03/02/2020
Vibe magazine founder and former New York Times reporter Cardwell recounts how she moved to Rockaway Beach, N.Y., after a divorce to pursue her passion for surfing in this detailed story of reinvention. The book spans from 2010 to 2017 and opens as Cardwell—raw after her divorce and feeling she had failed at creating a family—travels to Montauk and watches surfers for the first time. After taking a few lessons, she was hooked. She discusses learning surfing terms like the “turtle roll” (“a way of paddling through breaking waves to get to the outside on a longboard”) and various surfing maneuvers, and she talks about strengthening her body and growing her confidence. “Life really does go on,” she writes. The book’s most engaging sections concern her move to Rockaway Beach, where she bought a house not long before Hurricane Sandy hit in 2012; here, she offers a rich account of living through the disaster and rebuilding in its aftermath. By the end, she has a crew of surfing friends, a new man, and a zest for life. Readers don’t have to surf to be taken away by Cardwell’s story, but it definitely wouldn’t hurt. (June)
03/27/2020
In search of a good story and at a personal crossroads in life, journalist Cardwell stopped by a surf beach in Montauk, Long Island, in 2010. What she saw changed everything for her—the ease and grace of surfers, the combination of the sun and the water, and an entire subculture that was instantly alluring. Putting internal doubts aside, Cardwell left her marriage and city life behind in order to move to a beach bungalow and begin surfing lessons. Her memoir emphasizes her progress as a surfer, but she doesn't shy away from personal introspection. Cardwell's firsthand account of Hurricane Sandy, and how she and her neighbors survived the devastation together is particularly poignant. Written with a warm and conversational style, this is an unusual story of personal triumph, insight into what makes a community stronger, and a reminder that perceived limitations are often self-imposed. VERDICT Readers looking for an offbeat, uplifting account, and those with an interest in surfing or outdoor challenges, should find this engaging. An ideal selection for book groups and recommended for all public library collections.—Janet Davis, Darien P.L., CT
2020-03-23
A journalist’s account of how midlife disappointments fueled an unexpected journey into the world of surfing.
As she entered her 40s, Cardwell, a founder of Vibe magazine and former New York Times reporter, was the picture of success. She had a prestigious newspaper job and a handsome husband she adored. Sadly, just as she and her husband were trying to conceive, they divorced. Devastated, Cardwell spent the next three years mourning lost opportunities for motherhood and wondering whether she would ever “get to be the girl on someone's arm again.” Everything changed when a newspaper assignment took her to Montauk, where she observed a group of surfers—“a secret tribe of magical creatures”—frolicking in the surf. Transfixed, Cardwell suddenly decided she wanted to learn the sport. The impulse shocked her; she was far from athletic. Her first clumsy attempts at surfing made her realize that as much as “the mind was more than willing…the flesh was going to need a lot of work.” She began attending a surfing school in Rockaway Beach and going to the gym, and she quickly developed friendships with other surfers who gave her advice on everything from surfing equipment to how to read the ocean and its rhythms. Less than a year and a half later, the author bought a home there, bringing her closer to the people she had come to know and pulling her away from the Manhattan hustle she thought she could never do without. When Hurricane Sandy flooded her home and neighborhood in October 2012, Cardwell realized that despite the risks of living by the ocean in the age of climate change, she had finally found her tribe and a renewed zest for life. In this eloquent narrative, the author offers a moving portrait of a woman in search of herself as well as a joyful celebration of physicality, friendship, and the art of surfing.
A bighearted and uplifting memoir.
Toes to the nose, knees to the chin, Diane Cardwell’s memoir about learning to surf in midlife shows us how to pop up again and again, with style.” —Jill Eisenstadt, author of From Rockaway and Swell “Diane Cardwell’s Rockaway is a remarkably moving, entertaining, honest and heartening memoir of reinvention and resilience.” —Francine Prose, author of Blue Angel and What to Read and Why “Becoming someone new is hard work. Diane Cardwell does not stint. With a reporter’s eye for detail, and rare honesty, she pushes through heartache, self-consciousness, long-held fears, Hurricane Sandy, and innumerable walls of white water. Her progress toward surfing skillfully, love, and an unlikely community is a deeply satisfying ride.” —William Finnegan, author of Barbarian Days “Diane Cardwell’s Rockaway is so invigorating that it makes you want to get outside, try something new, live more fully and freely. This story of a woman following her passion is an inspiring reminder about the possibilities of renewal and reinvention.” —Tova Mirvis, author of The Book of Separation “Surfing is hard, wild, daring, and sometimes dangerous; so is life after heartbreak and divorce. Bravely, Diane Cardwell pushed herself to embrace the unknown—in many ways—and find a new form. What she also found, among the surfers at Rockaway Beach, was joy and community. Rockaway is the inspiring story of her discovery and mastery of a new life.” —Liza Mundy, author of Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers of World War II “In this eloquent narrative, the author offers a moving portrait of a woman in search of herself as well as a joyful celebration of physicality, friendship, and the art of surfing. A bighearted and uplifting memoir.” —Kirkus Reviews “Poignant. Written with a warm and conversational style, this is an unusual story of personal triumph, insight into what makes a community stronger, and a reminder that perceived limitations are often self-imposed . . . An offbeat, uplifting account . . . engaging.” —Library Journal “Cardwell’s moving story washes over the reader with its emotionally rich portrayal of the ragged ways we can embrace our vulnerabilities in order to overcome them.” —BookPage “Readers don’t have to surf to be taken away by Cardwell’s story . . . A rich account of living through . . . disaster and rebuilding in its aftermath.” —Publishers Weekly “A moving memoir about reshaping your own destiny.” —New York Post, “30 best summer books to help you escape 2020” “This memoir busts a lot of stereotypes in a delightful way . . . Rockaway is not just a story about starting over, it’s also a treatise on tenacity, on grabbing something you want and absolutely, stubbornly refusing to let go, no matter where it takes you. What an unexpected and inspiring book.” —Minneapolis Star-Tribune
