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Barbara Delinsky

Goodreads Author

Born

The United States

Website

http://barbaradelinsky.com/

Twitter

BarbaraDelinsky

Genre

Literature & Fiction

Influences

Much of my inspiration comes from current events, and I include in tha ...more

Member Since

October 2007

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/barbaradelinsky

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I 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 M I 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 ...more

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Combine Editions
Barbara Delinsky’s books

Average rating: 3.85 · 258,785 ratings · 17,396 reviews · 304 distinct works • Similar authors

	Not My Daughter 3.78 avg rating — 20,932 ratings — published 2010 — 40 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	While My Sister Sleeps 3.87 avg rating — 16,952 ratings — published 2009 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Sweet Salt Air 3.92 avg rating — 15,029 ratings — published 2013 — 37 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Secret Between Us 3.73 avg rating — 15,285 ratings — published 2008 — 49 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Week at the Shore 3.91 avg rating — 12,698 ratings — published 2020 — 17 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Coast Road 4.08 avg rating — 11,544 ratings — published 1998	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Before and Again 3.85 avg rating — 12,016 ratings — published 2018 — 22 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Escape 3.67 avg rating — 11,417 ratings — published 2011 — 35 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Family Tree 3.62 avg rating — 10,703 ratings — published 2007 — 49 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Blueprints 3.78 avg rating — 8,488 ratings — published 2015 — 25 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Barbara Delinsky's Blog

What Zoom And Photography Have In Common

Have you ever looked at a family photo, really looked at it, and wondered why various members pose the way they do – where they stand vis à vis the group, whether their arms are around others’ shoulders or around themselves, whether their heads are inclined toward their kin or away?

How we choose to stand says a lot. This is the psychology of photography.

I’ve always been intrigued by it, and no won

Series by Barbara Delinsky

Blake Sisters (2 books)
by

Barbara Delinsky (Goodreads Author)

3.95 avg rating — 10,594 ratings

Crosslyn Rise (3 books)
by

Barbara Delinsky (Goodreads Author)

3.92 avg rating — 3,712 ratings

Victoria Lesser (3 books)
by

Barbara Delinsky (Goodreads Author)

3.76 avg rating — 2,602 ratings

Matchmaker Trilogy (3 books)
by

Barbara Delinsky (Goodreads Author)

3.78 avg rating — 2,035 ratings

Matchmaker Trilogy (1 book)
by

Barbara Delinsky (Goodreads Author)

3.67 avg rating — 600 ratings

More series by Barbara Delinsky…

Related News

Interview with Barbara Delinsky

In Sweet Salt Air, the New England author's latest romantic outing set on the coast of Maine, old secrets keep friends divided, even as they...

Polls

November Side Reads Poll

11/22/63

by Stephen King

17 votes, 29.8%

Landline

by Rainbow Rowell

16 votes, 28.1%

I Am Pilgrim

by Terry Hayes

12 votes, 21.1%

Sweet Salt Air

by Barbara Delinsky

6 votes, 10.5%

The Lifeboat

by Charlotte Rogan

6 votes, 10.5%

57 total votes

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Topics Mentioning This Author

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Romance Readers R...: May Monthly Challenge: Participants' Lists thread	230	487	Jun 02, 2009 02:24AM

Barbara’s Quotes

“The important part of growing older was the growing part. Resisting change meant forever standing still, which was a sad way to live.”
― Barbara Delinsky, Blueprints

tags: ageism, aging, blueprints, change, growing-older

9 likes

“So where does that leave me? I like hosting the show....It’s become my identity. If that’s gone, where am I?”
― Barbara Delinsky, Blueprints

tags: ageism, aging, discrimination, job, women, workplace

3 likes

“Every man wants love, if he can get past the fear of exposure.”
― Barbara Delinsky, Sweet Salt Air

tags: delinsky, love, love-quotes, love-story, romance

4 likes

“People don’t cry because they’re weak. They cry because they’ve been strong for too long.”
― Barbara Delinsky, Before and Again

tags: relationships, women

84 likes

tags: relationships, women

62 likes

More of Barbara’s quotes…

Barbara’s Friend Comments

Comments (showing 1-4) post a comment »

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newest »

message 4: by Blak

Mar 29, 2018 10:16AM

Wonderful to meet you, Barbara! Thank you for connecting, all the best. :)

reply | flag

message 3: by Deborah

Oct 14, 2009 12:29AM

Hello, dear friend,
I think of you often and love when I see a new book of yours on the shelves. From that I know all is well with you and yours. I especially enjoyed "Family Tree," and thought it was timely and well written, Barbara. Please say hello to our old book group for me. Hugs, Deb

reply | flag

message 2: by Kate

Feb 08, 2008 09:43AM