Ranking Author Elizabeth Berg&039s Best Books (A Bibliography Countdown)

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YOU ARE READING: Ranking Author Elizabeth Berg&039s Best Books (A Bibliography Countdown) – Book Scrolling AT PhebinhvanhocEN

“what are elizabeth berg’s best books?” We looked at the entire bibliography written by Berg and ranked them against each other to answer that very question!

We took all the books written by Elizabeth Berg and looked at their scores on Goodreads, Amazon, and LibraryThing, ranking them against each other to see which books scored the best. Books are ranked in our list below based on which titles have the highest overall score among all 3 review sites compared to all other books by the same author. the process isn’t super scientific, and most books aren’t really “better” than other books, they’re just different. That said, we like to see where our favorites landed, and if you’re not familiar with the author, the rankings can help you see which books might be best to start with.

You are reading: Best elizabeth berg books

The full leaderboard is also included below the countdown at the bottom of the page.

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elizabeth berg’s best book

29 ) the confession club

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good reads: 27
amazon: 28
librarything: 27

In a captivating novel from the best-selling author of the Arthur Truluv story, a group of women in Mason, Missouri discover that best friends are made by sharing secrets. It all started as a supper club, a group that met monthly to share home-cooked dinners, until one night a woman made a startling revelation. After that, the “confession club” decided to meet weekly to feast not only on dinner, but also on admitting wrongdoing, shame, and insecurities. When Iris Winters and Maddy Harris are invited to the club, they discover it’s just what they each need. Iris has yet to tell anyone about the unusual man who has caught her eye, and Maddy has returned home to escape a problem too big for her to deal with. confession club is a poignant and illuminating book about women, friendship, and how sharing the secrets we’re afraid to reveal can bring us closer together.

27 ) the dream lover

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good reads: 24
amazon: 26
librarything: 24

At the beginning of this powerful novel, we meet Aurore Dupin as she leaves her estranged husband, a loveless marriage, and her family’s estate in the French countryside to start a new life in Paris. There, she gives herself a new name, George Sand, and pursues her dream of becoming a writer, adopting an unconventional and even scandalous lifestyle. Paris in the 19th century comes to life, illuminated by the story of the loves, passions and fierce struggles of a woman who defied the limits of society. Sand’s many lovers and friends include Frederic Chopin, Gustave Flaubert, Franz Liszt, Eugene Delacroix, Victor Hugo, Marie Dorval, and Alfred de Musset. As the arena welcomes fame and friendship, she struggles to overcome heartbreak and prejudice, failure and loss. Although she is considered the most gifted genius of her time, she works to reconcile the pain of her childhood, of her disturbing relationships with her mother and daughter, and of her intimacies with women and men. Will the life she longs for always be out of her reach, a dream of hers?

27 ) Once upon a time, there was you

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good reads: 26
amazon: 23
librarything: 25

even on their wedding day, john and irene felt like they were about to make a mistake. Years later, divorced, dating, and living in different parts of the country, they seem to have nothing in common, nothing except the most important person in each of their lives: their energetic eighteen-year-old daughter, Sadie. Feeling stifled by Irene and estranged from John, Sadie grows attached to her new boyfriend, Ron. When tragedy strikes, Irene and John team up to support the daughter they love so much. what takes the most time is remembering how they really feel about each other. elizabeth berg has once again created characters that embody the many shades of the human spirit. Reading Berg’s fiction allows us to reflect on our deepest emotions, and her gifts as a writer mean that once upon a time, there was a wonderful novel about the power of love, the unbreakable bonds of family, and the beauty of second chances. .

26 ) the maid and the carpenter

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good reads: 25
amazon: 22
librarything: 26

We see Mary, young, strong and inquisitive, when she first meets Joseph, a serious young carpenter who is firmly devoted to the religious traditions of his people. the two become engaged, but are soon faced with an unexpected pregnancy. Helped by great and abiding love, they endure challenges to their relationship and threats to their lives as they come to terms with the mysterious circumstances surrounding the birth of their son, Jesus. For Mary, pregnancy is a divine miracle and a privilege. For Joseph, it is a continual test not only of his courage but also of his faith, both in his wife and in his god. Exquisitely written and imbued with the truthful emotions and rich detail that have won Elizabeth Berg devoted readers, The Handmaid and the Carpenter explores lives deeply touched by miracles large and small. this powerful and moving novel is destined to become a classic.

