Happy Release Day!
Congratulations Elizabeth
on the release today of
Life: A Love Story!
Life: A Love Story: A Novel by Elizabeth Berg
Friendship, Fiction, 191 pages
Published March 17, 2026 by Random House
A warm, intimate novel that reminds us of the richness that can be found all throughout our lives—by the New York Times bestselling author of The Story of Arthur Truluv and Open House.
As ninety-two-year-old Florence "Flo" Greene nears the end of her life, she writes a letter to Ruthie, the woman who grew up next door to her, describing the items Flo is leaving Ruthie in her will. But as it goes on, telling surprising stories about those “little” things Flo will leave behind (What could possibly be the worth of a rubber band kept in a matchbox tied up in red ribbon?), an unforgettable portrait of the life she has lived emerges.
The letter starts off as an autobiography in things, but it turns out to do much more than ultimately, it will transform Flo and those around her. In the time she has left, Flo decides to take herself up on tiny dares. She encourages Ruthie to reconsider her impending divorce by sharing a startling, long-buried secret about her own perfect-seeming marriage. Flo has never had a pedicure before now, and as long as she's going to a beauty parlor, she arranges to have a blue streak put in her hair, too. And as these adventures lead her to make new friends, Flo helps them, too, find the fulfillment that living a full life has led her to understand.
Full of Elizabeth Berg's characteristic mix of warmth, humor, and poignancy, A Love Story is a reminder that whatever your circumstances, as long as you're alive, you can keep on investing in life. The joy will inevitably follow.
(I love to note the first lines of the books I'm reading. First lines can really grab a reader's attention and I love seeing where the author takes the reader after their first line.)
First lines—"Dear Ruth Eimers, My name is Teresa McNair, and I am Florence Greene's neighbor and friend."
Elizabeth Berg is another one of my favorite authors. I know going into one of her stories that I am going to be blessed with interesting, unforgettable characters and beautiful words and thoughts that will forever stick with me.
Life: a Love Story is one woman's reflection on her life as she nears the end of it. She's writing a letter for a dear friend explaining all of the little things in her home that mean so much to her but would just be throwaways to someone who didn't know the history of the objects.
This beautiful story made me pause and reflect about the life that I've had and the history of my life that will be lost when I am gone. Told with Elizabeth's usual humor and heart, Life; a Love Story, reminds us that we should savor every moment and live life to the fullest each and every day. I loved this love story and highly recommend it!
I received a ARC of Life: A Love Story and this is my honest opinion.
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About the author
I was born in St. Paul, Minnesota on December 2, 1948, in a hospital that has been torn down, which I’m pretty steamed about. When I was three years old, my father reenlisted in the Army, and I spent my growing up years moving around a lot—twice, I went to three schools in a single academic year. You can understand my dilemma when people ask me where I’m from. My usual answer is “Um…..nowhere?”
I’ve loved books and reading from the time my mother began reading to me, and I’ve loved writing ever since I could hold a pencil. I submitted my first poem to American Girl magazine when I was nine years old. It was rejected, and it took twenty-five years before I submitted anything again. Then, I entered a contest in a magazine and won. I wrote for magazines for ten years, then moved into novels and haven’t stopped yet. I usually do a book a year. I’ve won a number of awards, which are listed elsewhere in the interest of false modesty.
Before I became a writer, I was a registered nurse for ten years, and that was my “school” for writing—taking care of patients taught me a lot about human nature, about hope and fear and love and loss and regret and triumph and especially about relationships–all things that I tend to focus on in my work. I worked as a waitress, which is also good training for a writer, and I sang in a rock band which was not good for anything except the money I made. I was a dramatic and dreamy child, given to living more inside my head than outside, something that persists up to today and makes me a terrible dining partner. I have two daughters and four grandchildren. I live outside of Chicago with my dogs Gabigail Starletta Buttons and Austin “Ponyboy” Bumper, and my cat, Lily La Clawster. The animals would like you to know they had nothing to do with choosing their names. I am in a relationship with a wonderful man, who makes a good life better. ~ Author's website
Copyright © 2026 Elizabeth Berg
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