Edge Seasons: A Mid-life Year

by Beth Powning

From the bestselling, critically acclaimed author of The Hatbox Letters and Shadow Child comes the story of a year of transformation.

In the middle years of her life, Beth Powning stands on a an “edge season.” Late one August, when Beth and her partner, Peter, observe the deserted sauna bath on their farm near Sussex, New Brunswick, she remembers the faith and energy that went into building it. As they begin to repair the sauna, the project becomes a metaphor for how dreams, relationships and commitments need to be continuously renewed. While their only child, Jake, prepares to leave for university, Beth and Peter contemplate changes of their own.

As fall and winter gradually shut down the vibrant life of the gardens, fields and forests near her home, Beth witnesses the beauty and regenerative force of the natural world, weaving acutely observed descriptions of the countryside with the story of her own intimate transformation. Edge Seasons is an intensely absorbing journey that illuminates how change can shatter even as it strengthens.


From the Hardcover edition.

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction, Canada

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Beth Powning was born in Hampton, Connecticut. She attended E.O. Smith High School, and Sarah Lawrence College, where she majored in creative writing. Powning moved to New Brunswick, Canada in 1970.

Powning's work has been widely published in books, anthologies, and magazines. She is known for her lyrical, powerful writing and the profound emotional honesty of her work.

Her latest novel, "The Sister's Tale", will be released by Knopf Canada in both Canada and the US on May 25, 2021. Set in the 1887 maritimes provinces, it includes characters from "The Sea Captain's Wife" and concerns home children, suffragists, and women's rights.

Her 2015 novel, " A Measure of Light", was a Globe and Mail Bestseller, a Globe and Mail Best Book, long-listed for the Dublin International Literary Award, and the winner of the N.B. Book Award for Fiction. In the USA, "A Measure of Light" was a Sam's Club Best Book for March, 2018.

Beth Powning's novel, "The Sea Captain's Wife" was short-listed for the Thomas Head Raddall Atlantic Fiction Award, in Canada.; and was a Barnes and Noble Discover Award Book, in the USA. The novel has been long-listed for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. It was translated into French by Editions Perce-Neige, with distribution in Canada and France.

"The Hatbox Letters" was also long-listed for the Dublin International Literary Award, and was a Globe and Mail Best Book.

Powning also won Canada's Lieutenant-Governor’s Award for High Achievement in English-Language Literary Arts and has been awarded an honorary Doctorate of Letters from the University of New Brunswick and Mount Allison University.

She has appeared at literary festivals across Canada, in Ireland, and the UK.
She lives in a 19th century farmhouse in rural New Brunswick, Canada, with her husband, sculptor Peter Powning.

Reviews

[Cheryl Andrews · Rating 5 out of 5]

A permanent fixture on the book shelf at the cottage. I can open Beth Powning's book to any page, any day and find inspiration.

[Hilary MacLeod · Rating 5 out of 5]

You cannot forget the writing when you read a Beth Powning book -- especially her personal memoirs. Her powers of observation and her ability to communicate them are spot on.

[Wunderdrugged · Rating 3 out of 5]

This title was our library book club selection for the month of February 2023. We chose an NB author in honour of heritage week, which was especially fitting this year as the theme was "Discover our Craftspeople". With such a diverse group of readers we are bound to have differing opinions, and this title was a perfect example. Our overall rating balanced out to 2.8 stars out of 5, with ratings ranging all the way from 0 to 5. Three of us found the book to be hopeful, and six of us thought it was very depressing. We all appreciated the beautiful, lyrical writing with the vivid descriptions of nature and the world around us. However some of us felt that there is only so much to say about mushrooms and that this book filled their lifetime quota! We enjoyed the theme of changing seasons, and felt that it was easier to digest in smaller increments - in other words, not a book to read in one sitting. The author presented so many statements that deserved to be thoughtfully considered that we didn't want to rush through it.
I personally would especially like to highlight a paragraph on page 49: "I'm living what I once thought of as 'my future.' I've arrived in this space of time that once was formless and now has a shape . . . Now I see that what I once imagined as an attainable place - adulthood - has no substance. It's like frost: vanishes when touched".
This book is not for everyone (fiction fanatics I'm talking to you), but if you enjoy memoirs and/or descriptions of nature and the world around us we would definitely recommend it.

[Ann Douglas · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully written memoir that does a brilliant job of capturing the many emotions of midlife. This is definitely a book I'll be returning to again, both for insights on writing and on life.

[Paula Dembeck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beth Powning is a wonderful New Brunswick writer who gives us this memoir detailing a time in her life when she was at the precipice of change. She compares it to an “edge season” – those moments in the year when the weather is unpredictable, caught in that short period between one season and the next. For almost 20 years she has lived on a farm with her husband Peter (a potter), and her son Jake. Jake is now preparing to leave for university and Beth thinks about how the end of motherhood may serve as a springboard to picking up her writing career. At the same time, her husband Peter is considering leaving the world of a production potter and doing larger consignment pieces.
This volume is filled with Beth’s descriptions of the natural world as well her thoughts as she negotiates this period of transformations for each member of her family.
I enjoy this author's writing and her ability to connect to her readers.

[Patricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed the book very much. Powning's descriptive writing is a feast for the senses and she is spot on with challenges that face us all when our lives are changing seasons. I rather think her characters are, in their mid-thirties facing autumn rather than winter but as a soon to be 70-year old, I felt her pain and ultimate renewal.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

A year in the life of Beth Powning, author of the novel "The Hatbox Letters", in which she comes to terms with the relentless passage of time and the departure of her son to college. Beautifully, achingly depicted, but after a while the self indulgence of her mid-life crisis begins to grate.

[Sydney · Rating 3 out of 5]

a bit full of mid-life crisis for my taste, but some keen observations of landscape and change on all levels, nonetheless.

[Lynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book came along right when I needed it. A journal of sorts, she put into words emotions I was having that I couldn't even begin to express.
And then her description of nature... I'm not sure I've ever lingered over descriptions like I did in this book.
All this and she's Canadian!
So grateful to the friend who shared this with me.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gorgeous writing. A peaceful book.

[Sherri · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the vivid descriptions. It made me feel I was actually there and a part of your journey through the seasons. I could relate to a lot of your journey.

[Renee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another gorgeous Beth Powning book. Took longer for me to get into, different style than Shadow Child but similar lyrical prose and the same yearnings. A lot of stickie tabs in the margin. Just lovely.

[Em · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed it, goes on the reread list