New york times bestselling author elizabeth berg takes us to Chicago at the time of World War II in this wonderful story about three sisters, their lively Irish family, and the men they love. As the novel opens, kitty and Louise Heaney say good-bye to their boyfriends Julian and Michael, who are going to fight overseas.

On the domestic front, meat is rationed, children participate in metal drives, and Tommy Dorsey and Glenn Miller play songs that offer hope and lift spirits. In the letters the sisters send and receive are intimate glimpses of life both on the battlefront and at home. For kitty, resilience, headstrong young woman, and war will bring a surprise and a secret, the departure of her boyfriend and the lessons she learns about love, a confident, and will lead her to a radical action for those she loves.

. And now the heaney sisters sit at their kitchen table every evening to write letters–Louise to her fiancé, Kitty to the man she wishes fervently would propose, and Tish to an ever-changing group of men she meets at USO dances. The lifelong consequences of the choices the Heaney sisters make are at the heart of this superb novel about the power of love and the enduring strength of family.

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We Are All Welcome Here: A Novel

It is the summer of 1964. Her new novel, we are all welcome Here, features three women, each struggling against overwhelming odds for her own kind of freedom. Nor can she escape her ongoing responsibility to assist in caring for her mother. In tupelo, the town of elvis’s birth, Mississippi, tensions are mounting over civil-rights demonstrations occurring ever more frequently–and violently–across the state.

But in paige dunn’s small, ramshackle house, there are more immediate concerns. Challenged by the effects of the polio she contracted during her last month of pregnancy, in the way she sees fit–with the support of her tough-talking black caregiver, Diana, Paige is nonetheless determined to live as normal a life as possible and to raise her daughter, Peacie.

As the summer unfolds, hate and adversity will visit this modest home. Diana is trying in her own fashion to live a normal life. Despite the difficulties thrust upon them, understanding, each of the women will find her own path to independence, and peace. And diana’ s mother, so mightily compromised, will end up giving her daughter an extraordinary gift few parents could match.

What she can never escape, however, is the way her life is markedly different from others’. Paige dunn is attractive, charming, intelligent, and lively, but her needs are great–and relentless. As a fourteen-year-old, she wants to make money for clothes and magazines, to figure out the puzzle that is boys, to slough off the authority of her mother and Peacie, and to escape the oppressiveness she sees everywhere in her small town.

Never Change

Now, ambivalence, myra and chip find themselves engaged in a poingnant redefinition of roles, and a complicated dance of memory, and longing. You know people like me. And it has been enough -- until chip Reardon, the too-good-to-be-true golden boy she adored from afar, is assigned to be her new patient. I'm the one who sat in a folding chair out in the hall selling tickets to the prom but never going, the one everybody liked but no one wanted to be with.

A self-anointed spinster at fifty-one, frank, Myra Lipinsky has endured the isolation of her middle life by doting on her dog, and immersing herself in her career as a visiting nurse. With effortless warmth, and loving respect for characters that defies easy sentiment, Never Change melds the emotional depth and gentle intensity of poetry with the rich satisfactions of finely wrought fiction.

Myra considers herself reasonably content, It's enough, telling herself, work and Frank. Choosing to forgo invasive treatment for an incurable illness, Chip has returned from Manhattan to the New England home of his childhood to spend what time he has left. From the author whose work the new yorker calls "strong" and "timeless" comes a wry and beautifully distilled portrait of one woman's resilience in the face of loneliness, and of a union that transcends life's most unexpected and challenging circumstances.

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The Last Time I Saw You: A Novel

For newly divorced dorothy shauman, the reunion brings with it the possibility of finally attracting the attention of the class heartthrob, Pete Decker. For the ever self-reliant, ever left-out Mary Alice Mayhew, it’s a chance to reexamine a painful past. And so much can still happen. In this beautiful novel, elizabeth Berg deftly weaves together stories of roads taken and not taken, choices made and opportunities missed, and the possibilities of second chances.

For candy armstrong, the class beauty, it’s the hope of finding friendship before it is too late. As dorothy, and the other classmates converge for the reunion dinner, four decades melt away: Desires and personalities from their youth reemerge, Candy, Mary Alice, Lester, and new discoveries are made.

