Who was Anne Morrow Lindbergh?
For much of the twentieth century, Anne Morrow Lindbergh was one of the most prominent women in America. She was a best-selling author of several books, including the classic Gift From the Sea, an aviation pioneer, the mother of six children–one of whom was kidnapped and killed–and the wife of Charles Lindbergh.

How did Anne come to marry Charles Lindbergh?
Charles had just completed his record-breaking solo flight from New York to Paris and was already a world hero when Anne met him. She was an undergraduate at Smith College, visiting her family for the Christmas holidays in Mexico where her father, Dwight Morrow, was serving as U.S. ambassador.
     There was an immediate attraction between Anne and Charles even though they were outwardly quite different. Anne's family was wealthy, Eastern, and intellectual. His family was from a small town in the Midwest and, while Charles was bright, he was not at all bookish. He was drawn to action and adventure.
     One of the things I explore in the book is what was underneath the attraction between these two very different people. It was partly about the old adage "opposites attract," but there was something deeper going on under the surface as well, something that had to do with the emotional environments of their childhoods.

What did Anne herself consider her greatest achievements in life?
That's a difficult question to answer, because she downplayed her own accomplishments. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry once said, ". . . the great of the earth are those who leave silence and solitude around themselves, their work and their life, and let it ripen of its own accord." She believed that completely and lived it. So we can only speculate.
     I would imagine her greatest source of satisfaction was her family. Surviving and sometimes even flourishing in the midst of what was a complicated marriage to a complicated man, and raising five bright, accomplished children was no small achievement, then or now.
     Another achievement she did speak of with pride was her work in the days of aviation's infancy. In their early-married years, Anne became a pilot and worked alongside Charles, pioneering air routes for Pan American. She learned to operate a radio using Morse code for one of their exploratory trips, setting a record in 1933 for long-distance communication. She was also the first woman in America to earn a glider pilot's license. Anne herself was particularly proud of these accomplishments because they were a world apart from the quiet, literary life she had imagined for herself before she met Charles.
     Third, in their later years Anne and Charles became increasingly concerned about the destructive effect technology was having on the environment. Having flown all over the world, they had witnessed first-hand the radical changes on the face of the earth. They became quite active in supporting environmental preservation through writing and traveling. Today the Lindbergh Foundation, set up in their memory, continues their work by supporting others who work to create a balance between technology and nature. I'm sure Anne would be deeply pleased by this work that continues in her and her husband's name.
     Finally, of course, there is her literary work. Anne's body of work includes travel books, novels, essays, poetry, five volumes of her diaries and letters, and the book for which she's best known, Gift From the Sea. Most likely, Anne's chief feeling about her literary success was not pride but astonishment. She probably did not fully appreciate how gifted she was, nor was she able to embrace the significance of her own legacy. But this self-doubt is part of what made her a great artist.

Her book, Gift from the Sea, is still a bestseller almost half a century after it first appeared. What is it about the book that draws people in, generation after generation?
Gift from the Sea reminds us of a fundamental spiritual truth–that one has to tend to oneself if one wants to be of help to anyone else. This book came directly out of Anne's personal struggle to do this in her own life, so it's full of authenticity and passion. Anne wrote Gift From the Sea so beautifully, so simply, that it speaks across the generations, across cultures, even across gender.

How did you first come to read Gift from the Sea?
We had a first-edition copy that had belonged to my grandmother sitting on the bookshelf at my family home for years–after she'd died. It wasn't until I was in my mid-twenties, on a summer visit from graduate school, that I picked it up and read it. At the time I was in great turmoil about career choices and relationship issues. I was amazed that this book, written in the 1950s, had so much to say to me about where I was at that moment in time–and I was immediately enchanted by this author who wrote so beautifully and evocatively. I wanted to learn more about her.

This was the early 1980s, wasn't it? Was it difficult to find out more about her?
Yes, it was. At that point a lot of her work was out of print, although, in those days before Internet booksellers, I was eventually able to find some books at the public library and at second-hand bookstores. I became fascinated by her five volumes of published diaries and letters. Because Anne and Charles were prominent figures who moved in powerful circles, these volumes are a first-hand account of major events in the first part of the twentieth century. Even more compelling was the inner life of this woman. She was a deeply reflective person.

In your book, you draw from a number of Anne's writings, including the diaries and letters. Do you see a difference between these "private" writings and the writing she did for publication?
I do. Her diaries and letters are actually my favorite books. Even though they're edited, of course, they're less polished and perfect than the others. Gift From the Sea is a polished jewel. Her diaries and letters are raw life, full of her struggles and triumphs–and, to me, even more satisfying to read.

What events in your own life led you to keep going back to Anne's writings?
From the beginning I found her to be a sort of spiritual "companion." She had an ability to articulate things I was only dimly aware I even felt, much less was able to express. Reading her felt companionable because she was so present in her writing–she wrote intimately and from the heart. Over the years, as I began to face some significant losses in my own life, I found her writing to be deeply helpful. Anne knew tremendous loss and despair, and yet she eventually found her way back to hope and life. She showed us that we find our way back by going into the loss and pain, not avoiding it. Her example has helped give me courage to live the same way.

Anne Morrow Lindbergh died quite recently. What were her main interests later in life, and how did her death affect you and other readers?
Once widowed, Anne continued to write in her diary but never again wrote for publication. She lived quite a long life–she was 94 when she died. A series of strokes debilitated her and she gradually began to lose memory and speech. This painful period was written about by her daughter, Reeve Lindbergh, in her poignant book No More Words: A Journal of My Mother Anne Morrow Lindbergh. This book is a gift to those who loved her mother's books. What Reeve has done is to invite us to share this final passage with her and her mother.

You meet many people who read Anne for inspiration and a sense of kindred spirits. Do her fans have different interests, or is there a single idea that her readers share?
Anne's books appeal to people who are reflective–people who are trying to understand more about themselves, their relationships, and their lives. I've been struck by how broad Anne's appeal is culturally. I'm continually encountering people from all walks of life who have read and been touched by Gift From the Sea–from hairdressers to Princeton attorneys.

Now you've written a book on Anne Morrow Lindbergh. What's next?
Another book on Anne, of course! The focus of my next book will be on Anne's idea, that the key to making your life count is finding what your passion is–and then doing that. For her, that was writing. My plan is to continue writing and teaching about Anne Morrow Lindbergh. There is so much richness in her work–so much latent wisdom and spirituality–that are gifts for us still today.