The Second Journey: The Road Back to Yourself

by Joan Anderson

From the bestselling author of A Year by the Sea, this memoir is a coming-of-age story for every woman who has asked herself: "Now what?"

The Second Journey chronicles Anderson's quest to restore equilibrium to her life after the responsibilities of being a mother, wife, grandmother, caretaker, and bestselling author distract her—almost dangerously—from taking care of herself. Suffused with Anderson's characteristic humor and warmth, this book is a permission slip for any woman who seeks to step out of line and create her own destiny.

As Joan shares her stories of balancing love, marriage, family, parents, and spirituality, she inspires and instructs readers to find peace and a unique purpose within their own lives. She offers reassurance that the best is yet to come, and empowers other women to come of age in the middle of life.

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction, Self Help, Biography Memoir, Womens, Marriage

224 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Ever since I can remember I have been curious—asking questions, trying to figure out life’s meaning—all in an effort to live fully and get it right. My career began as a stringer reporter for the Gannett newspaper chain. As I practiced the craft of writing, I moved on to photo essays books for children, then the breakthrough book, Breaking the TV Habit, and finally into the genre of memoir. The latter happened quite by accident after I ran away from home, lived a year by the sea on my own, and realized that there was something in this experience worth writing about. So many women I knew wanted or needed to stop the craziness of their lives but had not the will or the ability to do so. By writing my story it has given hundreds of thousands of women the excuse to take themselves away, have their turn, and see who they are beyond the roles that they play.

The six books that have come out of my experiences have all been best sellers and many have been printed in foreign languages. My big boost came when Oprah called and invited me on her show—not once, but twice! There have been several appearances on the Today Show, Good Morning America, ten book tours, and numerous articles headlining me as the “woman who got away,” the runaway wife,” or “the woman who took a sabbatical.” Actually, I’m not any one of these descriptions. I am simply a person who wanted to become a scholar of self and soul.

A vocation has come as a result of my search and my books. I conduct weekends by the sea on Cape Cod for women seeking nourishment and weekend retreats in other parts of the country and abroad such as Sonoma, California, Sedona, Arizona, Iona, Scotland, Omega Institute, Rhinebeck, New York, Kripalu, Berkshires, and Whidbey Island, Washington. Beyond that, I have the pleasure of speaking on women’s topics for organizations throughout the country (see past appearances). I guess you could say that I am truly “as unfinished as the shoreline along the beach, meant to transcend myself again and again.” It is my delight to encourage women to know they too are unfinished.

Reviews

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good read but sadly except for a few small parts it did not resonate with me. Its hard to relate to someone who has the means to travel to a remote island to find herself or who can tuck herself away on Cape Cod and has time to wander the beach on a daily basis. No offense and I do envy a life like that but I need to find myself and where I'm heading in the middle of working a 50 hour week and having weekends that rush by in a blink of an eye.
I would still recommend this book you never know what will "click" for you and bring about that "aha" moment and her description of the island of Iona was beautiful, it really made me wish I could go there to hide away for awhile.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars.

This is a book (and an author) to read when you're a woman at a crossroads, or feeling pulled in many different directions and need to find a compass. I find her books to be uniformly good. Thank goodness for wise women!

[Diane · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really liked Joan's first book, A Year by the Sea, but was thoroughly disappointed with this. It's really just a poor, rehash of the first book. It felt tired and trite and more like a novel than a truly believable inspirational book. To me, it felt like she found a shtickt and just wants to wring it dry financially. She repeated tells you about what a success the first book was, but then her husband asks her where she'll find the money to go to Scotland? Oh come on--it just felt like a sad attempt to be "everywoman." And she drops Joan Erickson's name so many times in this book, I wanted to scream "enough." Ididn't finish is-too many other good things out there to read to waste time on this.

[Mysteria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably my favourite of all her books. Especially loved her time in Iona. Filled with great quotes.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I guess I expected this book to be reasonably life-changing. The goodness in this book isn’t necessarily Anderson’s perspective and experience but the things she went and did that made me want to go and do them (like going to Iona).
There were some nuggets that were enlightening and my overall takeaway was knowing when something’s use is over and how to celebrate the new.
However, I would call this one lady’s inward journey rather than something more outward that includes us.
Anderson complains about her husband questioning if she has enough money to go to Scotland when she is clearly wealthy from her other books, numerous speaking engagements and retreats she speaks of. At the beginning she claims that her friends are telling her she’s too busy but there is no definitive moment where she changes. Your average woman also doesn’t have the resources to go and do what she did to recover.
On a final note, she really puts down her sons and particularly their wives without resolution.

[Nora Key · Rating 5 out of 5]

Insightful

I highly recommend this book for any woman who finds herself at a crossroads in midlife. Very insightful and thought provoking.

[Naturegirl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this book as a followup to A Year By The Sea...I haven't read An Unfinished Marriage yet, but plan to soon. Joan is such an independent woman, a free spirit, a deep thinker who looks inside herself, always striving to become a better person and gain a deeper understanding of what being a woman is all about. In this book, she finds herself back in Cape Cod amidst the flurry and busy-ness following the success of her first book. She is being taken over by the schedule, the talks, the heady success of it all, and needs to get centered again, needs to slow her pace and find herself once again. As she takes solace in close friends and the shoreline that gave her the previous revelations she had on womanhood, she is able to unwind and give her perspectives on being middle aged, being a caretaker for her aging mother, and being a wife. I loved it. I need to reread it again in the future to remind myself of what's important.

