Ya know, I have nospecific explanation for loving Elizabeth Berg. I only know that after reading one of her books, I went back and read them all. And she never let me down once. ( )

Such a lovely story about love and longing. ( )

"As Jay lies in a coma, his young wife, Lainey, is the only one who believes he will ever recover. When his doctors try to reach him, Jay does not respond. Yet Lainey believes he knows when she is there, and is stimulated by the gifts of ordinary life she brings him: sweet-smelling flowers, his children's drawings, his own softly textured shirt. As Lainey struggles to keep believing and to keep the family going, she goes deeper into herself, looking for solace, for strength, and for understanding. Overburdened, distracted, depressed yet determined, she feels desperate only at those times when her faith falters." "It is then that she is sustained by her friendships. Alice, her next-door neighbor, is strong when Lainey cannot be, though she has problems and secret fears of her own. And the spirit of Evie, a woman from the 1940s who used to live in Lainey's house, now takes up a kind of residence again, offering advice and philosophy from a simpler time."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Berg's writing always draws me in from the very first page. her characters are fully drawn and easy to know. Berg writes of deep emotion and is relatable because her fiction is often about everyday life and people. ( )

Lainey and Jay have what appears to be a perfect marriage, until it all comes crashing down, literally! Jay left the house that morning for work and an ice cycle hanging over his head broke, rendering Jay immovable.
Lainey confides her fears that Jay may never come out of the coma to her dear friend and neighbor Alice, and it is their relationship that makes this book strong.

Alice is stable, predictable, someone to count on. She gladly watches Lainey's two young daughters as day after day Lainey visits Jay in the nursing home as he lies in a coma state. Gradually Lainey brings soft memories that might open his mind and heart to regain what they once had.

And, as Lainey shares her fears, and Alice outlines exactly why she believes her husband is cheating on her, the two laugh and cry.

This is very much what I've come to rely on regarding Berg's writing. There are soft images of difficult days handled the best one can possible know how to navigate. The love is real and solid, and the heartbreak of betrayal for Alice and uncertainty for Lainey create a very strong, unbreakable bond.

Thanks to my friend Diane Keenoy for bringing the books of Elizabeth Berg into my life! ( )

This was the first Elizabeth Berg book I had written, and I read it when my husband and I had not been married for that long. The relationship between her and her husband (as told in retrospect, since he is in a coma during much of the book) and of her with the other women in the book resonate with truth. Thoroughly enjoyable read. ( )