The Collected Memoirs Volume One

Three memoirs about isolation, aging, and death from an author whose "private self is as intelligent and generous as her public persona" ( Publishers Weekly). Fifty Days of Solitude: Faced with a rare opportunity to experiment with true solitude, Doris Grumbach decided to live in her coastal Maine home without speaking to anyone for fifty days. A New York Times Notable Book, the result is a "quiet, elegantly written" recollection about what it means to write, to be alone, and to come to terms with mortality ( Publishers Weekly).   The Pleasure of Their Company: As her eightieth birthday approaches, Doris Grumbach uses the event as an opportunity both to look backward and to grow. She weaves a delightful tapestry of "surprising and meaningful observations," allowing readers a glimpse into her life and the characters that have peopled her nearly eight decades on Earth ( Library Journal).   Extra Innings: This New York Times Notable Book follows a year in Doris Grumbach's life, beginning with the release of her memoir Coming into the End Zone, and revealing that she possesses as keen an eye in her seventies as she did when she wrote The Spoil of Flowers thirty years earlier. In this "clear, honest picture of her own old age," Grumbach details each passing month with their trials and triumphs ( Library Journal).