Loved this so much. It’s wandering and meditative, and the structure (or lack) will turn off some readers. But the topics were so near and dear and her thoughts illuminating. Adding to my very selective favorites shelf.

It is hard to explain what this book has done for me and to me. Madeleine L’Engle was my favorite author as a child and I have always desired to read more of her works. What this book did was gave me direct insight into the brilliant brain and mastermind that makes her the artist that she is.

From reflections on nature to the importance of imagination to the reminiscing of failures and moving forward to talk of maturity and allowing to be moved no matter our age, L’Engle kept taking my breath away. I loved learning more about her life and rituals and what made her the unique individual that she is.

I left this book yearning to be a better family member, friend, artist, and human. I would recommend it to all.

“So the challenge I face with children is the redemption of adulthood. We must make it evident that maturity is the fulfillment of childhood and adolescence, not a diminishing; that it is an affirmation of life, not a denial; that it is entering fully into our essential selves.
I don't go along with the people who say they'd never want to live their childhoods again; I treasure every bit of mine, all the pains as well as the joy of discovery. But I also love being a grownup. To be half a century plus is wonderfully exciting, because I haven't lost any of my past, and am free to stand the rock of all that the last as taught me as I look on towards the future.”

“When we were married we made promises, and we took them seriously…. Perhaps we made them youthfully, and blindly, not knowing all that was implied; but the very promises have been a saving grace.”

“A great painting, or symphony, or play, doesn't diminish us, but enlarges us, and we, too, want to make our own cry of affirmation to the power of creation behind the universe. This surge of creativity has nothing to do with competition, or degree of talent. When I hear a superb pianist, I can't wait to get to my own piano, and I play about as well now as I did when I was ten. A great novel, rather than discouraging me, simply makes me want to write. This response on the part of any artist is the need to make incarnate the new awareness we have been granted through the genius of someone else. I used the word "arrogant" about those verses. I take it back. I don't think it's arrogance at all. It is beauty crying out for more beauty.”

“All teachers must face the fact that they are potential points of reference. The greatest challenge a teacher has to accept is the courage to be; if we are, we make mistakes; we say too much where we should have said nothing; we do not speak where a word might have made all the difference. If we are, we will make terrible errors. But we still have to have the courage to struggle on, trusting in our own points of reference to show us the way.”

I so enjoyed Madeleine’s thoughts on memory, on imagination, community, compassion, and words, tangled together in this rough biography of thought. Her determination to value the world while knowing it is riddled with sin, and her description of her “agnostic” faith from which it comes (using agnostic often in the sense of acknowledging mystery) are the backdrop and the foreground for her marriage, art, and children. I appreciated the “stream of consciousness” of it, with a few notable exceptions of conclusions I could not draw or statements/illustrations I wasn’t in harmony with, which probably stood out so much because I resonated so much of the rest.

This is the second work of nonfiction that I've read by L'Engle, and her nonfiction confirms her as one of my favorite authors. I love her style, her sense of humor, and the way in which she expresses her beliefs, simply yet profoundly and beautifully.
I read this book aloud with my dad, and we both loved it. We got into some good discussions about life, society, and God while reading it together. It's the first book that I've read completely with him. Usually, I just read to him whatever I happen to be reading, and there have been books that I've read mostly with him, but this is the first that we've read together from start to finish. It's nice to read aloud because of the beauty of L'Engle's writing.
I admire L'Engle. Not only was she an amazing author, but she was also unafraid to put herself out there, to express her doubts along with her faith. I want to be an author of her type, to make an impact and to write well at the same time, to tell a good story, but more importantly, to give my readers something and someone to relate to.
Sometimes, the book feels a little chaotic and disorganized, but L'Engle always makes her point and makes it well. Although there are some things she could have left out, everything eventually fits together and makes sense. I highly recommend this book to anyone questioning their belief in God, to writers and of "children's books" or "adult books" (you'll see why I used quotation marks when you read the book), and to fans of L'Engle and of inspirational nonfiction.

Although I've heard of L'Engle, I don't recall ever reading any of her books, even the more famous Wrinkle in Time. I got this book on a whim and now it's one I won't part with.

Circle is book one of the Crosswicks Journals. I had, wrongly, assumed this was fiction but found that this series of books are pulled from L'Engle's personal journals. Judging from the journals alone, what a fascinating, intelligent, and insightful woman! I ended up writing in this book quite a bit and have already went back and re-read passages. She speaks of living out at Crosswicks and co-owning, with her husband, the local general store in a small village. She's a writer who teaches and she does a great deal of teaching in this book, but it feels more like great conversation with a friend. L'Engle also details her failures, the times where her books were rejected by as many publishers as they were sent to. If someone like that has trouble getting published....

While she has been deemed a children's author, she takes a more practical approach and claims she's just a writer. If she feels a subject is too harsh or complicated, she will make it a children's book because children are more open and not yet close-minded to ideas. One of her main topics is how to help children be children and how to not keep trying to "save" them from the world. Very interesting ideas are put forth that make a lot of sense.

