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Sweet Ember: A Classic Romance of Betrayal, Passion, and a Secret Daughter Who Changes Everything

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A classic love story by New York Times bestselling author Barbara Delinsky, back in print for the first time in years and guaranteed to delight her fans, old and new.Stephanie Wright was just 19 the first time she ran, heartbroken and angry, out of Douglas Weston's life. She and Douglas, a devastatingly handsome tennis camp instructor, shared a summer marked by a gentle love, capped by one night of sensuous passion -- followed by a terrible, unforgivable betrayal that sent her fleeing. Eight years later, upon her return to the camp, Stephanie must fight the feelings that first drew him to her And now there is Melissa, her beautiful seven-year-old daughter; who smiles up at her tennis teacher with gray eyes that mirror his own.

240 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 1, 1981

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About the author

Barbara Delinsky

307 books4,356 followers
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

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5 stars
129 (30%)
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108 (25%)
3 stars
115 (27%)
2 stars
47 (11%)
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19 (4%)
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
Profile Image for Miranda.
63 reviews
April 20, 2020
Not my usual cup of tea, as the pov was only from the h side. But I still found this book fetching and hard to put down after 22years.
21 reviews
December 6, 2018
Good book

I’ve always enjoy Barbara Delinsky’s books.
Each and every one I’ve read is different than the last.
Very easy to read. I want the story to go on and on, beyond it’s ending.
Profile Image for Mai.
2,903 reviews6 followers
January 1, 2020
A bit problematic with some of the consent/anger issues for these times, but I truly enjoyed it back when I first read it.
Profile Image for Sue.
160 reviews
December 31, 2015
Cheesy. I didn't like that she never told him she thought he was married. 8 years of assumptions. Blech!
Profile Image for Shari.
709 reviews
May 31, 2014
Another good one from Barbara Delinsky
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews

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