25 ) safe home

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good reads: 21
amazon: 27
librarything: 18

the bestselling author of the day i ate what i wanted and the year of pleasure returns with a wonderful novel about a woman, a daughter and a surprising change in life, beloved author elizabeth berg tells the story of helen ames , recently widowed, and her twenty-seven-year-old daughter Tessa. Helen is shocked to discover that her loyal, mild-mannered husband had been leading a double life. The Ames had saved money for a happy retirement, carefully planned, but that money disappeared in several large retirements, spent by Helen’s husband before he died. What could she have been doing? and what is helen going to do now? Why doesn’t Helen’s daughter object to her mother applying for a job and why doesn’t Tessa meet a good man and get married?

23 ) tapestry of fortunes

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good reads: 22
amazon: 20
librarything: 23

Cecilia Ross is a motivational speaker who encourages others to change their lives for the better. Why can’t she follow her own advice? Still shaken by the death of her next-door neighbor and her best friend, and aware of the need to live more fully now, Cece realizes that she has to make a move: all the portentous signs seem point in that direction. she decides to downsize her life, which means selling her house in suburban minnesota and getting rid of many of her possessions. She moves into a beautiful old house in Saint Paul, complete with a beautiful garden, a chef’s kitchen, and three housemates: Lise, the landlady and a divorced mother at odds with her twenty-year-old daughter; Joni, a top-tier sous chef at a top-tier restaurant with an idiot boss rating; and renie, the youngest and most fickle of the group, who tries to rectify a teenage mistake. These women, each feeling restless in their own way, embark on a journey together in an attempt to connect with long-denied parts of themselves.

23 ) the last time I saw you

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good reads: 23
amazon: 20
librarything: 22

For each of the men and women from the last time I saw them, this meeting means something different: a last chance to say something that has not been said for a long time, an escape from the darker realities of everyday life , a means to save a marriage. on the rocks, or the chance to bond with a slightly estranged daughter, if only for what her mother should wear. when former classmates meet over the course of a weekend, they discover things that will irrevocably affect the rest of their lives. For recently divorced Dorothy Shauman, the reunion brings with it the possibility of finally attracting the attention of class heartthrob Pete Decker. For the ever-self-sufficient and ever-excluded Mary Alice Mayhew, it’s a chance to reexamine a painful past. For Lester Heseenpfeffer, a veterinarian and widower, it’s hoping to discuss work with a fellow veterinarian, or so he tells himself. For Candy Armstrong, the beauty of the class, it’s the hope of finding friendship before it’s too late. As Dorothy, Mary Alice, Lester, Candy and the other classmates gather for reunion dinner, four decades fade away: the desires and personalities of their youth resurface and new discoveries are made. because so much has happened to everyone.

22 ) dream when you feel sad

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good reads: 19
amazon: 23
librarything: 21

at the beginning of the novel, kitty and louise heaney say goodbye to their boyfriends, julian and michael, who are going to fight abroad. On the home front, meat is rationed, children participate in metal drives, and Tommy Dorsey and Glenn Miller play songs that offer hope and uplift. And now the Heaney sisters sit at the kitchen table every night writing letters: Louise to her fiancé, Kitty to the man she badly wants her to propose to, and Tish to an ever-changing group of men she meets at dances. of us. Intimate glimpses of life both on the front lines and at home are found in the letters the sisters send and receive. For kitty, a confident and headstrong young woman, the departure of her boyfriend and the lessons she learns about love, resilience and war will bring her a surprise and a secret, and lead her to radical action for the future. loved ones of hers. The lifelong consequences of the choices the Heaney sisters make are at the center of this magnificent novel about the power of love and the enduring strength of family.

