Atria Books 1997

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Other Books by Elizabeth Richards

Every Day

Author: Elizabeth Richards

In the rare moments when Leigh Adelman has time to consider her chaotic life, it takes her breath away: there's her 14 year-old son Isaac, fierce and vulnerable; eight-year-old Jane, wise, tart-tongued and practical; baby Daisy, her joyful last child; and reasonable, patient Simon, a devoted husband and father.

Leigh's suburban New York life is 14 years distant from her first love. It had been electric, an adventure that produced the divine gift of Isaac — and taught her that even all-consuming passion doesn't mean happily ever after. But that intense, hopeful time had slowly receded to a distant corner of her heart ... until the summer morning when Fowler popped back into her life.

Cautiously, Leigh walks into a Manhattan hotel bar, unfinished business compelling her to see the brilliant, uncompromising Fowler. And as soon as she hears his voice she understands that she has always loved him. But this rendezvous turns out to be less about first love than it is about a last chance. For it is clear that Fowler is dying.

Honest, moving and utterly authentic, Every Day is about testing the boundaries of love, and living with the often messy consequences. For anyone who has ever daydreamed about the past, or silently wondered what if, this unforgettable novel rings with one essential truth: the toughest choices yield the most unexpected rewards.

Every Day

Publishers Weekly (starred review):

[A] story of people who rise through pain to generosity, gallantry, and the possibility of grace. Written with a keen ear for domestic dialogue and frank insights about women's inner lives ...

 

Kirkus Reveiws (starred review):

A distinctive distinction, with a debut story from Richards that renews one's faith in the novel's possibilities. Dialogue from heaven, with prose combed of all banalities. Swift and gripping.

 

Bookpage:

[A] superb piece of literature ... a warm, charming tale starring a fabulous woman struggling with her emotions through self-effacing wit.

 

Newsday:

The author's strong voice -- witty, courageous, intelligent -- and subtle lining of the tension between marriage and love, responsibility and passion, loyalty and freedom make Every Day a deeply moving story about the lives women lead.

 

New York Daily News:

Richards deftly charts the pain of dormant memories rekindled, and the dangerous emotional terrain people such as Leigh traverse to resolve the tension between passion and duty.

 

Library Journal:

Leigh's schoolgirl passion for her colorful and brilliant teacher, Fowler, resulted in now-adolescent Isaac but little else. Now, quietly married to computer consultant Simon and living in the suburbs with two more children, Leigh is abruptly summoned by an ailing Fowler. She welcomes him back into her life -- and her bed -- to the understandable alarm of her husband and children. Despite a distinctly "made-for-TV" movie plot, this engaging novel actually persuades us that a woman would accept into her family a girlhood lover who's dying of a degenerative disorder. Amazingly enough, after some angst, all reconcile enough to allow him to end his days with their family. A most unusual romance.

 

Minneapolis Star Tribune:

A remarkable hit.