During the years Joan Anderson was a loving wife and supportive mother, she had slowly and unconsciously replaced her own dreams with the needs of her family. With her sons grown, she realised that the family no longer centred on the home she provided and her relationship with her husband had become stagnant. Like many women in her situation, Joan had forgotten about her own needs and had no fulfilling goals for her future. It seemed the best part of her life was finished. Shocking herself as much as her husband, she decided to retreat alone to the family cottage on Cape Cod. At first casting around for direction, Joan soon began to take pleasure in her surroundings and call on resources she didn't know she had. Over the course of a year she gradually discovered that her life as an 'unfinished woman' was full of possibilities. Out of that magical, difficult, transformative year came A YEAR BY THE SEA, a record of her experiences and a treasury of wisdom for readers. Beautifully written, this book will inspire the reader to set out on their own journey of self-discovery and find the courage to recreate their own life

Joan Anderson is the author of numerous children's novels as well as Breaking the TV Habit. This is her first venture into narrative non-fiction and her most personal work to date. She lives with her husband on Cape Cod, where she conducts her popular Year by the Sea workshops.