obel Laureate and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Toni Morrison
found paradise in a rebuilt converted boathouse on the Hudson
River. When asked about her "river house" in Chris Casson
Madden's book Getaways, Carefree Retreats for All Seasons ($35
Clarkson N. Potter), Morrison reflects that it's not so much about leaving and
going someplace else; rather "It's a vision of a place you've had in your mind
all along. When you find yourself there, you recognize it. It's almost as if
you've been away and in this place you meet yourself again."
Morrison speaks for all of us who dream of a special getaway to which we
can retreat for personal renewal. In her book, Madden celebrates
the spirit that creates such havens, from an island hideaway and
one-room cottage to a Hudson Valley treehouse. She visits a 50-
year-old yacht, the weekend homes of Katie Couric and
Michael Keaton, and a designer's pool pavilion. The home-
away-from-home profiles are accompanied by more than 200
exquisite photographs.
"The discovery of a getaway, I found, often has the char-
acteristics of an epiphany," writes Madden, author and host
of HGTV's "Interiors by Design." You know it's your spe-
cial place as soon as you see it.

-- Linda Bachrack

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AUGUST 2000 • STYLE AT THE JN