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Together Alone
New York Times bestselling author Barbara Delinsky weaves a stunning and intricate tapestry of life, love, and acceptance.
With their daughters off to college, the time has come for forever best friends Emily, Kay, and Celeste to redefine themselves as women. Once half of a perfect marriage—still suffering from a terrible loss—Emily hardly knows her workaholic husband, Doug, anymore, and is drawn instead to what is offered by a new neighbor. A dedicated teacher who loves her job, Kay is confused and troubled by husband John's unfamiliar demands. And Celeste, long-divorced and ecstatic with freedom, sees her electric new life dimmed when her child is endangered.
As the three friends struggle to navigate this uncharted territory, they find themselves redefining their dreams, desires, and what it means—to each of them—to be a woman. But before they can bring about change, they must learn the hardest lesson of all: how to love themselves.
With their daughters off to college, the time has come for forever best friends Emily, Kay, and Celeste to redefine themselves as women. Once half of a perfect marriage—still suffering from a terrible loss—Emily hardly knows her workaholic husband, Doug, anymore, and is drawn instead to what is offered by a new neighbor. A dedicated teacher who loves her job, Kay is confused and troubled by husband John's unfamiliar demands. And Celeste, long-divorced and ecstatic with freedom, sees her electric new life dimmed when her child is endangered.
As the three friends struggle to navigate this uncharted territory, they find themselves redefining their dreams, desires, and what it means—to each of them—to be a woman. But before they can bring about change, they must learn the hardest lesson of all: how to love themselves.
512 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published December 22, 1995
322 people are currently reading
1334 people want to read
About the author
Barbara Delinsky
307 books4,356 followersI was born and raised in suburban Boston. My mother’s death, when I was eight, was the defining event of a childhood that was otherwise ordinary. I took piano lessons and flute lessons. I took ballroom dancing lessons. I went to summer camp through my fifteenth year (in Maine, which explains the setting of so many of my stories), then spent my sixteenth summer learning to type and to drive (two skills that have served me better than all of my other high school courses combined). I earned a B.A. in Psychology at Tufts University and an M.A. in Sociology at Boston College. The motivation behind the M.A. was sheer greed. My husband was just starting law school. We needed the money.
Following graduate school, I worked as a researcher with the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, and as a photographer and reporter for the Belmont Herald. I did the newspaper work after my first son was born. Since I was heavily into taking pictures of him, I worked for the paper to support that habit. Initially, I wrote only in a secondary capacity, to provide copy for the pictures I took. In time, I realized that I was better at writing than photography. I used both skills doing volunteer work for hospital groups, and have served on the Board of Directors of the Friends of the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center and on the MGH’s Women’s Cancer Advisory Board.
I became an actual writer by fluke. My twins were four when, by chance, I happened on a newspaper article profiling three female writers. Intrigued, I spent three months researching, plotting, and writing my own book - and it sold.
My niche? I write about the emotional crises that we face in our lives. Readers identify with my characters. They know them. They are them. I'm an everyday woman writing about everyday people facing not-so-everyday challenges.
My novels are character-driven studies of marriage, parenthood, sibling rivalry, and friendship, and I’ve been blessed in having readers who buy them eagerly enough to put them on the major bestseller lists. One of my latest, Sweet Salt Air, came out in 2013. Blueprints, my second novel with St. Martin’s Press, became my 22nd New York Times bestselling novel soon after its release in June 2015. Making Up, my work in progress, will be published in 2018.
2018? Yikes. I didn’t think I’d live that long. I thought I’d die of breast cancer back in the 1900's, like my mom. But I didn’t. I was diagnosed nearly twenty years ago, had surgery and treatment, and here I am, stronger than ever and loving having authored yet another book, this one the non-fiction Uplift: Secrets From the Sisterhood of Breast Cancer Survivors. First published in 2001, Uplift is a handbook of practical tips and upbeat anecdotes that I compiled with the help of 350 breast cancer survivors, their families and friends. These survivors just ... blew me away! They gave me the book that I wish I’d had way back when I was diagnosed. There is no medical information here, nothing frightening, simply practical advice from friends who’ve had breast cancer. The 10th Anniversary Volume of Uplift is now in print. And the money I’ve made on the book? Every cent has gone to my charitable foundation, which funds an ongoing research fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital.
