The Bridge Across Forever

Richard Bach

Richard Bach is a well-known author. His first bestseller, Jonathan Livingston Seagull, became a cult classic of the 1970's, expressing the feelings of the times. Since then he has written many more novels. This is his autobiography of his search for the perfect woman. Instead, he found a friend who would become the love of his life and his wife.

This is his story from his post-divorce days as a barnstormer pilot to published author to bankrupt activist. He meets Leslie Parrish briefly on a movie set, never guessing the importance she has later in his life. He talks about his thoughts, his feelings, his apprehensions, and his idiocies. While this story tells her love story, too, it is told from his perspective.

The first third of the book is fairly dumb, in my opinion. He is this wandering man, always looking for his "perfect woman". The ideal in his mind is an unobtainable person. At one point he acknowledges to himself that not even he meets all the criteria of the perfect mate for him. As he gets away from this discussion and moves into the relationship with Leslie, the book improves. He is straightforward about his feelings and how they changed without his realizing. He reveals his insensitive moments when he almost lost her as well as the special, joyous moments they have. Why she stayed with him after the heat stroke incident is still a mystery to me.

While I enjoyed their story, the book never quite clicks with me. He describes his trouble with bureaucracy and the government that finally led him to bankruptcy despite the millions he had made on his early books. He describes an environmental battle they had with the local state government. All this winds together as their relationship solidifies and grows. The book is informative about the issues, and makes me realize how stupid "government" can be, yet does not push that button to make me passionate about the problems. Their story is touching. At the end, though, the book is ruined as he goes back into New Age type philosophizing about his life and his relationship.

Comment/Review from John (a Scot in France)

I was handed this book by a friend while I was in Italy, summer 2006, and 5 years into a terrible fight against the French tax-office. [M]y situation at that time really made me click onto this book ... I just couldn't put it down. I consider [this] to be a truly beautifully love story told with a rare honesty [that] makes this book a favourite of mine. I've never done stunts in a plane, but we'd all love to.

I've known women who were as perfect as one human being should expect another to be, and like Bach, only realized it afterwards ... he was lucky enough in that the woman stuck around long enough for him to grow a brain. We men are not always that fortunate. I apologize on behalf of we such men to all women. Is that okay?

The Bridge Across Forever [i]s one of those stories we devour, and, suddenly finding ourselves at the second-to-last page, slow down so as to savour the last drop.