In this new novel, beloved bestselling author Elizabeth Berg weaves a beautifully written and richly resonant story of a mother and daughter in emo...
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Sep 29, 2010
Barbara
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Jul 26, 2011
Lynn
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I always look forward to a new work by Elizabeth Berg which is why I devoured it, gulping it when I should have probably done more sipping and savoring. The plot, a middle-aged widow with writer's block discovers a secret her husband kept from her, and a secret she has kept from herself about who she is and what she is truly capable of, is classic Berg. I didn't particularly care for Helen. Her relationship with her daughter, Tessa, made me want to smack her up-side the head on several occasi
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Jul 17, 2010
Myth
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I received this book for free, as a sort of promotional Nook was doing. I felt kind of cheap and decided I would get this, instead of one of the books I had planned on.
What a mistake.... but before I get into subject analysis and general ranting, here are the technical specs.
Most of the writing is in third person present tense. At first it's awkward to read in present tense, but you get use to it. It appears to be written this way so as to make easy transitions from past More...
What a mistake.... but before I get into subject analysis and general ranting, here are the technical specs.
Most of the writing is in third person present tense. At first it's awkward to read in present tense, but you get use to it. It appears to be written this way so as to make easy transitions from past More...
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Sep 20, 2010
Heather
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I've heard this is not a typical Elizabeth Berg story, but this is my first, and, from the writing, it could be my last. Incidentally, I have been informed (by a rather nasty reviewer), to put a Spoiler tag here. So, here it is! SPOILER ALERT.
The book seemed to lack plot or point; the main character, Helen was so unlikeable -- needy, non-self-reflective in any way, no sense of self, critical, empty, and lacking any EQ, that I felt sorry for her daughter and parents, and angry and irr More...
The book seemed to lack plot or point; the main character, Helen was so unlikeable -- needy, non-self-reflective in any way, no sense of self, critical, empty, and lacking any EQ, that I felt sorry for her daughter and parents, and angry and irr More...
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Jan 06, 2012
Jennifer
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My first book by Elizabeth Berg was "What We Keep", which I thought was an amazing book and set me on the path to buy and read every book she wrote. I found almost all of them to be terrific. But as the years go on and I read her newest novels, I am continuously disappointed. "The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted", "Dream When You're Feeling Blue" and now this novel.
I, like Tessa, have a mother who depends on me far too much, and for that reason, I found Hel More...
I, like Tessa, have a mother who depends on me far too much, and for that reason, I found Hel More...
Mar 04, 2011
Sarah
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Home Safe is one of the latest works by bestselling and prolific novelist Elizabeth Berg.
Recently widowed Helen Ames is a bestselling author who encounters writer's block as she tries to adjust to life without her husband, who took care of everything in the household, including finances. When Helen discovers there's very little money left for her to live comfortably from, it comes as quite a shock. Why are thousands of dollars missing and what did her husband spend it on? In addition, More...
Recently widowed Helen Ames is a bestselling author who encounters writer's block as she tries to adjust to life without her husband, who took care of everything in the household, including finances. When Helen discovers there's very little money left for her to live comfortably from, it comes as quite a shock. Why are thousands of dollars missing and what did her husband spend it on? In addition, More...
Jan 12, 2011
Antof9
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Jul 01, 2010
Jouraine
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I gave this book 3 stars only because it was readable and it didn't take me to the point where I wanted to put it down. It came very close though. Like the writing students in the book, this was like one long writing exercise that went on beyond the point of reason. The book begs so many questions: Why wasn't more done with the missing money angle? Why wasn't the relationship between Helen and the builder developed? If Helen felt guilty about her husband's passing, why wasn't that explored?
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Jun 02, 2010
Karen
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I've told you before that Elizabeth Berg is my favorite author. I don't think I could ever read a book by her that disappoints! This novel is about a 59-year-old writer, Helen Ames, who is recently widowed and trying to now fend for herself, and is battling writer's block. Her 27-year-old daughter lives in the same city and Helen depends on her too much and meddles in her life as well. One day Helen discovers her husband was seemingly leading a double life and had withdrawn a huge amount of
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Apr 11, 2010
Sandy
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I've read several of Elizabeth Berg's books because I love her thoughtful discriptions of everyday ordinary life. But I keep waiting to really LOVE one of them, and it just hasn't happened yet. I did love this quote about books though:
"When Suzie introduced Helen, she told the audience that one of the best things about books is that they are an interactive art form: that while the author may describe in some detail how a character looks, it is the reader's imagination that comp More...
"When Suzie introduced Helen, she told the audience that one of the best things about books is that they are an interactive art form: that while the author may describe in some detail how a character looks, it is the reader's imagination that comp More...
