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The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted Summary and Reviews

The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted

And Other Small Acts of Liberation

by Elizabeth Berg

The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted by Elizabeth Berg X
The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted by Elizabeth Berg
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  • Published Apr 2008
    256 pages
    Genre: Short Stories

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Book Summary

Exhilarating short stories of women breaking free from convention

Every now and then, right in the middle of an ordinary day, a woman rebels, kicks up her heels, and commits a small act of liberation.

What would you do, if you were going to break out and away? Go AWOL from Weight Watchers and spend an entire day eating every single thing you want – and then some? Start a dating service for people over fifty to reclaim the razzle-dazzle in your life–or your marriage? Seek comfort in the face of aging, look for love in the midst of loss, find friendship in the most surprising of places?

Imagine that the people in these wonderful stories – who do all of these things and more – are asking you: What would you do, if nobody was looking?

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"[I]f her endings are slightly predictable, it's in a good way, like comfort food that never disappoints. " - Publishers Weekly.

"Berg's writing is so gentle, her people so real, that even these sad stories generate warmth. Tales that highlight the bright sparks in everyday experience." - Kirkus Reviews.

"This collection will find favor with Berg's many fans and will entice new readers as well. These readable treats remind us of the surprises and delights of life. Highly recommended for public libraries." - Library Journal.

This information about The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

Reader Reviews

Write your own reviewwrite your own review

Cathryn Conroy

Hilarious and Heartbreaking! A Must-Read
This is a book about food. More precisely, this is a book about eating food—or not eating it. It is a hymn to food. It is a testament to our relationship with food and how that relationship sometimes goes wrong. Very wrong. It is both hilarious and heartbreaking.

It is also a book about aging and how women endure, fight and/or give in to the inexorable process of having birthdays.

And it is a book about love. Love between men and women. Sexual tension between men and women. And the very precious, lifegiving love of a BFF.

This book by Elizabeth Berg is not to be missed. It is authentic and true. Read it!

Sharon

Loved these stories
I loved these stories. Weight watchers, this book will make you laugh. The resilience of women runs through these stories.

MMorrison

Would have been able to finish but....
Obvious that Elizabeth Berg is a great author. This book began as one I really wanted to read. Got as far as page 5. Was the f-word really necessary? I promise to buy any future book by this talented author, if profanity is omitted.

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Author Information

Elizabeth Berg Author Biography

Photo © 2003 Joyce Ravid

Elizabeth Berg is the author of many bestselling novels, including Open House (an Oprah's Book Club selection), Talk Before Sleep, and The Year of Pleasures, as well as the short story collection The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted. Durable Goods and Joy School were selected as ALA Best Books of the Year. She adapted The Pull of the Moon into a play that enjoyed sold-out performances in Chicago and Indianapolis. Berg's work has been translated into twenty-seven languages, and three of her novels have been turned into television movies. She is the founder of Writing Matters, a quality reading series dedicated to serving author, audience, and community. She teaches one-day writing workshops and is a popular speaker at venues around the country. Some of her most popular Facebook ...

... Full Biography
Author Interview
Link to Elizabeth Berg's Website

Other books by Elizabeth Berg at BookBrowse
  • The Year of Pleasures jacket
  • The Story of Arthur Truluv jacket

13 more...

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