The author of the Love in Provence series returns to the South of France with a poignant portrait of a woman who must learn how to create a new life for herself… husband’s dementia and the heartbreak of watching the man she has loved for decades slip away before her eyes. What does her future hold without Ben? Before her is a blank canvas.
Encouraged by her family to take some time for herself, she has traveled to Arles to set up her easel in the same fields of poppies and sunflowers that inspired Van Gogh. Gradually, she rediscovers the inner artist she abandoned long ago. Drawing strength from the warm companionship and gentle wisdom of her fellow artists at the retreat—as well as the vitality of guest lecturer Jacques de Villeneuve, an artist and a cowboy—Arianna searches her heart for permission to embrace the life in front of her and, like the sunflowers, once again face the light.
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“Set in the magical French countryside, Drawing Lessons tells a remarkable tale of separation and loss. Patricia Sands unfolds a passionate story of self-discovery and learning to love again that will stay with the reader long after the last page is turned.”
Set in the magical French countryside, Drawing Lessons tells a remarkable tale of separation and loss. Patricia Sands unfolds a passionate story of self-discovery and learning to love again that will stay with the reader long after the last page is turned.
BOOK REVIEW:
Drawing Lessons by Author, Patricia Sands
An ailing husband with a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s/Dementia and dreams of one day returning to the French Countryside to a new and exciting destination of Arles, the very same place where Van Gogh himself touched brush to canvas… all lead to conflict for 62 year old Arianna.
A story of love, re-discovery and a journey of emotional healing. With the help from family as Arianna’s husband Ben declines in health, and the love for art Arianna holds so dear as to its beauty and meaning, she sets out on a personal rekindling of the spirit, a renewal of her soul and moves on to finding her voice and the rebirth of talent.
Author, Patricia Sands skillfully leads you into the very heart of these characters as you feel the emotional tugs, the rich beauty and traditions of France, and purpose of enjoying life even through the pain of grief. A tender story, compassionate, meaningful and authentic- a touching narrative and one I recommend.
4 Stars
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Usually I race through a book, eager to learn how it ends. But with Drawing Lessons I found myself lingering, almost rationing, the number of pages I read each night. I didn’t want the fun to end or the party to be over. Drawing Lessons is the heartwarming story of a woman faced with the tragedy of living with her huband’s dementia and who finds a way back to reconnect to own self. Before she was a wife and a mother, she was an artist. And this is her journey in rediscovering the artist she thought she had lost. A beautiful story…and it doesn’t hurt that it takes place in southern France. Treat yourself to this one.
Anyone who dreams of a trip to Provence will love this tender and life-affirming tale of a woman’s rebirth. Arianna, reeling from the loss of her old life and not sure how she can go on, signs up for an art class in the south of France. She finds much more. Sands conveys “the kindness of strangers” in a most authentic and convincing way. Delightful characters, gorgeous scenery. A wonderful vacation from everything that’s going on in the world….
Be ready for a magical trip that will take you to find “new light that old ties cannot give,” as promised in the epigraph. Be ready to go to distant places where you will find new friends, but, most important, your true self. This is what Arianna, the protagonist of Drawing Lessons, sets out to do. It is not an easy journey, and there are ups and downs – to be expected – but in all, it is a rewarding experience for her and for her readers.
The train is a powerful symbol, as it takes her stage by stage, but inexorably, to a new landscape and to new beginnings – from Toronto, Canada, to Arles, France; from her old and known life to a new unknown future; from love and sadness to discovery and joy; from having lived in black and white to adding colors to her life; from her home and family to fellow artists at a retreat. On the train, the window beside her is “wide and surprisingly clear” – which echoes her current bittersweet feelings. And it is on the train where Arianna starts to draw again, tentatively, until by the end of her artistic journey, and with the help of her new artist friends and new surroundings, she finds her voice and her true vocation. After all, as Jacques de Villeneuve, a crucial new character, tells the students, “There is no doubt that art is therapeutic for the spirit.”
We see everything through the protagonist’s eyes, as she is learning how to really see. Along with the drawing lessons at the retreat, Arianna helps us “taste colors”; watch unbelievable sunsets and landscapes that offer a kaleidoscope of color; hear sounds that are comforting songs and gentle buzzes of bees; smell earthy smells of the herbs and the freshness of the air. And let us not forget the superb food, described in such detail it makes us urgently hungry. All this adds up to a true orchestration of the senses.
We get to know all the secondary characters, her fellow artists and their teacher, in depth, and they add to our delight as we read about their adventures together. Her new friends also help Arianna on this voyage, and on her new endeavor. They and the places depicted are all linked by the characters’ joy of painting and drawing, and by their reverence for Vincent van Gogh, a “ghost” who haunts the landscape where he lived, painted, and became sick. His paintings become alive in our eyes. We are there too, with them, enjoying this wonderful adventure, for which we have to give the author, Patricia Sands, our heartfelt thanks!
Wow. What an astonishingly touching story! I love how poetically this author writes. There was so much heart, so much beauty in this story. From the saddest situation imaginable grew something truly divine. So refreshing to read something that managed to paint such colourful images without being overly descriptive, and so wonderful to read something that blended all different kinds of people of all ages so beautifully. An absolute triumph from Patricia Sands.
Drawing Lessons by author Patricia Sands is a wonderful and loving example of the sometimes dire consequences of aging. I love this author and all of her previous books which feature women during their ‘next’ fifty years and the choices and chances they may have for a better life. In Drawing Lessons, Arianna must accept the sad fact that her husband’s condition will never improve and she needs to renew her life in a different manner. Her children urge Arianna to take a trip which features art lessons in the fields where Van Gogh created his masterpieces, Arles.