Connect with me on Facebook: facebook.com/bdelinsky
Look for my photos on Instagram: instagram.com/barbaradelinsky
Following graduate school, I worked as a researcher with the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, and as a photographer and reporter for the Belmont Herald. I did the newspaper work after my first son was born. Since I was heavily into taking pictures of him, I worked for the paper to support that habit. Initially, I wrote only in a secondary capacity, to provide copy for the pictures I took. In time, I realized that I was better at writing than photography. I used both skills doing volunteer work for hospital groups, and have served on the Board of Directors of the Friends of the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center and on the MGH’s Women’s Cancer Advisory Board.
I became an actual writer by fluke. My twins were four when, by chance, I happened on a newspaper article profiling three female writers. Intrigued, I spent three months researching, plotting, and writing my own book - and it sold.
My niche? I write about the emotional crises that we face in our lives. Readers identify with my characters. They know them. They are them. I'm an everyday woman writing about everyday people facing not-so-everyday challenges.
My novels are character-driven studies of marriage, parenthood, sibling rivalry, and friendship, and I’ve been blessed in having readers who buy them eagerly enough to put them on the major bestseller lists. One of my latest, Sweet Salt Air, came out in 2013. Blueprints, my second novel with St. Martin’s Press, became my 22nd New York Times bestselling novel soon after its release in June 2015. Making Up, my work in progress, will be published in 2018.
2018? Yikes. I didn’t think I’d live that long. I thought I’d die of breast cancer back in the 1900's, like my mom. But I didn’t. I was diagnosed nearly twenty years ago, had surgery and treatment, and here I am, stronger than ever and loving having authored yet another book, this one the non-fiction Uplift: Secrets From the Sisterhood of Breast Cancer Survivors. First published in 2001, Uplift is a handbook of practical tips and upbeat anecdotes that I compiled with the help of 350 breast cancer survivors, their families and friends. These survivors just ... blew me away! They gave me the book that I wish I’d had way back when I was diagnosed. There is no medical information here, nothing frightening, simply practical advice from friends who’ve had breast cancer. The 10th Anniversary Volume of Uplift is now in print. And the money I’ve made on the book? Every cent has gone to my charitable foundation, which funds an ongoing research fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital.
Connect with me on Facebook: facebook.com/bdelinsky
Look for my photos on Instagram: instagram.com/barbaradelinsky
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 147 reviews
May 19, 2014
Endless but lovely story, takes 300 pages for anything to happen, happens rather quickly, and is followed by a 100 page wind down. However, since it's written in Delinsky's lovely prose, it's a pleasure to read. Characters are mature and dealing with mature stage of their relationships, making a welcome change from my typical romance reads. As usual, she does emotion exceptionally well, though I had to be patient to get to those parts. Great small town characters, strong family dramas. Emily starts out seemingly heartless on the Daniel subject, but it all gets explained later on.
August 18, 2018
I’m sure some people, mainly women, will really enjoy this story about friendships and finding themselves after their children go off to college. But I think it’s just kind of ‘myeh’. Too much drama. The characters were shallow and the ending was horrible, but predictable.
February 24, 2010
I have enjoyed some of Barbara Delinsky's latest books so I decided to delve into her early works. This book was a big disappointment. In fact, I just skimmed to the end and called it good. The women were very predictable and whiny, the men very stereotypical. The plot was obvious from the second chapter, so I didn't see any need to endure the writing to get to the end. I'll stick to the more seasoned and better developed Delinsky.
September 5, 2022
Reseña completa: https://labrujalectora1.blogspot.com/...
Que libro tan hermoso me he podido disfrutar, nunca pensé lo que encontraría en sus paginas, lo comencé a leer sin muchas expectativas, pero me encontré con una historia muy real, y conmovedora, los personajes todos me gustaron, menos Doug y Myra ya sabia yo por donde iba el marido de la protagonista con sus constantes rechazos, la vecina fue otro tema, me parecía que había algo perturbador detrás de la fachada de dulce ancianita y no me equivoque, jamás pensé lo retorcido del personaje, muy recomendada esta historia de esta fabulosa autora.
Emily Arkin es una ama de casa abnegada que con la partida de su hija hacia la universidad ve todo su mundo desmoronarse a su alrededor, un marido ausente y evasivo, un nido vacío, una casa solitaria, y sin la más mínima posibilidad de trabajar o sentirse útil para no discutir las razones inverosímiles de Doug su marido.
