From the 1972 Farrar, Straus and Giroux edition of A Circle of Quiet (The Crosswicks Journals) by Madeleine L’Engle: The title of Madeleine L’Engle’s book comes from the text itself:

“Every so often I need out — away from all of these people I love most in the world — in order to regain a sense of proportion. My special place is a small brook in a green glade, a circle of quiet from which there is no visible sign of human beings … there I move slowly into a kind of peace that is indeed marvelous, ‘annihilating all that’s made to a green thought in a green shade.’”

This book is the attempt of a gifted woman to define and explore the meaning of her life, a life which, like many women today, is complex —that of wife, mother of three children, grandmother of two, teacher, frequent public speaker, practicing Christian, and writer who has published seventeen books. Read More→