the endless seeing that causes the psychic strain. It's the richness of life in the tidal zone." The seeing here is clear-eyed and limned in sculpted, resonant prose, as Bode tells of soaking up natural beauty while confronting personal demons. He recoils when an old business associate pressures him to ghostwrite a speech: A "ghost" is what he doesn't want to be. Frantic, lonely people cross his path, as does a vibrant Portuguese woman. A dowdy, elderly couple walk past his porch. The man is bald and the woman has a wart on her cheek, but their smiles are radiant. With contemplative intensity, Bode creates here one of those small miracles of writing able to pierce the heart. Author tour. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Library Journal To become a beachcomber and be able to walk the beach at leisure is a dream of many. Bode (First You Have To Row a Little Boat: Reflections on Life and Living, Warner, 1993) leaves a job from which he was deriving no personal satisfaction and a wife of 30 years to become a beachcomber. He gets a beach house at Miramar Beach, California, and uses his time walking the beach and ruminating about sand dollars, jellyfish, and the mist and tide in his self-described journey to the center of himself. The days and nights of irregular and random beachcombing allow him to reflect on who he is, who he wants to be, and what it means to be human. This striving for an authentic life makes this book sensitive and worthwhile reading. Recommended for public libraries.?David Schau, Kanawha Cty. P.L., Charleston, W. Va.Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. From the Back Cover Richard Bode left an unfulfilling career and an unhappy marriage to seek the truth about his life. On a California beach he contemplated the sea and shore, and tuned himself to the rhythm of the tides. His authentic self emerged. And in this remarkable and beautiful book, he shares the lessons he learned about the art of living. What does it mean to be a husband and a father? What does it mean to be a success, to be someone's lover, someone's son? Bode finds surprising answers in surprising places: in a sunset, in a piece of beach glass, in conversations shared and conversations overheard, in memories of his father. Beachcombing At Miramar is filled with unforgettable moments: a funeral for drowned fishermen, birds at dusk, and constellations in the night. And with each word picture, painted with the passion and clarity that Gauguin sought in Tahiti, Bode shows us how to see with new eyes the choices we make - from relationships we choose to relationships we flee, from careers we pursue to the ones that consume us.