Looking forward to reading the other journals in the series.

Originally published in 1972, this is a set of essays, thoughts, musings and conversations on L'Engle's life, faith and her conceptions of herself as writer, wife, mother and human in the world.

There are very few writers who could write a work like this that I would be willing to read. If there's a throughline here, it's that L'Engle wants to be the best version of herself in the world, and help others to be the best versions of themselves. But for all that, this is never preachy or pedantic. There's a lot about love, humility, and dedication to faith, craft and family.

I feel like I'm underselling this, but if you're a L'Engle fan, and you'd like to see a window into her mind, this slim little volume feels like a series of conversations with the author.

First time through this one in 6 years. Her meandering thoughts as a writer, wife, and mother were just what I needed in this season. On to the next three Crosswicks Journals!

*If you need a push to read them, let this essay of Haley Stewart's be your catalyst: https://www.plough.com/en/topics/life...

“It takes a tremendous amount of maturity, a maturity I don’t possess, to strike the balance of involvement/detachment which makes us creatively useful, able to be compassionate, to be involved in the other person’s suffering rather than in our own response to it. False compassion, or sentimentality, always leads us to escape by withdrawing, becoming cold and impassive and wounding.” -Madeleine L’engle on responding to death & dying

It is a bit bold to review someone like L’Engle, so I prefer to say I’m sharing my thoughts about this lovely book.
•
A Circle of Quiet is part one of her three book series called The Crosswicks Journal. It was written primarily during her time at Crosswicks, their large family farmhouse in the country.
•
I don’t know exactly how to classify this book. It reads like a journal, reflections or short essays. She covers a multitude of topics including motherhood, faith, community, politics, writing and much in between. I particularly loved her honest reflections on her struggles with her faith and the reflections about the writing of A Wrinkle in Time, which I just recently finished.
•
This book is exquisite. It was written in the 70s but is profoundly relevant in our day and age. I underlined passages on nearly every page. It made me think deeply about modern issues and feel like I was getting a glimpse into L’Engle’s inner world (although what else is a book?). This is the kind of book that should be savored over time, and that’s exactly how I enjoyed it.
•
A Circle of Quiet by Madeleine L’Engle, 246 pages, 5/5 stars
•
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I may have underlined almost everything in A Circle of Quiet. Anyone who writes or is creative (I believe every living being is, that it's our heritage from God) should read this, there are so many reflections on the creative process. But on everything else too: nature, parenthood, religion, love, etc, etc.

"It is ... through the world of the imagination which takes us beyond the restrictions of provable fact, that we touch the hem of truth."

"Two people whose opinion I respect told me that the word "Christian" would turn people off. This certainly says something about the state of Christianity today. I wouldn't mind if to be a Christian were accepted as being the dangerous thing which it is; I wouldn't mind if, when a group of Christians meet for bread and wine, we might well be interrupted and jailed for subversive activities; I wouldn't mind if, once again, we were being thrown to the lions. I do mind, desperately, that the word "Christian" means for so many people smugness, and piosity, and holier-than-thouness. Who today can recognize a Christian because of "how those Christians love one another?"

"And joy is always a promise."

"The better word, of course, is joy, because it doesn’t have anything to do with pain, physical or spiritual. I have been wholly in joy when I have been in pain—childbirth is the obvious example. Joy is what has made the pain bearable and, in the end, creative rather than destructive."

Because I was doing a paper on M. L'Engle's Wrinkle in Time, I decided to read the Crosswicks Journals in order as an introduction to her by her. I was absolutely enchanted. If you are a writer, these memoirs are especially insightful into the writer's life. The facts are sanitized according to some reviews but I was drawn to her struggles and her views. She is a woman of strong opinions and deep friendships.
This is the first one and I look forward to reading all of them.

Madeleine L’Engle is a household name, and while I’ve read her Wrinkle In Time (which I liked, though it isn’t necessarily a favorite), I’ve never delved into any of her other works. This collection of essays—the first of four —has been sitting on my Kindle for years, and I regret not reading it sooner; it is fantastic!

Originally published in 1972, this memoir (which reads like a collection of blog posts) was written from the family’s farmhouse in rural Connecticut, and the writing takes on the quaint and cozy tone of its birthplace. L’Engle meanders through commentary, reflections, and meditations on motherhood, writing, faith, culture, and womanhood. Her essays are equal parts philosophical and practical, always candid, and often humorous. I enjoyed every chapter but the sections discussing literature, writing, and the power of story were for me the most profound.

If I were to write a book, this is what I would want it to be and I loved reading these words from such a wise and insightful individual. Many of the concepts L’Engle explores felt so current, I was shocked when I realized this book was nearly fifty years old. What a gift L’Engle has given to the next generation of women.

This review first appeared on my personal blog, https://kendranicole.net/june-2021-qu...

Please visit my site for more book reviews: https://kendranicole.net/category/boo...