Gush, gush
Elizabeth Berg is one of my favorite authors. On her blog the other day, she mentioned she was providing a link from her website to a collection of essays, Domestic Epiphanies, written by one of her best friends, Phyllis Florin. I'm working on building a repertoire of essays along with writing fiction, so I decided to take a gander, figuring Berg's recommendation was a good one.
I'm so glad I did. Not only are these essays similar to the ones I'm attempting to write in style (relaxed, down to earth, I hope!) and content--family, friendships, life in general--they are also captivating. I've already read about half of the 14 Florin has posted.
I stopped to write this blog entry. The essay I just finished reading, Buddies, is a tribute to friendship, and one of the more painfully honest looks at true friendship I've encountered, especially among writer friends. Florin works her way through the history of a friendship that started out faintly ambiguous, then morphed into something honest and true in an instant, and has peaked again and again at those honest moments. A celebration of the positive and the negative and their contributions to a true, lasting friendship.
And ... I'm thinking the object of the essay might just be Elizabeth Berg. I already admire Berg's honesty and transparency in her books and blog, but now what a pleasant surprise to read about it from the perspective of her best friend.
If you're a Berg fan, check it out here.
And Elizabeth, if you happen to read this, and the essay's not about you, you could leave me a comment. Or, you could just leave me to wallow in my blissful ignorance. :-D
I can't wait to get my hands on Berg's recent release:
The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted And Other Small Acts of Liberation
Labels: Author crush, Those who have gone before
posted by Julie Kibler @ 11:10 PM
9 comments
9 Comments:
Okay, well now you've gone and done it. I clicked on your link to the Buddies essay. Then I went to the site, read the lovely reviews, read the intro by Elizabeth Berg. And then, darn you, I read the FIRST essay, The Sleepover. About her 18 year old son and how hard it is to let them go. And now I'm a puddle. Because she clearly has a secret camera in my house and is able to read my mind. Sheesh. AND, I'm jealous. Of her. Of you. I want to do that. I should do that. Maybe even I COULD do that. And it's all your fault. Murr.
This must be a sign that I should read this book. I was reading Augusten Burroughs' blog the other night and HE was telling everyone to read this book! He's even got a photo of himself holding it and appearing to cry :))
Gail, I'm so glad you are enjoying these essays, too. And you can. Do that, that is. I'll only take a little credit. Maybe a small finder's fee when you get published.
Lisa, I had to go find that blog to see what you meant. That is too funny!
http://www.augusten.com/blog/2008/04/18/the-day-i-ate-whatever-i-wanted-and-then-had-a-good-girly-cry/
Maybe I'll make my husband read the book, too.
And, in honor of this, I just went and got myself the last Little Debbie Smores Marshmallow Snack. I like the little blurb on the package--"No Assembly Required." I saw the girls eating them earlier and thought they looked tasty. Now I will know personally. Mmm...yes!
I believe Berg tells a story in her book about writing, Escaping into the Open, about a friend binding her letters as a gift. Methinks this essay is about her.
Hi Julie,
Thank you for your kind words about my essays. The essay "Buddies," is indeed about Elizabeth Berg, and one of your commenters is right, she did include my essay about envy in her book "Escaping into the Open." It's not pretty, but I'm happy to say, I worked through it and we're just fine. I have a new website - still working on it - www.phyllisflorin.com. Thanks again.
I read Escaping Into the Open more than a year ago, and had forgotten that part, Carleen.
Phyllis, thank you so much for stopping by my blog to leave a comment and confirm our "suspicions." Hehe.
Your essays are entrancing. I have read all but the last, some a few times each. I actually skimmed the last the other day, but didn't have enough time to really savor it, so decided to come back to it another day.
AND ... (Ladies ...) I see there are more on your new website! I might have to ration them, one at a time.
Best wishes in your newest writing endeavor--I suspect we'll be seeing your name on the shelves before too long. (And as you can see, our suspicions here are usually right. Ha.)
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I'm also a huge fan of Berg's. I especially envy her gift of writing such believable dialog. I only hope to come close in my writing. I remember the passage in Escaping into the Open with her friend Phyllis. I keep that in the back of my mind as my friends and I endeavor to get published. I saw her new book at B&N the other day and resisted the urge to buy it since my to-be-read stack is towering. I'm sure I'll buy it soon.
Hey, Pamela, thanks for stopping by my blog. It's so funny what a small world it is for writers--I found your blog through WGT's email digest, but I just noticed we are both linked from Therese Fowler's blog.
I'm still yearning to buy the new Berg book, too, and have the leaning tower of TBR books. :) I almost bought it for myself for mother's day.
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