21) talk before sleeping

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good reads: 27
amazon: 28
librarything: 4

Until that moment, I hadn’t realized how much I needed to meet someone I could tell everything to. they met at a party. It was hate at first sight. ruth was too beautiful, too extravagant. she is not at all ann’s type of person. until a chance meeting in the bathroom led to an alliance of souls. Soon they were sharing handkerchiefs during the belated introduction to Sophie’s World, devouring sundaes drenched in whipped cream, telling truths about marriage, mortality, and love, safe in a kind of intimacy no man could ever know. After years of shared secrets, guilty pleasures, family life and divorce, they face a crisis that redefines the meaning of friendship and unconditional love. This is Ruth’s story. of ana and of all of us who wonder what we would say if we knew that we don’t have forever.

20 ) until the real thing arrives

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good reads: 18
amazon: 23
librarything: 16

Your biological clock is in overdrive. but she is in love with a gay man. patty murphy faces that turning point in a woman’s life when her biological clock ticks as insistently as a beating heart. Will she find the right man and start a family? But Patty is in love with a man who is not only handsome and financially sound, but also sensitive and caring. there’s just one little problem: he’s gay too. Against her better judgment and the pleas of her family and friends, Patty refuses to give up on Ethan. all the men she dates eventually leave her yearning for the gentle comfort and intimacy she shares with him. But as she puts eligible singles aside for another platonic night with Ethan, Ella Patty yearns more and more for the solace of loving and being loved. in the meantime, she must be content to wait, until reality comes…

19 ) say when

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good reads: 17
amazon: 18
librarything: 19

She felt her stomach tighten and her heart begin to race. the coffee pot beeped, signaling that she was ready, and she ellen she got up and poured two cups. she put one in front of griffin, one in front of her. Griffin watched as the steam rose and coiled on itself, then dissipated. he said quietly, “I’m not going anywhere.” “pardon?” “I said, I’m not going anywhere. I’m not moving.” She nodded. “I see. well i can’t. I have to be here to take care of zoe. Griffin imagined her daughter, a red-haired beauty who would take any man’s breath away. “Okay, you can stay too,” she told ellen. “Griffin. One of Us Has to Go. In Let’s Say When, Elizabeth Berg perfectly strikes the delicate balance between humor and poignancy as she charts the days and nights of a family whose normal life has been shattered.

18 ) open day

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good reads: 15
amazon: 18
librarything: 19

Samantha’s husband has left her and, after a wave of overcharges at Tiffany’s, she sets out to rebuild a life for herself and her eleven-year-old son. her eccentric mother tries to help her by setting her up with dates, but a more pressing problem is money. To meet her mortgage payments, Sam decides to host guests. the first is an older woman who offers sage advice and much-needed comfort; the second, a misfit student, is not so helpful. A new friend, Rey, an untraditional man, suggests that Samantha go out, get going, get a job. but her real job is this: to get out of the pain and the past, she has to learn to make her own happiness. to really see people, she has to look into their hearts. and to know who she is, she has to remember—and reclaim—the person she used to be for her, long before she became someone else in an effort to save her marriage. open house is a love story about what can blossom between a man and a woman, and within a woman herself.

17 ) the art of mending

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good reads: 27
amazon: 4
librarything: 16

is it too late to make up for the past? Laura Bartone awaits her annual family reunion with a mixture of excitement and wariness. Every year, she and her siblings return to her parents’ home outside of Minneapolis to attend the state fair. this year, things are different. as soon as she arrives, laura realizes that something is wrong with her sister carolina. On their first night together, Caroline confronts Laura and Ella’s brother Steve with devastating accusations about her mother. Puzzled and incredulous, the brothers are unable to reconcile their perception of her childhood. a sudden tragedy forces them to confront the past, their own guilt, and their need for love and forgiveness.

16 ) everyone is welcome here

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good reads: 10
amazon: 7
librarything: 27

It’s the summer of 1964. In Tupelo, Mississippi, Elvis’ birthplace, tensions are rising over civil rights demonstrations that are occurring with increasing frequency and violence across the state. But in Paige Dunn’s dilapidated little house there are more immediate concerns. Challenged by the effects of the polio she contracted during her last month of pregnancy, Paige is determined to lead as normal a life as possible and raise her daughter, Diana, in any way she sees fit, with the support of her harshness. talking black caretaker, peacie. Diana is trying her way to live a normal life. As a fourteen-year-old girl, she wants to earn money to buy clothes and magazines, throw off her mother’s authority and peace, unravel the puzzle that is children, and escape the oppression she sees everywhere in the small town. her. . however, what she can never escape is the way her life is markedly different from everyone else’s. she also cannot escape her ongoing responsibility to help care for her mother. Paige Dunn is attractive, charming, intelligent and spirited, but her needs are great and unrelenting. As the summer progresses, hatred and adversity will visit this modest home.

