Arrival Time: A Journal of Love - Softcover

In our fast-paced, internet-oriented, modern world, love has also become modern and high-speed. Does anyone believe in true love anymore? What about love at first sight, or love that’s meant to be? What about a love that cherishes every moment, and pursues joy at every turn? Are these ideas too old-fashioned for the new millennium? Carol Osterlund and Robert Sellers, and their new collection of poetry, journals,and letters Arrival Time—A Journal of Love, are proof that romantic love is alive and well in the 21st century, and that to give and receive it is still one of humankind's most basic and gratifying abilities.

Carol Osterlund and Robert Sellers were both widowers, ages fifty-nine and seventy, respectively, when they met twelve years ago. Their courtship through letters, poems, and phone calls is well-documented in Arrival Time, and so is the heightened feeling of new love, love that they both sensed was impending and right. But Arrival Time is also about how each of them—and their relationship—flourished with time, and how that time was spent: traveling; writing; exploring their inner worlds, together and apart.

And writing is an important part of their relationship. Writing helped to bring them together and it continues to be a source of pleasure and exploration. Their love of words is evident and helps to bring us closer to their experiences—whether they be joyous, profound, sad, or inspiring. Their journals and poetry delve into such topics as aging, new love, travel around the globe, marriage, freedom, food, views from hotel windows, loss, and grief.

Mainly, this book, Arrival Time, like the authors’ relationship, is a celebration of life and love—which for the two writers seem inseparable—with an emphasis on having a good time. A good time can be enjoyed at any age, and can be as excitingly modern as it is delighfully old-fashioned.

Carol Osterlund and Robert Sellers are avid travelers who have been all over the globe. They live in San Jose, California and Phoenix, Arizona, using both their homes as bases from which they’ve cruised, trekked, flown, and danced, all over the world. Part of their travel includes attending writing conferences, and the two are frequent attendees at the Santa Barbara Writers Conference. Arrival Time is published by one of the teachers at the Santa Barbara Writers Conference.