What are the motifs in A Year by the Sea: Thoughts of an Unfinished Woman by Joan Anderson?

Nature is a recurring idea in the story. Joan, like many others, sees nature as a healing force, and so it makes sense that connection with nature played such a significant role in her personal journey. At the beginning of her time alone, which she describes as "A Year by the Sea," Joan contemplated the ways in which her life had always been like the sea at high tide, but she realized that she also needed to understand the less exciting aspects of nature, such as ebb tide, which is a boring, transitory time. Joan often looked to animals for lessons about how she should live her life, especially the seals.