Elizabeth Berg Biography and latest books by Elizabeth Berg

Elizabeth Berg is an American author of many bestselling novels and two works of nonfiction. The book, Open House, was selected by the famous Oprah’s Book Club. Durable Goods and Joy School were awarded with the ALA Best Books of the Year, and Talk Before Sleep was short-listed for an Abby Award. Her bestsellers also include The Year Of Pleasures, The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted, and Dream When You’re Feeling Blue. Berg has been honored by both the Boston Public Library and the Chicago Public Library and is a popular speaker at various venues around the country. She lives near Chicago. The three novels Durable Goods, Joy School, and True to Form form a trilogy about teenaged Katie Nash.


Elizabeth was born in St. Paul, Minnesota on December 2, 1948. When Elizabeth was three, her father reenlisted in the Army, and she spent all of her growing up years moving around. Elizabeth says that she was always in love with books from the time her mom started reading to her.  She had gone ahead and submitted her first poem to American Girl magazine when she was nine. Back then her writing was rejected, and it took her about 25 years to submit a piece of writing again. This time, she had taken part in a contest in a magazine and won. She wrote for magazines for about 10 years, and then progressed to writing novels.


Elizabeth was a registered nurse for 10 years and taught her quite a bit about human nature about love and loss and regret and triumph and also a lot about relationships. Then she worked as a waitress, which was again a good training for a writer, and she sang in a rock band which helped her make a quick buck. She was married for over 20 years and then divorced her husband. She has two daughters and three grandchildren. She is currently living with her dog, Homer, and cat, Gracie, in Chicago, Boston or Wisconsin.