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Helen Ames is drowning. Recently widowed and coping with loss and grief, her problems are compounded by a shocking discovery that her mild-mannered husband was apparently leading a double life. But at least he's left her financially secure...
Or has he?
Coming to terms with the fact that her retirement fund has been withdrawn without her knowing, Helen finds herself sinking even deeper. But with the help of Tessa - her beautiful, patient, twenty-seven-year-old daughter - and her host of straight-talking friends, she is forced to reassess what she knew about herself, being a mother, and what it really takes to make a home and a family.
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Sometimes heartbreak shows us who we really are... An uplifting and heart-warming story of how a fifty-something widow learns to love her life again
About the Author
ELIZABETH BERG is the author of eighteen novels and has more than 1.5 million books in print. Her novel, Open House, was an Oprah's Book Club selection in 2000. Berg lives near Chicago, Illinois.
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I bought this book when it first came out, but the reviews that I read put me off it and it's been sitting on my bookshelf ever since. Now that I've finally read it, I'm sorry I waited so long. It's a lovingly written, thought provoking book about moving on after you've lost your partner, and redefining what your "home safe" place will be.
Helen Ames is in her late 50s and a successful author. She is recently widowed and is struggling to cope without her husband, Dan. She is becoming overly dependent on her daughter Tessa and is confronted with writer's block. The book is about how she gradually finds her feet and learns to see her marriage for what it was - both the parts that were better than she realised but also the flaws that she has blocked out. I never particularly warmed to Helen (nor buy the relationship that she tentatively explores), but this didn't stop me from enjoying the book, which says something about Berg's skills as a writer.
I seem to be going through a "grief stage" in my reading lately. This makes a nice companion piece to The Beginner's Goodbye.
Hi there! I just wanted to recommend 'Home Safe' by Elizabeth Berg. It is the first of Elizabeth's books that I have read, but I will definitely be reading more.
It is a lovely story about a successful author (Helen) who is in her 50s and is recently widowed. She is struggling and trying to come to terms without her husband and, understandably, has writer's block. She is overly reliant on and protective of her daughter, and this comes out beautifully. It definitely made me think about my relationship with my daughter; am I over protective? Is being protective a natural mother and daughter 'thing'?
I really enjoyed reading the book, but, as always, don't like to give too much of the plot away. Take a look, I don't think that you will be disappointed :) Thank you.
I give it 4* (5* kept for both exceptional writing and good editing; here the Kindle version contains many words hyphenated that shouldn't be (from print version layout?) - I find the carelessness of Kindle versions deeply strange).
I love books by Elizabeth Berg that I have read to date, and this is no exception. There is enough plot and context to hold the piece together, but otherwise it is an exploration of someone's mind through a medley of observations, recollections and imaginings.
This is the second of her books with the theme of a woman whose husband, in a very close marriage, has died unexpectedly a little while earlier (the first being `The Year of Pleasures'). That provides a rich context where we are able to watch as she unpicks, in a gentle and discursive manner, what she thought her marriage was, and who she is now.
There is never a sense of haste, and it is an almost meditative read. I like that the woman in question has some characteristics I find difficult in others (fussy, over-protective, indecisive), as I was able to see these from the inside.
I had just discarded a book (by a different author) that felt flat, forced and unidimensional; and here I found myself engrossed, and occasionally brought to laughter and tears on the same page. It felt simultaneously light and deeply satisfying.
