Drinking From A Cold Spring: A Little Book of Hope

Around the turn of the last century, developers Frank Devendorf and Frank Powers had a vision for an artist's community on a piece of coastal property they had recently acquired just south of Monterey. They hoped the beauty of the place and the intelligence, talent, accomplishment, and wit of their fellow residents would attract artists and writers from around the country to Carmel by the Sea.Frank Powers, in addition to his professional success as one of SF's top attorneys, was also highly placed in the SF Bohemian Club, which had a world reputation for its independent and highly accomplished membership. Among the first people attracted by Powers to their new community was SF poet laureate George Sterling, King of the SF Bohemian community, protégé of Ambrose Bierce, and Jack London's best friend.Where Sterling was, everyone who was anyone wanted to be. So, many great artists and writers quickly followed, including Sinclair Lewis, Mary Austin, Upton Sinclair, poetess Nora May French, photographer Arnold Genthe, national journalist Jimmy Hopper, and occasional visits by Bierce and London. In addition, Powers' wife, Jane, was a gifted painter and Carmel's first Artist in Residence. Robert Lewis Stevenson used nearby Point Lobos as the setting for his Treasure Island. Edmund Weston soon turned photography on its head with his photos of the Carmel landscape. And poet Robinson Jeffers did the same with his locally set epic poems.The early beach parties were wild and unrestrained. And an LA newspaper headline labeled Carmel a "Hotbed of erotic erudition!" But as times changed and the old gang moved away or died, so did the Bohemian spirit in Carmel, leading John Steinbeck to say "...Carmel, begun by starveling writers and unwanted painters, is now a community of retirees and the well-to-do... If Carmel's founders should return, they could not afford to live there... (and) would instantly be picked up as suspicious characters and deported over the city line."But the Bohemian spirit didn't die. It merely relocated to Big Sur, where it still survives, if you know where to look and who to listen to. Bill and Lolly Fassett, the granddaughter of Carmel founders Frank and Jane Powers, opened a unique eating and drinking establishment high on a dramatic cliff overlooking the Big Sur Coastline, 28 miles south of Carmel. The whimsical structure was built by the legendary Trotter boys, Walt and Frank, in 1949. Bill and Lolly named the place Nepenthe, an ancient Greek word meaning "medicine to remove sorrow". And it was the perfect name. It was and is impossible to be there and not have your spirits lifted.Nepenthe quickly became a gathering place for artists, writers, actors, musicians, and vagabonds of all description, much as early Carmel had been. Their rich, witty, and varied voices have enveloped and whispered into the ears of Erin Lee Gafill, author of Drinking from a Cold Spring and granddaughter of Bill and Lolly Fassett, all of her life. She was literally born and raised at Nepenthe. And her message is always one I've found to be "a medicine to cure sorrow".In Drinking from a Cold Spring, I found Erin Lee Gafill's take on life and the mysterious South Coast a refreshing and revealing treasure. In it, those of us who don't live in Big Sur are led on a secret tour into the land and minds of those whose thoughts and perceptions were shaped by that rugged, magnificent land, where in many ways time has stood still - or at least progressed at a much slower pace.

Big Sur has always held an important place in my life. Long ago, in 1965, as I sat in the movie theatre watching The Sandpiper, which was shot on location largely in Big Sur, the majestic beauty, the wildness - yes, all of it - reached inside of me and took hold and has never let go. I finally went to Big Sur in 2009 as part of my summer "Odyssey," where I drive, solo, from my home in San Diego, up the coast on CA 1 - the perilous, but breathtaking route - sometimes to Powell's Books in Portland, sometimes to City Lights in San Francisco. (There was that one notable time when my car left me stranded for a week in Point Arena, but that is a story for another day.) Experiencing Big Sur in person was life altering for me. I found a rebirth in my poetry writing as I sat in the patio at the legendary Nepenthe's and again as I sat on a rock at the Rocky Point Bridge.When I saw this book on Amazon, I bought it immediately, but didn't read it until I had time to savor it. I am so glad I waited. This is indeed a book to savor - to mark and come back to again and again. Erin Gafill has captured it all in this lovely read - the majesty, the untamed beauty - interspersing it with bits of her autobiography, her lifestyle, and her philosophy of living. I was captured once again. This summer's Odyssey will be richer for it, and so is my life.This is a must-read for everyone. Brew yourself a pot of tea, sit in your comfortable chair, breathe it all in, and yes, savor it.

I adore this book, it’s a very easy relaxed read short chapters filled with lovely little moments and encouragement

This women is magic. She paints and writes and lives from her soul. I don't paint but if I did I would be taking her classes. If you have any draw toBig Sur then this book will take you for a beautiful journey. I have had this book since Feb, but it was so good that I only would read one chapter every day. Please read this book it will take you on a wonderful trip and you won't be sorry.Thanks Erin Gafill

This book is not at all syrupy-sweet and preachy. Erin talks about finding a balance between creative work and the challenges/obligations of everyday life. As a beginning painter, she has inspired me to explore a world of beauty and color without the inhibitions of self-consciousness and ego. Those lessons have begun to carry over into all facets of my life such as letting go of past hurts and disappointments and weeding out present day "stuff" that clogs my head and my life. When I finished this book I felt like I had just been hiking in a cool fragrant forest.

Erin writes about restoration. Exactly what I needed to read.She reminded me how important environment had always been to me. Colors, flowers. She has reminded me to breathe. I will write down my daily intentions. I will work towards an early morning walk and eating well and organic. Erin is a beautiful and simple writer. I have been inspired. I will pick her book up whenever I need to be motivated. "Drinking From A Cold Spring" has become a daily reader for me.

I gave myself this book to both inspire and jump start my painting process after a 12 year dry spell. I read it in one sitting on Easter and then spent time that afternoon starting a painting. I follow her paintings and found her words graceful and real.

While I do enjoy the feeling of a rich family and community connected life in an area so special to visit in coastal California, I find the read a bit rambling and redundant. It's not what I thought it would be from the description.