Home by Another Way: Notes from the Caribbean

On busy days filled with interruptions and stress, I often fantasize about escaping to an island paradise. Which is precisely what author Robert Benson and his wife have customarily done each year on their anniversary. Over the decades, they have polished this yearly trip into a fine art. Benson takes us along in Home By Another Way. Having raised children, attended church, and built careers, Benson and his wife holiday on the islands and bring home with them a piece of paradise. "Not only is our calendar a little skewed," Benson wrote, "we do not even operate on what others would call a normal workday schedule, either. In the first place, we both work at home, and our workday does not begin with a traffic report. My commute is about thirty-five steps to my studio in the back garden. Sara does not even leave the house; her office is in the little parlor at the end of the hall." Back home in Tennessee, the Bensons have learned to live on island time. An incurable romantic, Benson helps readers find the holy in the ordinary. Home By Another Way celebrates the simple things in life including family heirloom furniture, appreciation for our personal preferences, and the comfortable conversation traditions between people who have spent a lifetime getting to know each other. In between the picturesque descriptions of beach, sunset, and birds are the witty observations and gallant humor of the all-grown-up son of beloved writer and speaker, the late Bob Benson and self-proclaimed nester and winsome speaker, Peggy Benson. - PeggySue Wells, Christian Book Previews.com

Robert Benson is my favorite author, and he has done it again! This time, I don't need to pack to go on vacation. Instead, I get to relax and slow down on a beautiful island with people I love. As always, Robert Benson causes my soul to remember what is really important in and about life. Don't miss this opportunity to kick-back and enter into a simpler more reflective world. Perfect for a day on the beach or a night on the couch. You'll love it!

This has to be one of the most romantic books I've ever read--and I'm a huge Jane Austen fan! I love how the writer sees the world. And the love that shines through on each page--love for this island AND love fo his wife. What a wonderful book that I will read again and again.

Travel is one of my favorite things--when the weather cooperates and my health and my finances. When they don't I travel by book. I've visited Tuscany with Frances Mayes, France with Peter Mayle, the U.S. with John Steinbeck. Now I've visited a lovely island in the Caribbean with Robert Benson. What a glorious trip it was.

I think I've read everything this man has written, but this book has to be my favorite. It's really a love letter to an island (he calls it St. Cecilia, but I'm trying to solve the mystery of its real name). And it will give you a yen for sitting still and feeling the breeze for a few weeks. To just soak up lazy days and good food and time with the people you love. I loved this book and highly recommend it.