A Cape Cod Notebook

"Originally read by the author on WCAI, the Cape and Islands National Public Radio station, these short but powerfully lyrical essays capture the essence of life, both human and natural, on this sandy peninsula."--Page 4 of cover.

A collection of more than 50 exquisitely crafted radio essays, these short but poetic gems celebrate unique aspects of life on Cape Cod, especially the relationship between humanity and the natural world. Entranced by the island’s riches, Robert Finch takes the reader on a journey through the seasons in many well-known and beloved essays—including "Beach Ball," "Sea Dawn," "A Gratuity," "The Fish That Wouldn’t Die," "The Old Shell Game," and "Fire and Music"—that have the power to immediately connect the reader with the natural world of this region and that speak to the mysterious qualities of this peninsula that have drawn people to it for centuries.

It's all about the beaches in this Cape Cod minimalist travel guide that is part journal, part field notebook. Divided by region, the notebook includes detailed maps and space for journal entries. Each page lists icons with key pieces of visitor information for the beaches, such as parking fees; food, shower, and boat ramp availability; and whether Rover is welcome, leaving plenty of space to capture beach memories in writing or sketches. The town maps highlight beach locations and note bike, pedestrian, car, and handicap access. Start your Cape Cod adventure with this ideal personal guide--an invitation to discover your own favorite stretch of sand under the sun, and a reminder of all the beaches visited and those left to explore.

"In these compassionate, quietly evocative essays, Mr. Finch makes an eloquent case for dealing with nature not just as an extension of ourselves but as a world apart." -- New York Times Book Review When Common Ground was first published, Annie Dillard praised Robert Finch's essays for "their strength, subtlety, and above all their geniality." New readers will have a chance to discover that Finch's Cape Cod is indeed a wonderful place. The birds, fish, and animals that share the cape's fragile ecology on any given summer day with the human residents are described with the fresh eye of a first-rate nature writer.

In this his first book, Bill Mena takes us on the personal journey of his life, or, as he says, of his two lives. Experience his transition from a semi-monastic life to coping with the pressures and pleasures of secular life. His early youth in the Americas; his schooling and ordination to the priesthood in Europe; his ministry in England and his return to America. Bill lets us into his personal struggle to resolve the conflict in which he found himself, a conflict between his loyalty and wish to serve in the Catholic Church, and his wish to find personal fulfillment. In his own words "The story that follows, then, is the story of my personal journey and rebellion...........my personal rebellion from a good student to a dedicated priest, to a frustrated cleric and eventually to a contented husband." The reader will get a glimpse into the life of one who has experienced equally the rewards of a compelling religious experience and the richness of secular life.

A poignant, candid chronicle of a beloved nature writer’s fifty-year relationship with an iconic American landscape. Those who have encountered Cape Cod—or merely dipped into an account of its rich history—know that it is a singular place. Robert Finch writes of its beaches: “No other place I know sears the heart with such a constant juxtaposition of pleasure and pain, of beauty being born and destroyed in the same moment.” And nowhere within its borders is this truth more vivid and dramatic than along the forty miles of Atlantic coast—what Finch has always known as the Outer Beach. The essays here represent nearly fifty years and a cumulative thousand miles of walking along the storied edge of the Cape’s legendary arm. Finch considers evidence of nature’s fury: shipwrecks, beached whales, towering natural edifices, ferocious seaside blizzards. And he ponders everyday human interactions conducted in its environment with equal curiosity, wit, and insight: taking a weeks-old puppy for his first beach walk; engaging in a nocturnal dance with one of the Cape’s fabled lighthouses; stumbling, unexpectedly, upon nude sunbathers; or even encountering out-of-towners hoping an Uber will fetch them from the other side of a remote dune field. Throughout these essays, Finch pays tribute to the Outer Beach’s impressive literary legacy, meditates on its often-tragic history, and explores the strange, mutable nature of time near the ocean. But lurking behind every experience and observation—both pivotal and quotidian—is the essential question that the beach beckons every one of its pilgrims to confront: How do we accept our brief existence here, caught between overwhelming beauty and merciless indifference? Finch’s affable voice, attentive eye, and stirring prose will be cherished by the Cape’s staunch lifers and erstwhile visitors alike, and strike a resounding chord with anyone who has been left breathless by the majestic, unrelenting beauty of the shore.

Eighteen essays describe the author's experiences exploring the outer half of Cape Cod, and share his observations on nature, ecology, and the relationship between people and their environment.

From acclaimed author and naturalist Robert Finch, a richly detailed observance of Cape Cod's seemingly vanished natural and human past, as it clings to its present landscape. This is a voyage of discovery, a personal odyssey into the nature of a single Cape Cod neighborhood. It is a rich portrait, beautifully drawn, of a landscape and a community whose essential character lies in their penetrating interface with the sea. But it is also an individual quest, a journey of the heart and mind in which the author seeks "entrance, or rather re-entrance" into "that vast living maze stretching out beyond my lines of sight."