Bonus: this edition contains a the last time I Saw You discussion guide and an excerpt from Elizabeth Berg's Once Upon a Time, There Was You. From the beloved bestselling author of home Safe and The Year of Pleasures, comes a wonderful new novel about women and men reconnecting with one another—and themselves—at their fortieth high school reunion.

To each of the men and women in the last time i saw you, or an opportunity to bond with a slightly estranged daughter, this reunion means something different—a last opportunity to say something long left unsaid, an escape from the bleaker realities of everyday life, a means to save a marriage on the rocks, if only over what her mother should wear.

As the onetime classmates meet up over the course of a weekend, they discover things that will irrevocably affect the rest of their lives. For lester heseenpfeffer, a veterinarian and widower, it is the hope of talking shop with a fellow vet—or at least that’s what he tells himself. For so much has happened to them all.

Once Upon a Time, There Was You: A Novel

Bonus: this edition contains a Once Upon a Time, There Was You discussion guide. Even on their wedding day, John and Irene sensed that they were about to make a mistake. Feeling smothered by irene and distanced from John, Sadie is growing more and more attached to her new boyfriend, Ron. When tragedy strikes, Irene and John come together to support the daughter they love so dearly.

Years later, they seem to have nothing in common—nothing except the most important person in each of their lives: Sadie, dating other people, and living in different parts of the country, divorced, their spirited eighteen-year-old daughter. Elizabeth berg’s immense talent shines in this unforgettable novel about the power of love, the unshakeable bonds of family, and the beauty of second chances.

What takes longer is to remember how they really feel about each other.

The Year of Pleasures: A Novel

Berg writes with humor and a big heart about resilience, love, loneliness, and hope. And the same could be said about The Year of Pleasures. Among those who help her in both expected and unexpected ways are the ten-year-old boy next door, a twenty-year-old who is struggling to find his place in the world, three wild women friends from her college days, and a handsome man who is ready for love.

Pursuing a dream of a different kind of life, she is determined to find pleasure in her simply daily routines. In this rich and deeply satisfying novel by the beloved author of The Art of Mending, self-discovery, a resilient woman embarks upon an unforgettable journey of adventure, and Open House, and renewal.

Betta nolan moves to a small town after the death of her husband to try to begin anew. And the transcendence that redeems, " said Andre Dubus about Durable Goods. Elizabeth berg's the year of pleasuresis about acknowledging the solace found in ordinary things: a warm bath, good food, the beauty of nature, friends, music, and art.

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True To Form

First, instead of letting her find her own work for the season, Katie's father has arranged for two less-than-ideal baby-sitting jobs -- one for the rambunctious Wexler boys and another for Mrs. But whether or not Katie will ever feel true to herself remains to be seen. One thing to say about you, Katie, is that you are true.

You should be proud of it, and don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise, " Cherylanne insists. From the writer whose work the new yorker calls "strong" and "timeless, " True to Form is a delicately told tale of a young girl wise beyond her years, whose growing pains finally awaken her to the clarity of forgiveness and a greater understanding of the complicated world around her.

. It is 1961, and thirteen-year-old Katie is facing a summer full of conflict. To make matters worse, katie has been forcibly inducted into the "loser" Girl Scout troop organized by her only friend Cynthia's controlling and clueless mother. In this warm and engaging novel, new york Times bestselling author Elizabeth Berg revisits the heroine she so lovingly brought to life in Durable Goods and Joy School.

Randolph, a kind but elderly, bed-ridden neighbor. And then comes an act of betrayal that leaves Katie questioning her views on friendship, and, most important, on her ability not to take those she loves for granted, on herself. Full of the anguish and the joys of adolescence in a much more innocent time, True to Form is sure to make readers remember and reflect on their own moments of discovery and self-definition.

A much-anticipated visit to her former home in Texas and ex-best friend Cherylanne proves disappointing.

