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Elizabeth Berg Biography, Books, and Similar Authors

Author Biography  | Interview  | Books by this Author  | Read-Alikes

Elizabeth Berg
Photo © 2003 Joyce Ravid

Elizabeth Berg

Elizabeth Berg Biography

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 postings have been collected in Make Someone Happy. She lives outside Chicago.

Elizabeth Berg's website

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Interview

Elizabeth Berg talks about her novel, The Story of Arthur Truluv and the joys of romance in old age.

Arthur and Maddy's unusual friendship is the heart of The Story of Arthur Truluv, and it's something that readers have been particularly drawn to. What is it that brings these quite dissimilar people together? Have you ever had a friendship with someone very different from you that greatly affected your life?

Both Maddy and Arthur are, however unconsciously, looking for a kind of love as a replacement for what they have lost—­or, in Maddy's case, never had. They accept each other as they are, a necessary component in any good friendship. I've always appreciated and enjoyed older people. As a nine-­year-­old, I once made a dear friend in a woman who was probably Arthur's age, and she spoke only German. She used to sit out on the back stoop and I would come over and visit with her and try to teach her English by showing her animals in my favorite book. Not much English got learned, and not much German, either, but we very much enjoyed each other. There was a great warmth that came from her to me, and vice versa.

Lucille finds love and happiness again when she reconnects with Frank. Do you think we ever get over our first loves? Is it ever too late in life to start over again...

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Books by this Author

Books by Elizabeth Berg at BookBrowse
Earth's the Right Place for Love jacket The Story of Arthur Truluv jacket The Dream Lover jacket Once Upon a Time, There Was You jacket
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Read-Alikes

All the books below are recommended as read-alikes for Elizabeth Berg but some maybe more relevant to you than others depending on which books by the author you have read and enjoyed. So look for the suggested read-alikes by title linked on the right.
How we choose read-alikes

  • Christina Adam

    Christina Adam

    Christina Adam was born in 1947. Her award-winning stories appeared in many literary journals as well as The Atlantic Monthly and Cosmopolitan. Her work has been anthologized in Circle of Women: An Anthology of Contemporary ... (more)

    If you enjoyed:
    Ordinary Life

    Try:
    Any Small Thing Can Save You
    by Christina Adam

  • Trezza Azzopardi

    Trezza Azzopardi

    Trezza Azzopardi was born in Cardiff, UK. She is a graduate of the Creative Writing Program at the University of East Anglia and is an external examiner for Creative and Cultural Studies at Norwich School of Art and Design.

    ... (more)

    If you enjoyed:
    Never Change

    Try:
    Remember Me
    by Trezza Azzopardi

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