A beautiful memoir from a powerful and poignant writer and mother. L'Engle's descriptions of her home life and artistic endeavours all encourage any woman who longs to record the beauty and longing around her.

I've been in my apartment for 23 days now and although this is a hard time for many, I noticed something beautiful- people are playing! Adults are getting outside walking, running, or biking. They are gathering creatively by hosting happy hours, book clubs, and author events online. And, this is what is most interesting to me, they appear to be returning to things that brought them comfort in childhood- playing The Sims, creating art, and re-reading favorite books.

I too have been engaging in more play lately and can spend entire days lost to the outside world while being fully present in the world of stories, writing, and thinking. I also make time for yoga daily at noon. This week I rediscovered Madeleine L'Engle or rather, I discovered her for the first time- the woman behind the book. 

The concentration of a small child at play is analogous to the concentration of the artist of any discipline. In real play, which is real concentration, the child is not only outside time, he is outside himself.

Long ago I read A Wrinkle in Time, but receiving a copy of her new book of short stories, A Moment of Tenderness, is what launched me into my current exploration of the writer who passed away in 2007. 

A Moment of Tenderness is a collection of short stories discovered by her granddaughter in The Tower- the space above the garage where Madeleine used to write. The stories start with young protagonists and progressively advance in age the further you get through the book. I was impressed by Madeleine's skill in so many genres and learned about her annoyance that some of her books were marketed toward children. She felt she wrote for people and literature should not be put into limiting boxes. A Moment of Tenderness will be released on April 21st so please consider buying it from your local bookstore.

Reading these stories caused me to want to re-read A Wrinkle in Time which I enjoyed even more as an adult. I noticed things I hadn't before- science, religion, messages of love and human connection. Posting about my re-read on Facebook brought about more comments than I'm used to. I look forward to reading the rest of the series- books I hadn't gotten to as a child.

The good writer seems to be writing about himself, but has his eye always on that thread of the universe which runs through himself and all things. -Ralph Waldo Emerson

Finally, I started reading her memoirs and that is where I really found connection. A Circle of Quiet made me feel understood while challenging me to continue becoming. In the memoir created by looking back at her journals, Madeleine writes about writing, reading, relationships, religion. I loved her discussion of language and how it sets us free to think because are thoughts are limited when we do not have words to describe our thinking. Reading this gave me pages and pages of quotes that touched my soul. 

What are you rediscovering?

This was not my cup of tea. I love A Wrinkle in Time and with the movie coming out I was very excited when I remembered that I had this lurking on my Kindle. I am also a fan of memoir/spirituality/growth books so I figured it would be a slam dunk. Nope. L'Engle rubbed me the wrong way from the very beginning and it never got better. I would not recommend this one.

I have been a fan of the author since I was a child reading "A Wrinkle In Time." Madeleine L'Engle 's intellect and storytelling ability draws a reader into any of her books.
This book is quite different than the novels I read so long ago. This is more of a memoir and a revealing of her philosophies on writing, literature, religion, and life. It was so interesting to get a look behind the novels and learn more about the author.
If you are a fan of Madeleine L'Engle, pick up this book and enjoy.

This is a perfect use for a reissue...republishing the memoir/journal of a woman who truly thought about her life, her family, her writing, teaching, and her place in the world (and not in any grandiose sense). And there is careful thought here, about not only her family, her writing, her life, but also about the major questions of all life: good and evil, the presence or absence of God, how should children be taught meaningfully, how should one try to live a meaningful life.

Within these pages we meet the well known author of A Wrinkle in Time, who takes us through a young writer's struggles to create...and then to be recognized. We also see how her personal family develops both in New York City and in their beloved out-of-city home at Crosswicks, where they lived when her children were young. We also meet the church choir member who loves singing but isn't so certain about God. We see her at workshops helping teachers of children learn how best to approach them in meaningful and helpful ways. We also see her at the Iowa Writing workshop working with other writers as a guide and teacher.

L'Engle lived many existences but appears to have remained her same true self in them all. This was an exciting, at times delightful and inspiring book to read and I believe I will go on to read more episodes of her journal. Any book that so frequently finds me nodding in agreement or amazement at the "rightness" of something said, or highlighting for re-reading or possible quote, has left a mark on me. I very definitely recommend this to those interested not only in memoir but also those interested in writing, teaching and in the art of self-discovery.

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Madeleine L'Engle's books were a staple of my childhood. I enjoyed reading her reflections on writing and art through her journals and memoir. This is a great journal for those needing some inspiration for art or writing. Thank you to the publisher for the copy.

I only started reading Madeleine L'Engle's children's books as an adult, so I was very excited to read this to get more background on her (I love context). Unfortunately, this didn't give me what I was looking for. It seemed like one big run-on sentence that I couldn't keep track of. I really wish that I loved this, but I didn't.