Say When: A Novel

That was his side, because he was her husband. From the new york times bestselling author of Open House and True to Form comes a brilliant novel that charts the days and nights of a family whose normalcy has been shattered. Now he must either move on or fight for his marriage, forgive his wife or condemn her for her betrayal, deny or face up to his part in the sudden undoing of his seemingly perfect life.

And she was his wife. Griffin is a happy man. But when he wakes one morning to hear of his wife's love affair with another man and her request for a divorce, Griffin's view of life is irrevocably altered. With startling clarity and a trademark blend of humor and poignancy, say when follows a man on an emotional journey to redefine his notions about love and happiness and asks questions relevant to any contemporary couple: when is a relationship worth saving and when is it better to let it go? Might a man and a woman define betrayal differently? How honest are we with those to whom we are ostensibly closest? Searingly honest, where intimacy and love, denial and pain, Say When is an engaging and memorable story that takes readers into the heart of a modern marriage, so often collide.

Ellen, he thought, and the name seemed to him to hold everything he might possibly want to say to her. He looked at her lying on her side of the bed, looked too at the space she had left beside her.

Durable Goods: A Novel Katie Nash Book 1

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 on an adventure that transforms her life. On the hot texas army base she calls home, katie spends the lazy days of her summer waiting: waiting to grow up; waiting for Dickie Mack to fall in love with her; waiting for her breasts to blossom; waiting for the beatings to stop.

. Since their mother died, diane, Katie and her older sister, have struggled to understand their increasingly distant, often violent father. Written with an unerring ability to capture the sadness of growth, the pain of change, the nearly visible vibrations that connect people, this beautiful novel by the bestselling author of Open House reminds us how wonderful—and wounding—a deeper understanding of life can be.

From the Trade Paperback edition.

Night of Miracles: A Novel

Thanks to the inspiration of her dearly departed friend Arthur Truluv, she has begun to teach baking classes, sharing the secrets to her delicious classic Southern yellow cake, the perfect pinwheel cookies, and other sweet essentials. In these difficult times, the residents of Mason come together and find the true power of community—just when they need it the most.

Elizabeth berg’s characters jump right off the page and into your heart” said Fannie Flagg about The Story of Arthur Truluv. As the endearing, odd-lot characters of Mason, coalesce into new families, Missouri, dessert is served: a plateful of chocolate-and-vanilla pinwheel cookies for the soul. Usa today “full of empathy and charm, every chapter infuses the heart with a renewed sense of hope.

Woman’s World. Iris doesn’t know how to bake but she needs to keep her mind off a big decision she sorely regrets. When a new family moves in next door and tragedy strikes, Lucille begins to look out for Lincoln, their son. The same could be said about night of Miracles, a heartwarming novel that reminds us that the people we come to love are often the ones we don’t expect.

Praise for night of miracles“happy, sweet and slyly funny, sad, Night of Miracles celebrates the nourishing comfort of community and provides a delightfully original take on the cycles of life. People book of the week “find refuge in Mason, a place blessedly free of the political chaos we now know as ‘real life.

Joy School Katie Nash Book 2

He is handsome, and married, far older than she, but she is entranced. As their relationship unfolds, so too does Katie's awareness of the pain and intensity first love can bring. Beautifully written in berg's irresistible voice, Joy School portrays the soaring happiness of real love, the deep despair one can feel when it goes unrequited, and the stubbornness of hope that will not let us let go.

When she accidentally falls through the ice while skating, she meets Jimmy. Joy school illuminates, too, how the things that hurt the most can sometimes teach us the lessons that really matter. About durable goods, "elizabeth berg writes with humor and a big heart about resilience, Andre Dubus said, loneliness, Elizabeth Berg's first novel, love and hope.

And the transcendence that redeems. The same will be said of Joy School, Elizabeth Berg's most luminous novel to date. From the Hardcover edition. In this exquisite new novel by bestselling writer Elizabeth Berg, a young woman falls in love -- and learns how sorrow can lead to an understanding of joy. Katie, has relocated to missouri with her distant, occasionally abusive father, the narrator, and she feels very much alone: her much-loved mother is dead; her new school is unaccepting of her; and her only friends fall far short of being ideal companions.

Here also is recognition that love can come in many forms and offer many different things.