[Kira FlowerChild · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the fourth book I've read by Joan Anderson. Reading it is like having a nice, long visit with an old friend. There is a lot of wisdom here, but it is dispensed as Joan lives her life and learns lessons, sometimes the hard way, so it in no way feels like the reader is being preached to or told how to live. To the contrary, the message is to find the road to your true self - your original self, before the years and life experiences changed you into someone you don't recognize. If you only read two books by Joan Anderson, I would suggest first reading A Year by the Sea and then this one.

[Chelsea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Joan Anderson has so much wisdom and one day I would love to meet her in person. This was a wonderful sequel to A Year By The Sea. I find that as I age, life takes us down different roads which we try to find ourselves through the journey of life. Any woman should pick up Anderson's books. They are a gem to light up your life in the most positive way.

[Sharon Perry-Ferrari]

Once again I was inspired and moved by Joan's experiences and her willingness to share them.
She writes
"You can't really know what it is you are supposed to do next unless you depart form the mundane to refire your spirit"

This book will get you started again

[Grace · Rating 1 out of 5]

There's a difference between self-reflection and being self absorbed. Annoyed when the ranger told her she was in a protected nesting site and she found him "peevish." Later she found a women who had helped her with transportation and food, "smug." Lots of whining, not much insight.

[Gail · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you did not read her first book you would not be able to understand the depth of this book. Repetitive. Dull. A few nuggets. Over all self serving

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ms. Anderson is becoming self-indulgent. It seems she just can't be satisfied no matter how hard she tries. A bit disappointing.

[Kristi Sparta · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love all her books! Makes me feel less alone in my mid-life menopausal state!

[Windi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely Not a retelling of her Year By The Sea, which i must confess was my first, albeit incorrect thought.
While i was disappointed that she had allowed herself to slip back into so many roles of “busy-ness” in the 10 years since she had written her first book, i kinda had to take a step back and realize, it is the nature of the beast, is it not? This life?
I found this journey to be much more intentional than the first. Lessons learned long ago were broadened and deepened and re-realized.
Maybe we all Dont have the same opportunities … i know i cant just fly off to iona …. But we can choose to find moments, hours, even days at a time to retreat and refresh and revive and regenerate. Look for them. Mine has been a week of recuperating from illness … on my front porch swing …. Away from work … husband home only in the evenings.
Ideal? No? Painful? Yes? Workable? Absolutely …. At least for reading and pondering and writing. Not much Trekking or exploring going on other than my mind but thats another wilderness of its own to brave. But i digress …
I encourage you to put away your apprehensions and read this book along with and as a companion to her others …. For the full story.

[Susan Hsu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Contemplating & Exploring Midlife

The Second Journey is an invitation to explore your self & soul through a spiritual path. Joan Anderson takes you on a ride through midlife in a contemplative state. She discusses this period of time through her retreat to s alone on a small Celtic island where she discovers how to find her true self having released herself from the early stages of womanhood . Her journey is engaging to the point that you feel you are walking with her on a similar path. It's hard to put the book down as you feel compelled to learn new lessons along the way.

[Shawna Rauch · Rating 3 out of 5]

I heard about “A Year By The Sea”, but found this book first and read it.

I don’t know how someone can leave their family for a year to live on their own, write a best selling book about it, go backwards over the next 10 years.

She seems like an introverted rich lady, who doesn’t like to deal with anyone unless it is on her very narrow terms.

She mentioned her sons, daughters in law, and grandchildren - oh wow! She wanted to be there, but didn’t. Why not stay in a hotel? Offer to help, and don’t nag. Communication is key to relationships in the moment - not airing it in the book.

You may like this book - give it a read.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book found me and I was meant to read it, out of order from her original, right now. I needed this book and firmly agree that I needed to stop and embark on a spiritual journey to what the next chapter of my life brings at age 54. I look forward to reading her first book in the series too - but I am guessing this book is the one I need now. Time to reset who I am, after a bad diagnosis which forced my hand into looking at how I need to change my one precious life.

[Cinder Summers · Rating 1 out of 5]

I enjoyed "Year by the Sea," but was quite disappointed in the follow up. It was a lot of whining despite the author's obvious privilege. She doesn't know how to please her daughters-in-law, and she feels neglected by her kids. It smacked of entitlement. When she cleaned out her adult son's basement, throwing things away that belonged to her daughter-in-law, I had enough. Maybe the second half gets better, but I couldn't make it that far.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyable read. Loved her other books over the years and felt this followed up incredibly well. I always find something that resonates and find my self rereading passages while reading it. Living in Scotland I enjoyed her account of travelling to Iona and the people as much as her experience.

[Annburnett · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a story for everyone. It is about finding who you are as opposed to who everyone wants you to be. Its describes Joan's second Journey to getting back in touch with who she is. It is where everyone eventually ends up and needs to read to help find themselves.

[Tammy Jeralds · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Read

Great read! I highly recommend this book! This book is for the woman embarking on a new journey. This book embraces self reflection and instills the courage to make changes in your life! Once again Joan Anderson does not disappoint.

[Joni Greenwell Bycroft · Rating 5 out of 5]

"We want to gather the threads of our experiences and recycle them into a new and more colorful tapestry. May we all be willing to begin again and again" I get so much out of Joan Anderson's books. I actually make the investment and buy them - for myself and as gifts.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think her chapters about the Isle of Iona made me even more excited to go there!!

[Bonnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

So amazing!!! I can’t seem to get enough of her wisdom.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a inspiring book and made you reflect on a lot of things. I've read 3 of her books now and they really help you to sort out your thoughts on life and its meaning.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Any book that includes a trip to Iona I enjoy..

[Molly McGeehin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good a Year by the Sea

[Lara]

Audio

[Kelly Salasin]

Hadn't realized that I missed this follow-up to her OG, A Year By the Sea.
I appreciate women up ahead pointing the way...