15) the year of pleasures

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good reads: 15
amazon: 11
librarything: 15

Betta Nolan moves to a small town after her husband’s death to try and start a new life. Though she still deals with her pain, Betta is determined to find pleasure in her simple daily routines. Among those who help her in expected and unexpected ways are the ten-year-old boy next door, three wild friends she reunites with from her college days, a young man struggling to find his place in the world, and a handsome widower who is ready for love. Elizabeth Berg’s Year of Pleasures is about recognizing the comfort found in ordinary things: a warm bath, good food, the beauty of nature, music, and art. above all, the year of pleasures is about the various kindnesses that people can, and do, give each other. Betta’s journey from pain to joy is a meaningful reminder of what is available to all of us, regardless of what fate throws at us. this exquisite book suggests that no matter what we lose, life is ready to give abundantly to those who will receive.

13 ) never change

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good reads: 12
amazon: 13
librarything: 14

Myra Lipinski, a fifty-one-year-old self-proclaimed spinster, is reasonably content with her quiet life, her dog, Frank, and her career as a visiting nurse. But everything changes when Chip Reardon, the golden boy she adored in high school, is assigned as her new patient. Opting to forgo treatment for an incurable disease, Chip has returned to his New England hometown to spend what time he has left. Now, Myra and Chip find themselves in the middle of a poignant redefinition of roles and a complicated dance of memory, ambivalence, and longing.

13 ) the day I ate all I wanted

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good reads: 20
amazon: 7
librarything: 12

every once in a while, right in the middle of any given day, a woman kicks up her heels and commits a small act of liberation. What would you do if you could get rid of the “shoulds” and do, say and eat what you really want? get away from the weight watchers and spend a whole day eating whatever she wants? start a dating service for people over 50 to bring back the dazzle in your life or in your marriage? seek comfort in the face of aging, seek love in the midst of loss, find friendship in the most surprising places? In these beautiful and funny stories, Elizabeth Berg takes us into the heart of the lives of women who do all of these things and more, confronting their true feelings, desires, and joys along the way.

12) joy school

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good reads: 13
amazon: 17
librarything: 8

a luminous tale of love and loss in this exquisite new novel from bestselling author elizabeth berg, a young woman falls in love and learns how pain can lead to understanding joy. katie has moved to missouri with her father distant from her, occasionally abusive of her. she feels very lonely: her beloved mother has died; she finds it hard to adjust, at her new school and her only friends are far from ideal companions. When she falls through the ice while skating, she meets Jimmy. he is handsome, older than her and married, but she is fascinated. As their relationship develops, so does Katie’s awareness of the pain and intensity that first love can bring. beautifully written with berg’s irresistible voice, joy school portrays the giddy happiness of true love, the deep despair she feels when it’s not reciprocated, and the stubbornness of hope that won’t let go. the school of joy illustrates how the things that hurt the most can sometimes teach us the lessons that really matter.

11 ) durable goods

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good reads: 11
amazon: 16
librarything: 9

On the steamy texas military base she calls home, katie spends her lazy summer days waiting: waiting to grow up; waiting for dickie mack to fall in love with her; waiting for her breasts to bloom; waiting for her beatings to stop. Since her mother died, Katie and her older sister, Diane, have struggled to understand her increasingly distant and often violent father. While Diane escapes into the arms of her boyfriend, Katie hides in her room or escapes to her best friend’s house, until Katie’s admiration for her strong-willed sister leads her to to an adventure that transforms her life. Written with an unerring ability to capture the sadness of growing up, the pain of change, the almost visible vibes that connect people, this beautiful novel reminds us how wonderful—and hurtful—a deeper understanding of life can be.

