Okay, so E. Berg has some lovely moments:

"I guess I just wanted to say something about the generosity of a man who, while losing his life, offered a kind of solace against the time when I would lose my own."

..."deep happiness as a kind of pain."

..."she will help ____ who detests her, because of the home she wants to build inside herself, because of how she wants to live."

-But as a story, it's a dangling mess with a myriad of loose ends and a very incohesive main character.

It took me a bit to get into it but I'm glad I finished it. I usually love Berg's books and her writing but this one really didn't hit me like her others. There were a few great lines but I didn't feel as fulfilled as I usually do with her stories.

About stages of life & mother-daughter relationships.

Berg’s latest is a great, strong piece on not only loss, but on coming to terms with oneself. We meet the main character, Helen, months after she has lost her husband of many years from a sudden heart attack. Her daughter Tessa is on her own and Helen has to find a way to come to terms with being alone. I found the way Berg constructed Helen to be very believable of what a recent widow might go through. I didn’t think Helen’s reactions were too over the top or corny. This is a good summer beach read…it’s short, well-written and uncomplicated.

2.5 stars. Definitely not one of my favourites. I don't think there was much different about the style of this Elizabeth Berg book - the writing was just as thought-provoking as usual, and the characters are normal, everyday people. The only difference was, I did not like Helen. I found her just as insufferable as her daughter did. I also wished to get to know the characters in the writing class better. The quirky people she writes about has always been enjoyable to read about, but I found the scenes with them lacking this time. But I will definitely still read another Elizabeth Berg book!

Maybe 2.5 stars. I haven't read any of Elizabeth Berg's other books, so I'm not sure if this is a typical book for her or not. The premise of the story was fine, but I had a hard time with the protagonist, Helen. I realize that she's grieving the loss of her husband, but she's so pathetic and needy that it's hard to read her thoughts without wanting to shake her. Her relationship with her daughter would be realistic if Tessa wasn't almost 30. She sounds more like a teenager. Throw in surprise "gift" from her departed husband and an almost relationship and the book takes on a hard-to-believe aspect.

The one part of the novel that I liked was the class that Helen taught. The participants and their stories were almost more interesting than the rest of the novel.

The Trib reviewer said this was one of the ultimate Chicago novels. Not by a long shot! Could have been based in Philly. Naming places does not make the city a character in your novel. And it does *not* take only an hour to shower, drink coffee and drive from Oak Park to the Chicago MCA! Everything is just lovely by the end - gag! I've lived in OP and SF just like her, and was so looking forward to reading this - oh well......

I started this in November and I would swear I have read it...so since I have lots of books I know I have not read, I'm moving on. I'm generally a huge Elizabeth Berg fan, but have found her last couple of books just okay. Hence, thinking I've read this before, but I had not marked it as read in goodreads....

Hmmmm, now what to "read" next.....

This is a beautifully written, thought provoking novel that speaks to a number of topics at once. The primary story deals with Helen Ames's process of dealing with the loss of her husband, and then an unexpected discovery about him. Helen is the author of several popular novels whose beloved husband, Dan, died quite suddenly in their kitchen just under a year prior to the opening of the story. We get to know Helen as having been overly dependent on Dan, who took care of all their finances, all the home repairs and maintenance, essentially all the details of their life together. In his absence, she has become a little too dependent on their 27-year-old daughter, Tessa. Now, she has seemingly lost her ability to write, and has nothing at all in the works, although she keeps assuring people that she'll have a new book coming out within the year. Add to this the news from her accountant that a substantial portion of their savings was withdrawn by Dan several months before his death, and Helen is quite close to panic regarding her future. When the explanation of the withdrawal is revealed, instead of offering a solution, it actually adds another level of uncertainty to Helen's life.

Meanwhile, she has rather unwillingly accepted a job teaching a writing class, convinced that she really can't teach anyone how to write, especially since she hasn't been able to do it herself for months. This facet of the novel actually quickly became my favorite part. Her class is (intentionally) a radically diverse group of people, and as we follow the weekly assignments Helen gives them, we are treated to a series of exceptional stories-within-the-story. So what we finally end up with is an extended meditation on several topics, including love, loss, grief, moving on, and true friendship. But also, this book is very much about the process and therapeutic value of writing. Both Berg's prose and her insights are beautiful and incredible throughout. It was really hard to put this book down, right up to the very satisfying conclusion.