Asi Emily pasa sus días en la mas aburrida rutina que la tiene presa de sus pensamientos, hasta que el jefe de policía John lleva a su puerta al nuevo policía de la comandancia de Grannick, Brian de Nueva York quien recientemente se ha quedado viudo y con una pequeña niña de dos años, la cual constantemente llora al ver lo atarantado que es su padre al cuidarla, ambos Brian y Julia llegan a las puertas de la casa Arkin para alquilar el apartamento del garaje.
Es una de las mejores novelas que he leído este año, y he leído varias, he tenido un año realmente gratificante a nivel de lectura, asi que no pueda dejar de recomendarte esta historia…
Que libro tan hermoso me he podido disfrutar, nunca pensé lo que encontraría en sus paginas, lo comencé a leer sin muchas expectativas, pero me encontré con una historia muy real, y conmovedora, los personajes todos me gustaron, menos Doug y Myra ya sabia yo por donde iba el marido de la protagonista con sus constantes rechazos, la vecina fue otro tema, me parecía que había algo perturbador detrás de la fachada de dulce ancianita y no me equivoque, jamás pensé lo retorcido del personaje, muy recomendada esta historia de esta fabulosa autora.
Emily Arkin es una ama de casa abnegada que con la partida de su hija hacia la universidad ve todo su mundo desmoronarse a su alrededor, un marido ausente y evasivo, un nido vacío, una casa solitaria, y sin la más mínima posibilidad de trabajar o sentirse útil para no discutir las razones inverosímiles de Doug su marido.
Asi Emily pasa sus días en la mas aburrida rutina que la tiene presa de sus pensamientos, hasta que el jefe de policía John lleva a su puerta al nuevo policía de la comandancia de Grannick, Brian de Nueva York quien recientemente se ha quedado viudo y con una pequeña niña de dos años, la cual constantemente llora al ver lo atarantado que es su padre al cuidarla, ambos Brian y Julia llegan a las puertas de la casa Arkin para alquilar el apartamento del garaje.
Es una de las mejores novelas que he leído este año, y he leído varias, he tenido un año realmente gratificante a nivel de lectura, asi que no pueda dejar de recomendarte esta historia…
October 5, 2023
3 women, who meet every Monday evening for supper, experience empty nest syndrome as their daughters go off to college. Each one examines their role as a woman, a wife, and one as a single woman. Very good. I enjoyed it...lots of emotion.
September 5, 2018
I always love the way this author brings the characters to life, you know each one. There are many stories within the story and lessons learned.
January 30, 2023
Good book, nothing spectacular. I called the ending a mile away, so it wasn’t surprising. Still a wonderful read. You can tell the author is talented, just a typical romantic, happy-ending story.
September 13, 2012
Together Alone by Barbara Delinkky
3 woman send their children to college and they wonder how to fill their empty days.
Kay Davies will work. Celeste Prince will plan a nose job, romance and sex via an ad. Love how the women get together and figure out exactly what to write for the ad.
Emily Arkin has time now to finally heal from the hurt and reunite with her husband but he's not home much due to work.
She's fearful and alone and takes in a boarder-a widower with an infant. She helps him fix up the apartment above the garage in order for him to rent it. He's a cop and she can talk to him on his level.
Things got calmer when Jill was born but she'd never forget her first born. She's not had closure and now her husband will be traveling or longer lengths of time and she's not been invited. Brian the new resident
has gone to his boss to find out what happened to Emily and he lends him a folder with the information.
Lot of memories over the years and lifes have changed and people have grown apart, others much closer. Emily has struck up a sexual affair and all the ramifications of that...
3 woman send their children to college and they wonder how to fill their empty days.
Kay Davies will work. Celeste Prince will plan a nose job, romance and sex via an ad. Love how the women get together and figure out exactly what to write for the ad.
Emily Arkin has time now to finally heal from the hurt and reunite with her husband but he's not home much due to work.
She's fearful and alone and takes in a boarder-a widower with an infant. She helps him fix up the apartment above the garage in order for him to rent it. He's a cop and she can talk to him on his level.
