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Elizabeth Benedict

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Elizabeth Benedict

Goodreads Author


Born
Hartford, CT, The United States
Website

Twitter

Genre

Influences
Virginia Woolf, James Salter, Michael Ondaatje, Philip Roth

Member Since
December 2007

URL


Me: Lots of books, zillions of essays and articles. This season: REWRITING ILLNESS: A VIEW OF MY OWN. A very serious and kinda funny take on how my lifelong fear of illness collided with actual illness in 2017. I survived. I had time to think about doctor-speak, patient-speak, death, health insurance, CANCER, my husband, my friends, did I mention CANCER? I love this blurb: "As though Nora Ephron had written a book called 'I Feel Bad About My Tumor.'" --Thomas Beller.

I'm the author of the novels ALMOST and SLOW DANCING, and of THE JOY OF WRITING SEX: A GUIDE FOR FICTION WRITERS, and editor of three anthologies: ME, MY HAIR AND I: 27 WOMEN UNTANGLE AN OBSESSION, the NYTIMES bestseller, WHAT MY MOTHER GAVE ME: 31 WOMEN ON THE GIFTS THAT MATTE
...more

HOPEFUL ... BEST ... SURVIVORS

This letter just arrived from a reader of REWRITING ILLNESS:

"This is the best and most hopeful book for anxious cancer survivors--which is pretty much everyone I know! I will be recommending to the gang in my Wednesday night [support] group."

Want an audiobook? Listen to me read the story -- 6 hours and 12 minutes -- on Audible. Or read it on your screen or in your lap.

Coming soon to a book group Read more of this blog post »
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Average rating: 3.58 · 4,522 ratings · 682 reviews · 15 distinct worksSimilar authors
Me, My Hair, and I: Twenty-...

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Almost

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What My Mother Gave Me: Thi...

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The Practice of Deceit

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Mentors, Muses & Monsters: ...

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Rewriting Illness: A View o...

4.45 avg rating — 69 ratings4 editions
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The Beginner's Book of Dreams

3.91 avg rating — 74 ratings — published 1988 — 8 editions
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Slow Dancing

3.40 avg rating — 83 ratings — published 1985 — 15 editions
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Safe Conduct

3.32 avg rating — 28 ratings — published 1993 — 3 editions
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Drive Your Plow O...
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Elizabeth’s Recent Updates

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Bonjour Tristesse / A Certain Smile by Françoise Sagan
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Buddenbrooks by Thomas Mann
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Elizabeth Benedict is now following
Almost by Elizabeth Benedict
"Sophy Chase, recovering alcoholic, returns to Swansea Island after the mysterious death of her estranged husband, Will. No one is quite sure how to deal with her, not Will’s family, the islanders, or even Sophy herself.

This novel is very-well plotted" Read more of this review »
Almost by Elizabeth Benedict
"THoroughly engrossing and readable. Transported me to the Vineyard and all of its idiosyncracies. Narrator's voice while initially annoying, greatly grew on me and her efforts to forgive herself and find hope for the future. Great supporting characte" Read more of this review »
Almost by Elizabeth Benedict
"After reading the editorial reviews, I felt compelled to read this book. Admittedly, I felt it had a slow start, but once I got into it, the realistic details became too compelling to put down. The author has written an uncommonly intelligent novel, " Read more of this review »
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Live Fast by Brigitte Giraud
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Perfection by Vincenzo Latronico
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Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin
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Nora Webster by Colm Tóibín
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Quotes by Elizabeth Benedict  (?)
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“What gives value to travel is fear. It breaks down a kind of inner structure we all have.”
Elizabeth Benedict

“There is an exquisite irony - a perfect relationship storm, you might say - between daughters and mothers. Because girls and women are judged by appearance, mothers want their daughters to look as attractive as possible. But any suggestion for improvement implies criticism. And therein lies the irony: for mothers, the person to whom you most want to offer helpful suggestions is the one most likely to resist and resent them; for daughters, the person you most want to think you're perfect is the one most likely to see your flaws - and tell you about them.

-Deborah Tannen”
Elizabeth Benedict, Me, My Hair, and I: Twenty-seven Women Untangle an Obsession

“And if I didn't fret about my hair, something else would take its place. I believe we are born with a cup of affliction and it is our destiny to keep that cup filled at all times.

-Patricia Volk”
Elizabeth Benedict, Me, My Hair, and I: Twenty-seven Women Untangle an Obsession

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“Writers aren't born, they're made--from practice, reading, and a lot of caffeine. And sometimes tutelage.”
Alexander Chee

40134 'Box of Lies' with Mark Laflamme — 7 members — last activity Mar 23, 2022 01:13PM
November 9, 2010 to December 09, 2010...
37905 National Book Critics Circle — 333 members — last activity May 04, 2021 06:29AM
The National Book Critics Circle honors outstanding writing and fosters a national conversation about reading, criticism and literature.
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