I read and reread Madeleine L’Engle’s A Circle of Quiet over and over in my 20s and 30s. In fact, I read all of her Crosswicks Journals during those years, as well as several of her other nonfiction books and, of course, much of her fiction. All of them influenced me, but A Circle of Quiet had the most profound impact.

Rereading it now, I’m struck by several realizations. First and foremost is how much the book influenced me: my writing style as much as my personal philosophy. I incorporated L’Engle’s liberal (but always deliberate) use of semicolons and colons into my own nonfiction writing; I subconsciously adopted some of her cadence and voice as well. A Circle of Quiet was my first encounter with a writer’s own thoughts on writing, on the creative process, on language. Her observations rang true to me then. Many of them still do.

As for my personal philosophy, I have never highlighted as many passages in any book as much as I did while rereading this one, and every highlighted section was an old friend: thoughts on writing, on creativity, on love, on faith. Some of them I remember copying out in my journals when I first read them; several adorn a small book of inspirational quotes I have collected and hand-lettered over the years. Here are just a few that struck me this time through:

"We write alone, but we do not write in isolation. No matter how fantastic a story line may be, it still comes out of our response to what is happening to us and to the world in which we live."

"Inspiration does not always precede the act of writing; it often follows it."

"It’s all been said better before. If I thought I had to say it better than anybody else, I’d never start. Better or worse is immaterial. The thing is that it has to be said; by me; ontologically. We each have to say it, to say it our own way. Not of our own will, but as it comes out through us. Good or bad, great or little: that isn’t what human creation is about. It is that we have to try; to put it down in pigment, or words, or musical notations, or we die."

"If it’s not good enough for adults, it’s not good enough for children. If a book that is going to be marketed for children does not interest me, a grownup, then I am dishonoring the children for whom the book is intended, and I am dishonoring books. And words."

"A winter ago I had an after-school seminar for high-school students and in one of the early sessions Una, a brilliant fifteen-year-old, a born writer who came to Harlem from Panama five years ago, and only then discovered the conflict between races, asked me, 'Mrs. Franklin, do you really and truly believe in God with no doubts at all?'
'Oh, Una, I really and truly believe in God with all kinds of doubts.'
But I base my life on this belief."

"To be half a century plus is wonderfully exciting, because I haven’t lost any of my past, and I am free to stand on the rock of all that the past has taught me as I look to the future."


The second realization is that I am now two years older than L’Engle was when she wrote the book (at 52.) Reading it as a contemporary, rather than as a young person listening to a respected mentor, felt odd. Not because the book is different, but because I am. I’m more experienced, more confident, perhaps more pragmatic (even if I still don’t really know who I want to be when I grow up.) And yet I’m not that different from the person I was in those early adult years; the things I value and hold dear are still the same: family, faith, friendship, books, music, the life of the mind…

I first read A Circle of Quiet during my last year of college, and several more times during those years in which I was finding not only my role in the adult world, but also the faith that has sustained me through much of my life. L’Engle’s theology, as revealed through her thoughts on life, the universe, the knowable and the unknowable, appealed to me (and still does.) In some ways, it’s similar to the deceptive simplicity of C.S. Lewis. L’Engle accepts both mystery and doubt rather than insisting on certainty, but her faith is deep and strong; it permeates everything she is and does. And yet she’s never preachy. Her approach to both faith and life is simultaneously practical, compassionate, and openhearted.

That makes the book sound more like a theological treatise than a memoir, but it’s really not. It’s both memoir and journal, the sort of reminiscing and musing over both recent and long-past events that might occur in long, rambling conversations with a friend. L’Engle writes about her marriage, her children, Crosswicks (the house she and Hugh bought in Connecticut) and the years they lived in it. She writes about where she gets her ideas, about the relationship of truth and fiction, about love and friendship and loss, about what it means to be a writer, about the frustrating years when A Wrinkle in Time received rejection after rejection, and the joy when it was not only published, but won the Newbery Award. There’s nothing formal about the book, and it’s not at all chronological, but through it you get a wonderful sense of Madeleine L’Engle, the person.

And so in the end, rereading A Circle of Quiet was like sitting down to tea with a dear friend I haven’t seen in decades. I treasured the opportunity to reconnect with her, and with my younger self. If you love Madeleine L’Engle’s fiction, I hope you’ll take the time to get to know her through the Crosswicks journals, too.

A thoughtful, meditative, and lovely read, like having a cup of tea or several with the author.

I first read this book about 10 years ago. L'Engle was my favorite author in childhood and early adolescence, so I moved on to all of her adult books. I love this updated edition with all the pictures from her estate. She truly was a gifted author and I know her books will continue to be enjoyed for years to come.