This story is beautifully written with all of the emotions of sadness, fear, grief, hope, love, and renewal of life. Aging can be hard, and especially if a spouse or partner has a debilitating condition. As this author portrays to us in this heartwarming story, life is not over because one part of the couple is no longer present. Life does go on and the survivor should reach for those dreams which are still within their grasp!
Such a wonderful book! Become immersed in the beauty and history of the area.
Patricia Sands does it again! All of her books are FIVE STAR becasue she knows how to tell a story. One also has a bit of a traveling experience in each one of them. Her insights into how women feel are spot on. I love all of her books.
Devastatingly tragic, yet beautifully hopeful. Patricia Sands’ novel Drawing Lessons is a story about a wife forced to face difficult circumstances. She has lost herself over the years, and gets the opportunity to attend an art course in Europe. There, she meets colorful characters and lets go of things beyond her control. She finds truth and hope in her art, and embarks on a new adventure. Sands’ characters are unique and inspiring, and her story gives the reader hope that happiness can, indeed, be found even when life’s curveballs attempt to thwart us.
From the moment I entered the story, I felt a kinship with Arianna. Perhaps it’s because we are the same age and have had similar past experiences with those we have loved and lost through mental issues. But even if that weren’t the case, Patricia Sand’s story of a woman’s rebirth and renewal strikes a universal chord and I plan to backtrack and read her others. Perhaps, I’m thinking, a trip to France is in order?
I have to thank NetGalley for letting me have a copy of this book for my honest review. Also a big thank you to the Lake Union publishers.
This story starts out very emotional. Ben and Arianna have been deeply in love forever. They get the most devastating news that a couple can get. Ben has dementia. It did not take long for him to get to a state where he did not know Arianna any longer. Her children talked her into taking a retreat to Arles.
Arianna meets several other artists while in France and learns to live her life again. She goes through many ups and downs with guilt and finally does learn that she needs to live her life. She meets a man there who is an artist and decides to take him up on an offer to spend a few days with him on his boat before she leaves to go back home.
Arianna and Jacques de Villeneuve develope deep feelings for each other and she ends up staying longer. She goes back home to see Ben but he has no idea she’s even there or who she is anymore. It’s so hard for her that everyone decides she does not need to stay and just be upset all the time.
Arianna finds a life. She deserves to have a happy life.
Although I had a hard time reading a lot of this story, due to lots of tears, I also laughed along with the characters. They were fun and got on very well together. They all seemed to need to be where they were and together. This book is beautifully written and describes France in a way that makes you feel like you are there. It’s a very emotional book and one that will keep you turning pages until the very end. I enjoyed it immensely and would recommend it to anyone that loves a tearjerker and love story.
I look forward to reading more by this author as this was my first book by her.
It was a definite 5 star book
This was a very fun novel to read, not only does it take place in the south of France, near the city of Arles but it is about a diverse group of people that go there for a two-week artists’ workshop.
Sixty two year old Arianna, the main person in this story, cannot wait to go and try to find her way back into art which was once her passion.
Arianna, has a wonderful family,and she loved her life, but her husband Ben was diagnosed a couple of years prior with a case of dementia, where he does not even remember his family.
Arianna’s children want her to find happiness again and suggest that she take this trip, and she does find it through this wonderful group of people that take the same workshop, the hosts and a fellow artist from the area, Jacques de Villeneuve,who is also a gardien (cowboy)
We are taken on a wonderfully described trip through Arles, where each of them delight in being in a place where Vincent Van Gogh, had once painted.
Also a wonderful trip through the Camargue, a wild landscape of red salt lagoons, where flamingo’s,are seen in the marshes, there are herds of white Camargue Horses and farms where Europe’s only cowboys – the Gardiens raise fighting black bulls.
This story has a lot of great insight into all of the characters, and what they do for each other.
I love her style of writing and the way she can make a story so interesting.
I would like to thank NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the ARC of this book.
Author Patricia Sands gives us a beautifully written story of human frailties and human strengths, of facing a major change in your life and learning to move on, of healing.
When I began this book I was expecting it to be a romance novel, but romance is actually only a small part of the story. And when it does enter the story it is beautifully done with a slow progression of two mature characters getting to know each other. But the strength of this book lies in how GREAT characters from various backgrounds with their own mix of life challenges come together to further their love of art and how they compassionately share their collective life experiences and lessons in support each other. For the main protagonist Arianna it is truly a life-changing two weeks as she struggles to come to terms with her new life.
Ms. Sands’ love of the French countryside is revealed in her stunning descriptions. I was so enthralled I just had to view the images myself on the internet – images of the walls of Aigues-Mortes, the wild horses and the enormous salt deposits of the Camargue.
I was able to totally lose myself in this delightful story and highly recommend it.
I loved this book!
Oh my gosh, I did not want this book to end! The sights, the smells, the foods, the heady atmosphere — I wanted to jump into this story, make friends with the delightful group of artist-travelers, and make them promise to include me the next time they got together! But even more than all this, Drawing Lessons is the story of one woman’s triumph over grief and loss — through friendship, through travel, and through art! A glorious romp, with some observations above love, family, life, and the incredible power of the human spirit that I will never forget. No wonder people continue to rave about this book, almost four year after it was published!
Definitely a book for any woman that usually is the care provider that needs to try to put herself as a priority.
This was the first book I read by Patricia Sands. I enjoyed her writing style, character development and especially the scenery descriptions. This book definitely took me on a book vacation.
Emotionally hard, but worth it!
Excellent explanation of illness and dementia ripping through family! Wonderful descriptions of people, places, and their histories. I really enjoyed the historical details. Not the art I was hoping for.
Her books are easy to read, interesting and take me to another place for awhile…just fun to read!