10) the attraction of the moon

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good reads: 13
amazon: 13
librarything: 9

dear martin, I’m sorry that the note I left you was so abrupt. I just wanted you to know that I was safe… I won’t be back for a while. I’m on a trip I suddenly needed to go, without saying where, because I don’t know where. I know this is not like me. I know that,. But trust me, I’m safe and I’m not crazy. I felt that if I didn’t do this I wouldn’t be safe and I would be crazy… and can you believe this? I love you. and sometimes you have to put your life behind you for a while to see it and really live it again. In this luminous and exquisitely written novel, a woman follows the pull of the moon to find her way home. Sometimes humorous, sometimes heartbreaking, always honest, Moon Pull is a novel about one woman’s journey and the heart problems that transform every woman’s life.

9 ) range of motion

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good reads: 8
amazon: 11
librarything: 11

I can tell you how it happened. it’s easy to tell how it happened. he passed a building, and a large chunk of ice fell from the roof, hitting him on the head. this is Chaplinesque, right? people start laughing when i tell them… ’while jay berman remains in a coma, his young wife lainey is the only one who believes she will recover. As he lies motionless, she waits to reach out to him by offering him reminders of the ordinary life they shared: scented flowers, his soft-textured shirt, spices from his kitchen. And throughout her ordeal, Lainey draws on her relationship with two very special women, each of whom teaches her about the enduring bond of friendship and the genuine power of hope.

8 ) still happy

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good reads: 1
amazon: 1
librarything: 27

still happy is elizabeth’s second collection of facebook posts. The first, making someone happy, did make a lot of people happy, so, by popular demand, she has produced a second volume, which includes “The Book of Homer,” a tribute to her beloved dog who recently passed away. Still Happy, Like Making Someone Happy, exemplifies Berg’s gift, as the Boston Globe put it, “in her ability to find the extraordinary in the ordinary, the remarkable in the everyday.”

7 ) what we keep

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good reads: 8
amazon: 13
librarything: 7

Do you ever really know your mother, your daughter, the people in your family? In this rich and rewarding new novel from beloved bestselling author Bedtime Talk and Moon Lure, a reunion between two sisters and their mother reveals how the secrets and complexities of the past have shaped the lives of the women of a family. . Ginny Young is on a plane, on her way to see her mother, whom she hasn’t seen or spoken to in thirty-five years. she thinks back to the summer of 1958, when she and ella sharla’s sister de ella were children. At that time, a series of dramatic events – beginning with the arrival of a mysterious and sensual next-door neighbor – divided the family, separating the sisters from her mother.

6 ) true to form

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good reads: 6
amazon: 7
librarything: 13

In this warm and captivating novel, New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Berg revisits the heroine who so lovingly brought her to life at the School of Durable Goods and Joy. It’s 1961 and thirteen-year-old Katie faces a summer full of conflict. First, instead of letting her find her own job for the season, Katie’s father has arranged for two less-than-ideal babysitting jobs. Worse still, Katie has been forcibly inducted into the “loser” scout troop organized by the controlling and clueless mother of her only friend Cynthia De Ella. A long-awaited visit to her old house in Texas and her ex-best friend, Cherylanne, turns out to be disappointing. And then comes an act of betrayal that leaves Katie questioning her views on her friendship, on her ability to not take those she loves and, more importantly, herself for granted. Filled with the angst and joys of adolescence in a much more innocent time, True to Style is sure to make readers remember and reflect on her own moments of discovery and self-definition.

5 ) ordinary life

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good reads: 7
amazon: 7
librarything: 5

The characters of ordinary life, elizabeth berg’s collection of limpid stories and gems, are on the brink of knowledge, and it only takes quiet events (a kiss, the return of a freed bird) to push them towards what they need. to the face, even if it’s behind them. the title story, in which an elderly woman named mavis mcpherson locks herself in the bathroom for a week, contains the germ of berg’s message about the importance of the small, the everyday. Mavis’s urge to retreat began when she found a 1946 photograph of her husband and her brother-in-law sleeping. behind them was a table, on which sat a porcelain figure, now broken, that had been her mother’s. she had wished she had more pictures of everything she used to have, Mavis thought, all her furniture, even her old refrigerator, and what was inside too: the big square blocks of butter in the fluted glass container, the old flowery bowls she used to have. have to store leftovers, covered with wax paper and secured with rubber bands.

