Time To Read Was Sabbatical Payoff

To the Editor:

In her article on sabbaticals for non-profit leaders (“A Break Between Good Deeds,” March 23) Meg Sommerfeld described the “epiphanies” that came to me when I was on a generous sabbatical that the New York Foundation’s board authorized in 1998.

While I’m not sure I’d classify them as epiphanies, I did discuss several other conclusions with Ms. Sommerfeld. I understand that space limitations meant one of those insights was edited out, but I think it was as important as what remained in. In addition to hard physical labor, and giving up the news, my sabbatical provided time to read — to read fiction, poetry, history, and many other things not obviously related to work.

Enough time to read is already a luxury today; the time to read whatever one wants is practically unheard of. I felt that it re-stimulated parts of the brain that had been in real danger of atrophy, and that all reading and thinking was enhanced as a result. It’s another insight I’ve tried to build into life after sabbatical.

Madeline Lee
Executive Director
New York Foundation