Ordinary Life

In this superb collection of short stories, Elizabeth Berg takes us into pivotal moments in the lives of women, when memories and events come together to create a sense of coherence, understanding, and change.

In "Ordinary Life," Mavis McPherson locks herself in the bathroom for a week, shutting out her husband and the realities of their life together—and no, she isn't contemplating a divorce. She just needs some time to think, take stock of her life, and to arrive, finally, at a surprising conclusion.

In "White Dwarf" and "Martin's Letter to Nan," the secrets of a marriage are revealed with sensitivity and brilliant insights about the human condition that have become trademark of Berg's writing. Those qualities of wisdom and perception are everywhere present in Ordinary Life.