4) escaping into the open air

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good reads: 4
amazon: 5
librarything: 6

Elizabeth Berg touches the lives of women with truly funny and heartbreaking novels, including the New York Times bestseller, Talk Before You Sleep, that clearly capture the essence of their lives. Now, this critically acclaimed author and writing instructor offers a practical and inspiring primer on the joys, challenges, and creative possibilities inherent in the life of writing. Both the autobiography and the primer, Escaping Outdoors weave together Elizabeth Berg’s story of her own journey from working mother to published novelist with encouraging advice on creating stories that come from the depths of the heart. With wit and honesty, Elizabeth Berg offers numerous exercises that will unleash individual creativity and access and use all of the senses. more importantly, she tells how to ignite the passion, the emotion, in the writing itself; break down personal barriers and reach one’s outer limits and beyond.

3) night of miracles

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good reads: 5
amazon: 5
librarything: 3

the feel-good book of the year: a delightful novel about friendship, community, and how small acts of kindness can change your life, from the bestselling author of the arthur truluv story lucille howard is entering years, but she keeps busy. Inspired by the inspiration of her late friend Arthur Truluv, she has started teaching baking classes, sharing the secrets of her delicious classic southern yellow cake, the perfect pinwheel cookies, and other sweet essentials. her classes have become so popular that she hired iris, a new resident of mason, missouri, as her assistant. Iris doesn’t know how to bake, but she needs to distract herself from a big decision that she deeply regrets. When a new family moves in next door and tragedy strikes, Lucille sets out to find her son Lincoln. Lincoln’s parents aren’t the only ones in town facing tough decisions and an uncertain future. In these trying times, Mason residents come together and find the true power of community, just when they need it most.

2 ) the story of arthur truluv

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good reads: 3
amazon: 2
librarything: 2

Redemptive without being maudlin, this story of two misfits lucky enough to have found each other will touch readers’ hearts.” -book list for the past six months, arthur moses’ days have been the same: he tends to his rose garden and his cat, gordon, then rides the bus to the cemetery to visit his beloved late wife for lunch . The last thing Arthur could imagine is that an unlikely encounter would completely transform his life. Eighteen-year-old Maddy Harris is an introspective girl who visits the cemetery to escape the other kids at school. she joins arthur one afternoon—a gesture that begins a surprising friendship between two lonely souls. Touched by Arthur’s kindness and devotion, Maddy gives him the nickname “Truluv”. As Arthur’s neighbor Lucille comes into her orbit, the unlikely trio come together and, through heartbreak and hardship, help each other rediscover their own potential to start anew.

1 ) make someone happy

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good reads: 2
amazon: 2
librarything: 1

This is a collection of Elizabeth Berg’s most loved Facebook posts. many asked her to put these short essays into book form, to create something to “take to the beach, to bed, or on a plane.” elizabeth and her friend, phyllis florin, happily complied and hope that her offering will be as welcome as flowers in a mailbox.

Other content

Ranking Author Elizabeth Berg&039s Best Books (A Bibliography Countdown) – Book Scrolling

elizabeth berg’s best book

29 ) the confession club

27 ) the dream lover

27 ) Once upon a time, there was you

26 ) the maid and the carpenter

25 ) safe home

23 ) tapestry of fortunes

23 ) the last time I saw you

22 ) dream when you feel sad

21) talk before sleeping

20 ) until the real thing arrives

19 ) say when

18 ) open day

17 ) the art of mending

16 ) everyone is welcome here

15) the year of pleasures

13 ) never change

13 ) the day I ate all I wanted

12) joy school

11 ) durable goods

10) the attraction of the moon

9 ) range of motion

8 ) still happy

7 ) what we keep

6 ) true to form

5 ) ordinary life

4) escaping into the open air

3) night of miracles

2 ) the story of arthur truluv

1 ) make someone happy

elizabeth berg’s best books

elizabeth berg reviews website bibliography classification

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