Never Change - (Must-Read Women's Fiction) by Elizabeth Berg (Paperback)

About the Book

Myra Lipinsky, a 51-year old visiting nurse, has been content to be a self-appointed spinster--until a man she adored in high school is struck by an incurable illness and returns to New England to spend what time he has left.

Book Synopsis

In this classic New York Times bestselling novel, "one of the most dramatic and beautiful books of her career" (Midwest Book Review), the author of The Confession Club has written a compassionate and unforgettable celebration of the redemptive power of second chances and love over death.

Myra Lipinsky is living a quiet life as a middle-aged, self-described spinster. She had been a lonely child, and now she is an equally lonely adult though she takes great pride in her career as a visiting nurse. Her patients are her only true emotional attachments, but when they are well, they move on.

When she gets a call about a new assignment, she is shocked to discover that the patient is Chip Reardon, a former high school classmate of Myra's. He had been the most popular and adored boy in school, but now he is suffering from an incurable brain tumor and plans to die at home. With their roles starkly reversed, Myra and Chip discover that it is often through facing death that we can truly begin to live.

Review Quotes

"[A] must-read for the romantic heart that lies in all of us."-- "Winston-Salem Journal"

"A five-tissue-box novel . . . Elizabeth Berg has written one of the most dramatic and beautiful books of her career, one that celebrates life to the fullest."-- "The Midwest Book Review"

"A superb novel about the persistence of desire and the perils of commitment."-- "Milwaukee Journal Sentinel"

"A touching novel."-- "USA Today"

"An engaging read that forces us to question who we are and who we want others to think we are. . . . An emotional story of memory, longing, and the confines of social roles."-- "Denver Rocky Mountain News"

"Berg inhabits each of [her characters] as though she's known them since she wrote in their high school yearbooks and has kept her promise to keep in touch. . . . Berg shows that life is most beautiful in the moments that come and pass away again, a lesson often learned long after high school."-- "The Atlanta Journal-Constitution"

"Combines romance, heartfelt emotion and cuteness. Berg's observations on life and death ring true."-- "The Washington Post"

"Vital connections are Berg's primary concern. Readers of her earlier novels will hear echoes in the broad themes of Never Change . . . This book is about the wisdom and closeness that crisis can bring. The narrative road that leads to them is funny, poetic, and moving."-- "The Atlantic"

About the Author

Elizabeth Berg is the award-winning author of more than twenty-five books, including the New York Times bestsellers True to Form, Never Change, Open House, The Story of Arthur Truluv, Night of Miracles, and The Confession Club. She lives outside of Chicago. Find out more at Elizabeth-Berg.net.