Things got calmer when Jill was born but she'd never forget her first born. She's not had closure and now her husband will be traveling or longer lengths of time and she's not been invited. Brian the new resident
has gone to his boss to find out what happened to Emily and he lends him a folder with the information.
Lot of memories over the years and lifes have changed and people have grown apart, others much closer. Emily has struck up a sexual affair and all the ramifications of that...
April 4, 2009
I'm just breezing through these novels. I LOVE 'em!!
From back cover:
"Emily, Kay, and Celeste have been best friends forever. Their daughters are close, too, but all the girls are off to college now, and the mothers must redefine themselves as women. Emily, once half of the perfect marriage, hardly knows her workaholic husband Doug anymore. What she wants so badly from him is being offered by her new neighbour, a widower with heart, soul, and grit. Kay, a dedicated teacher, still loves her job, but her husband John is making unfamiliar demands on her, demands that confuse her and make her wonder about their future together. Celeste, long-divorced, is ecstatic with freedom. She searches for the perfect man, but when her daughter is endangered, her electric new life looks terribly dim.
As the most precious parts they've hidden for years suddenly demand to be heard, these three women must learn to love themselves."
From back cover:
"Emily, Kay, and Celeste have been best friends forever. Their daughters are close, too, but all the girls are off to college now, and the mothers must redefine themselves as women. Emily, once half of the perfect marriage, hardly knows her workaholic husband Doug anymore. What she wants so badly from him is being offered by her new neighbour, a widower with heart, soul, and grit. Kay, a dedicated teacher, still loves her job, but her husband John is making unfamiliar demands on her, demands that confuse her and make her wonder about their future together. Celeste, long-divorced, is ecstatic with freedom. She searches for the perfect man, but when her daughter is endangered, her electric new life looks terribly dim.
As the most precious parts they've hidden for years suddenly demand to be heard, these three women must learn to love themselves."
July 24, 2012
Quick read, interesting characters.
However, there are 2 things that bother me about this book. First, Emily/Brian/Doug/Daniel seemed to be the main storylines in the book. Kay/John/Celeste/Freedom almost seemed slapped in the book to make it longer and somehow more interesting. All it did was detract from the main storylines.
Also, the "mystery" about Daniel had so much foreshadowing going on that it was too easy to figure out exactly what happened hundreds of pages before the mystery was solved. Again, I don't know if this was to make the book longer or what, but it was annoying.
Again, though, I liked Emily and could empathize with her. Her story was compelling, and like all Delinsky books, this was a fast read full of characters and stories that were interesting.
However, there are 2 things that bother me about this book. First, Emily/Brian/Doug/Daniel seemed to be the main storylines in the book. Kay/John/Celeste/Freedom almost seemed slapped in the book to make it longer and somehow more interesting. All it did was detract from the main storylines.
Also, the "mystery" about Daniel had so much foreshadowing going on that it was too easy to figure out exactly what happened hundreds of pages before the mystery was solved. Again, I don't know if this was to make the book longer or what, but it was annoying.
Again, though, I liked Emily and could empathize with her. Her story was compelling, and like all Delinsky books, this was a fast read full of characters and stories that were interesting.
October 25, 2009
Barbara Delinsky has written a very thought provoking and emotional book with Together Alone. Although some parts were predictable, it still left you guessing enough to not be 100% sure. The story is about a little boy who was kidnapped and how that event shaped the lives of his parents and sister. The characters are very easy to get to know and they keep you thinking about them even when youre not reading. The ending was good as it gives closure to everything.
August 25, 2012
i wasn't as fond of this book as some of her others. maybe I'm just tired of the meek little perfect housewives/mothers that are doormats for their families and then are crushed when they realize how terrible their husbands really are...sigh. it took me 2 seconds to realize it and it takes them 20 years? I think I need to find a good mystery that doesn't involve any romance :) this wasn't a terrible book...it had its good things but definitely not the best book I've read
November 14, 2007
The title character of this book has the same name as me! But I still can't read more than 4 pages of it. It's seriously so bad. On vacation once, my mom read random pages from it aloud and that was good for a laugh.
July 22, 2009
I really did not enjoy reading this book. I found myself hating all of the main female characters; they were all such stereotypes and I was so frustrated by their astounding lack of insight into their own situations. Ugh!
April 13, 2010
Can't help myself - I love all her books. One of my favorite "cotton-candy-for-the-brain" type authors.
