Against Wind and Tide

February 27, 2012
These previously unpublished diaries and letters are by (1906–2001) the wife of Charles Lindbergh, herself an aviator and bestselling author of Gift from the Sea, which rehabilitated an image tarnished by her and her husband Charles’s support of fascism.) Written between Lindbergh’s 40s and her 80th birthdays, the book begins with her anguish contemplating an abortion when pregnant for a seventh time and ends with a letter to Reeve, her youngest daughter, a year after the death of Reeve’s infant son. In between, Lindbergh frets over German suffering in the wake of WWII; discusses her working life as a writer and her psychoanalysis for her depression; and reels with the shock of JFK’s assassination. There is much about her ambivalence toward her husband: she doesn’t expect marriage to fill her essential loneliness or that she will be Charles’s only nourishment. (In fact, after Anne’s death, Charles’s extramarital liaisons and illegitimate children became public.) She feels abandoned by his frequent absences while she also sees how the artist in her benefits from solitude; she’s ashamed of her jealousy and bitter over his success as a writer; but after Charles’s death in 1974 she expresses acute grief, numbness and disorientation, and how she hates time rushing him away. A perceptive, intimate, and spirited journey of a woman as artist, wife, and mother. Agent: Jennie Dunham, Dunham Literary Agency.

November 1, 2011

While Lindbergh published five volumes of letter and journal excerpts in her lifetime, much material remained when she died in 2001. This sixth and final volume begins in 1947 and proceeds to the turmoil of the Sixties. Lindbergh still has eager readers.

Copyright 2011 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2012
Although often eclipsed by the star power of her husband, Charles Lindbergh, Anne Morrow Lindbergh (19062001) was herself a pioneer aviator and a gifted writer of some renown. This collection of letters and journal entries edited by her youngest daughter comprises the latterand perhaps the less sensational but more introspectivehalf of her life. From 1947 to 1986, she produced, in addition to books of memoir (Gift from the Sea) and poetry (The Unicorn and Other Poems), copious missives to friends, acquaintances, and family members. These letters, coupled with her diaries, provide searing insight into the inner life of her brilliant and sensitive mind. Equally fascinating are the tidbits she drops about her unconventional, yet essentially interdependent, relationship with Lucky Lindy. A witness to and active participant in almost an entire century of progress, Lindbergh certainly had a lot to muse about.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)

Starred review from April 1, 2012

These previously unpublished letters and diary entries composed by Lindbergh (1906-2001; Gift from the Sea) between the ages of 40 and 80 make up the sixth volume of such writings. The collection is full of introspective, beautifully crafted accounts of joys and conflicts; a recurring theme is Lindbergh's frustration at the confines of prescribed gender roles. Her youngest daughter, Reeve, edits this final volume (the previous ones were published by Anne Lindbergh in her lifetime). Lindbergh was an avid letter writer, corresponding during these years with well-known people such as Lady Bird Johnson and Leonard Bernstein. She wrote thoughtfully and encouragingly to her children, although she felt burdened at times as a wife and mother. She longed for the solitude needed for creativity, yet she also questioned her view of solitude as a higher state of being. Her husband, Charles Lindbergh, was often absent but plays a prominent role here as Anne frequently writes to or about him, including reflections following his death in 1974. VERDICT This is a rich and inviting book. Lindbergh's fame and the popularity of memoir make it an enticing publication to be added to all collections that include the author's works. [See Prepub Alert, 9/29/11.]--Stacy Russo, Santa Ana Coll. Lib., CA

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.