Still turning to Carolyn Heilbrun's The Last Gift of Time: Life Beyond Sixty for those hard-core nuggets of wisdom. In one chapter, she reflects on her association with May Sarton, the poet, memoirist, and novelist.

I've been interested in reading her thoughts about Sarton because her (Sarton's)Journal of a Solitude (scroll down the link for description) is one of my all-time favorite books, one that seems new to me every time I pick it up. Heilbrun casts a sympathetic eye on Sarton, but is hard on her at the same time. Many writers have criticized Sarton harshly, and the attacks tend to get personal. Heilbrun notes Sarton's selfishness, her inability to take criticism, but applauds her gifts as well. After the publication of the bestselling Journal of a Solitude, Sarton was besieged by readers who believed they knew her intimately from the book. I can just picture this because the journal invites the reader to share her world, a still and radiant place in which to think, observe nature, and write.