February 22, 2022
Nel momento in cui i figli abbandonano il nucleo famigliare per andare al college tre amiche si trovano non più madri a tempo pieno ma libere di vivere la propria vita affettiva. Vecchi problemi insabbiati dall'impegno di essere genitori sconvolgeranno i loro equilibri, le loro storie raccontate con grande sensibilità da parte dell’autrice mi hanno tenuta incollata al libro dall'inizio alla fine facendomi riflettere su come cambiano le priorità quando l'essere genitori non è più la priorità e ci si trova soli con se stessi e i propri bisogni e desideri. Bella anche la suspance per il dramma vissuto molti anni prima da Emily.
January 28, 2017
Together Alone
Although I could predict the bones of the story, I was still captivated by the characters depth and the details of the lives that intertwine in a small town. Emotions like love, hate, disgust, frustration, impatience, along with compassion, happiness, nostalgia and peace are all elicited from the reader of Delinsky in a powerful way. A fan if hers for twenty years, I stand on the sidelines alternately cheering on or booing the characters who become very real to me.
Although I could predict the bones of the story, I was still captivated by the characters depth and the details of the lives that intertwine in a small town. Emotions like love, hate, disgust, frustration, impatience, along with compassion, happiness, nostalgia and peace are all elicited from the reader of Delinsky in a powerful way. A fan if hers for twenty years, I stand on the sidelines alternately cheering on or booing the characters who become very real to me.
July 6, 2017
A very good story of loss, love and coming to term with a horrible ordeal.
The story takes you on a journey that most people never experience, but I think Barbara did a great job at taking you there. The story is based somewhere in the late 80s early 90s when some of the advanced computer research and internet was still coming of age, which made some of the searches for a missing child 20 years earlier an even bigger problem.
Well done.
The story takes you on a journey that most people never experience, but I think Barbara did a great job at taking you there. The story is based somewhere in the late 80s early 90s when some of the advanced computer research and internet was still coming of age, which made some of the searches for a missing child 20 years earlier an even bigger problem.
Well done.
May 13, 2024
I started reading this book yesterday, stayed up late, and finished it this morning. It is about trauma, friendship, love, betrayal, and more. The characters are real, and could be your friends or neighbors. One never knows what goes on behind closed doors. I enjoyed it tremendously, even though parts of it were truly heart-wrenching.
August 31, 2017
Not sure why the troubled teenager was brought into the story, to make readers think this could be related to her son?
I love her books....always a great story. It makes you feel like you just can't lay the book down.....keeps me awake too late at night
I love her books....always a great story. It makes you feel like you just can't lay the book down.....keeps me awake too late at night
January 23, 2020
I always enjoy the books from this author, she always has a way to draw you into a story and you can really feel for the characters. This is a story of loss, heartache, love and the changes life brings. It is well told and emotional, a good read.
April 16, 2020
Long book almost 500 Pages read during April quarantine 2020. Some soft porn sex but overall a good read and of course a happy ending. Didn’t like the neighbor Myra figured out the mystery halfway through.
January 13, 2021
Loved this book, such a talented writer. I thought it was well developed in every way. I had an expectation how it would end, but the written story carried you along in anticipation, anger, relief, disbelief and many other emotions. Well developed.
July 30, 2022
Das Buch ist zwar lang (für mich) habe ich niemals mich gelangweilt. Das Story ist voll mit verschiedenen alltäglichen Szenen und ich konnte mich mit vielen von denen identifizieren. Das Leben der drei Mütter ist ganz anders aber trotzdem die Liebe an ihre Töchter verbindet sie.
May 6, 2017
Predictable. Nothing to surprise me. Quick & easy read.
August 21, 2017
Delinsky does emotion very well, and this volume was no exception. Some parts of the story were predictable, but Delinsky has the emotions captured so well this doesn't seem to matter.
September 5, 2017
A good beach read. Easy to read, a few too many subplots that seemed thrown in for length but overall an enjoyable book.
March 27, 2018
Really well written but a bit lengthy. Sad story but always glad for the happy ending...
May 9, 2018
I had read Together Alone years back!!!!! I really enjoyed the books.
August 24, 2018
I enjoyed this book although it wasn't very exciting until almost the end but the 2 shockers where worth the wait. Very Good.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 147 reviews