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Jan 23, 2010
Reading Sarah
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Helen, a successful writer, lost her husband, and after a year of emptiness and blank pages. She's turning all the energy she used to spend on writing and hr life towards interfering in her daughter, Tessa's, life instead. Then she finds out her husband was keeping a very big secret which involved removing most of their life savings. Reading this book is like having a long conversation about everything with an old friend you haven't talked to in a while. Helen and Tessa and their muddled relatio
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Nov 16, 2009
Gerri
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Helen Ames's doesn't know what to do with herself after the sudden death of her husband Dan. She finds herself unable to write and becomes more and more dependent on her 27 year old daughter, Tessa. Then one day she receives a call that will completely change her world. She and her husband had always saved money for their retirement, but she is shocked to find out that he made a very large withdrawal before his death. Now she must find a way to support herself and she takes a job something s
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Oct 28, 2009
Helen
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A book about a widow who has a lot to learn about herself, her deceased husband, her daughter.
Helen is an author who has written since childhood. It was a natural ability that allowed her to express herself effortlessly and obviously well since she became a top selling author.
Then her husband dies and suddenly she has no words left. Try as she might and this scares her. Where have the words gone and how can she get them back.
The very things that might h More...
Helen is an author who has written since childhood. It was a natural ability that allowed her to express herself effortlessly and obviously well since she became a top selling author.
Then her husband dies and suddenly she has no words left. Try as she might and this scares her. Where have the words gone and how can she get them back.
The very things that might h More...
Oct 12, 2009
Tressa
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This is my first Elizabeth Berg novel, and since I've heard so many good things about her other books, I'm going to assume this isn't one of her best.
Home Safe is the story of Helen, a writer whose husband of 30+ years drops dead suddenly. They are well off and Helen assumes that she is set financially, until a call from the accountant surprises her with this: over $800,000 was removed from their retirement account by her husband. What did he do with the money? Gambling? Does he have More...
Home Safe is the story of Helen, a writer whose husband of 30+ years drops dead suddenly. They are well off and Helen assumes that she is set financially, until a call from the accountant surprises her with this: over $800,000 was removed from their retirement account by her husband. What did he do with the money? Gambling? Does he have More...
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Sep 28, 2009
Joy
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Elizabeth Berg's books are really good. I'm enjoying novels by women these days. This was a mother-daughter story of a recently widowed woman who is overprotective of her 27-year-old daughter. The mother's own mother gives her excellent advice from older times: "We didn't need to air all our dirty laundry and run to therapists every five minutes. Life comes with problems. You just have to accept that. And you have to try to lead the simple life; to not constantly ask questions about t
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Aug 13, 2009
Annie
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A fun, light and breezy read, Elizabeth Berg does not disappoint. I enjoy her heroines, who usually tend to be older females overcoming the challenges of life. In this story an author, who has recently had a husband pass away, is suffering from a bad case of writer’s block and trying to set up her exasperated daughter. Helen then discovers her situation is much worse, and stranger. Her late husband withdrew a very large amount of their nest egg. She has no idea why. Although resistant at f
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Aug 06, 2009
Louise
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Helen Ames, recently widowed, coping with loss and grief, unable to do the work that has always sustained her, is beginning to depend far too much on her twenty-seven-year-old daughter, Tessa, and is meddling in her life, offering unsolicited and unwelcome advice. Helen's problems are compounded by her shocking discovery that her mild-mannered and semmingly loyal husband was apparently leading a double life.
The Ameses had painstakingly saved for a happy retirement, but that money dis More...
The Ameses had painstakingly saved for a happy retirement, but that money dis More...
May 29, 2009
Alissa
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I'm always ashamed to admit how much I like Elizabeth Berg's books. I mean, really--they're corny, with a lot of rumination about the small pleasures in life. Which, yeah, ok, I have to admit: I'm kinda the same way--I just don't talk about how much I love the iridescence of a scrub jay's wings. Maybe Elizabeth Berg is just the part of myself I'd never let anyone see because I'd be too freakin' embarrassed.
Anyway. I read this book in a day and a half, and that was even with Charlie s More...
Anyway. I read this book in a day and a half, and that was even with Charlie s More...
Jan 31, 2010
treehugger
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Surprisingly good, this book brought back my confidence in Elizabeth Berg! I don't remember which novel made me question her, but I was hesitant to start this one, and was hooked immediately.
GREAT look inside the head of a (fairly neurotic) female writer as she grapples with getting on with life after the loss of her husband. She's never had to be self-sufficient, and does a fairly poor job of it in the beginning, sponging off of her late-20s daughter both emotionally and practical More...
GREAT look inside the head of a (fairly neurotic) female writer as she grapples with getting on with life after the loss of her husband. She's never had to be self-sufficient, and does a fairly poor job of it in the beginning, sponging off of her late-20s daughter both emotionally and practical More...
