In a House by the Sea Book

Sandy Gingras has created a genre all her own. Whether you call it new age, or spirituality, or self-help or inspiration, her mix of prose, poetry and artwork is enormously popular. The author-illustrator always delights and surprises readers with her wit, her observations, with layers of reflection and a depth of feeling in her deceptively simple series of books.

The beach house - a house that may be metaphorical or real - inspires her latest title, In a House by the Sea. A collection of short essays, stories, prose poems and illustrated vignettes, the book is about emotion and feeling as much as place, mood and memory as much as the beach. In the essay "This is What Makes Me," she writes of being oriented in life by "A beach (more emotional than geographic) that I keep walking on. A summer (more attitude than season) that I keep longing for."

"A is for Attitude" offers a whimsical beach woman's A-to-Z (from "A is for Away. Away, beach woman, away with you to the beach! You've had enough reality" ...to "Z is for zither and zoology and Zena the Warrior Princess and all those other things that you will never do or be, and how perfectly OK that is with you.") The prose-poem "How to Build a Castle" and the essay "Navigating" are thoughtful reflections about awareness, discovery and acceptance, as is the story "Change" - a wind that blows through lives. "Storm" and "You and Me in a House by the Sea" are emotionally rich love letters.

"A Beach House - What the Realtor Should Have Told You," and "What the Beach House is For," remind us that what people really desire (at the beach or anywhere) can not be bought, that simplicity and happiness can only come from the life you live.

"Outside Shower" delights in the freedom and wildness of this quintessential summer beach experience. And the wit in illustrated vignettes like "Flip-Flop Moods," "Beach Hats," "Sunsets," or "Moods" will make the reader smile while distilling life's moments into their pure essence.

Living in the moment, finding beauty in one's surroundings, an awareness of the moods and feelings that make life whole - these thoughts resonate poignantly in In a House by the Sea.

pre-publication review: May 27, 2005 - The Press of Atlantic City

"From the author of 'How to Live at the Beach' comes a heartwarming and sometimes funny mix of prose, poetry and illustrations observing life at the shore."