Jan 28, 2010
Dawn
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May 28, 2009
Diane
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I was anxious to read Home Safe by Elizabeth Berg, because I have enjoyed a few of her books in the past. The premise of this story is not a new one: when her husband dies unexpectedly, Helen Ames is stunned and finds it difficult to move on.
Yes, Helen lose her husband, but this woman was incapable of doing anything for herself ; honestly, she was pathetic. Once a best selling author, she even loses her her ability to write. She also becomes dependent on her 27 year old daughter Tess More...
Yes, Helen lose her husband, but this woman was incapable of doing anything for herself ; honestly, she was pathetic. Once a best selling author, she even loses her her ability to write. She also becomes dependent on her 27 year old daughter Tess More...
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May 21, 2009
Kathy
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Elizabeth Berg's novels have "normal" characters with average lives, but she always manages to make them interesting and very real, as if they live next door. This novel was no exception. It is sometimes hard for me to relate to female characters who are "weak" and expect to be taken care of. But Berg always manages to redeem them by the end and they become stronger and more independent. Berg writes beautiful prose and the reader feels comfortable inside the pages.
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Sep 21, 2010
Amanda
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I don't really dislike books very often, but this one is a "dislike" for me. I would probably give this a 1.5 stars because the writing is not hideously bad, I just did not find the story enjoyable at all.
This book is what my husband and I call a "lady book". It's as close as I comfortably get to a "beach read", but far from romance novel. It's the kind of book I probably would have liked in high school because I thought it would make me seem sophistica More...
This book is what my husband and I call a "lady book". It's as close as I comfortably get to a "beach read", but far from romance novel. It's the kind of book I probably would have liked in high school because I thought it would make me seem sophistica More...
Oct 15, 2009
Judy
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I enjoy Elizabeth Berg as an author and this book is no exception. Helen Ames is 59 years old, a recent widow, and she is driving her 27 year old daughter, Tessa, crazy with her unwanted advice and constant clinging. I can identify somewhat with Helen. Although I'm not a widow, I'm sure that I constantly drive both of my children crazy. Batten down the hatches if Dad dies, kids. There will be no controlling me then. But back to the book. Helen was completely dependent on her husband, Dan,
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Jan 29, 2012
Vivian
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Just what the doctor prescribed. In so many ways, this book has connected and helped me. It was a Christmas gift from a dear friend, the kind like Midge's character in the book. And she saw that I was suffering from a broken heart, and this was her way of helping me out. I still find myself reminiscing, just like Helen does. And find myself; like Helen, unsure if I'll ever love again, but, at the same time, I've learnt that it is ok. I don't have to fear these feelings and thoughts. They are nat
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Feb 26, 2010
Kathy
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I thought I would not like this book, but I did. The protagonist< Helen, has spent her adult life as a pampered wife. Then her husband dies, and she does not know how to take care of herself. I thought I would be happy if she fell on her face, but she didn't, and I was glad. She is a writer who goes through a long writer's block, and I thought I would be happy if she ended up flipping burgers, but I was relieved when she didn't. Then, gasp, she discovers that her husband had a secret life...a
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Jan 13, 2010
Elizabeth
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Elizabeth Berg's books tend to be those I refer to as "brain resting" books. Not to say that the characters aren't real or developed nicely, it's just that they are a whole lot like that pair of pajama pants that are definitely not for public viewing. Her books are comfortable and cozy and not at all surprising in any way. Sometimes a girl needs a book like that. In Home Safe: A Novel , I felt so often that Berg is becoming more and more autobiographical in her character developmen
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Sep 20, 2011
Leah
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I would recommend this book to anyone who feels stuck in life. The story follows a writer named Helen Ames, recovering from the recent loss of her husband and the shock of discovering that most of the money they had saved for retirement is missing. Elizabeth Berg built her characters so skillfully, I felt myself bonding with Helen over her fear of numbers and inability to change a light bulb. Because this story is written in present-tense, I almost felt anxious while I was reading it, like I was
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Jun 26, 2009
Diane
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I have enjoyed the books of Elizabeth Berg for the past few years. As I live in Illinois and my daughter lives in Chicago, I especially like the references to places I have seen and been when those are mentioned. This is another good read, with a character who has much to learn despite her age. While some may be put off by the main characters dependencies on first her recently deceased spouse and then their daughter, I found her to be not at all abnormal, especially representative of those women
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Aug 11, 2011
Anne
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I liked it but didn't love it. This was my first Elizabeth Berg novel and it was strongly recommended by my sister. It was likable enough...I liked how it drew me into the character's life, but perhaps that is because I am basically in same demographic as Helen. I kept putting myself into her shoes and wondering what I would be doing and thinking in a similar situation. It brought tears to my eyes while reading about her father's death, as anyone in their 50's can surely relate to. The vignette
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