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Summary: Elizabeth Berg does it again...
Review: I have to admit that I am prejudiced. Elizabeth Berg is my favorite author and this book is just another reason why. She is the most elegant writer. Her characters are so believable and real that you want to be friends with them. This is a poignant story about Myra, a 51 year old visiting nurse who has never married and who is hired to take care of a high school classmate, Chip, who is dying of cancer. It is a very moving story about the relationship between these two very different people and has some other wonderful and quirky characters that you will love. You will laugh and you will be moved to tears. And when you finish this one you will want to read all of Elizabeth Berg's other books.
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Summary: heartwarming!
Review: NEVER CHANGE is the type of novel I would finish in one sitting--which I did. It is funny, yet it was a sad story. Elizabeth Berg writes truly well, and I look forward to her other novels--this is my first from Ms. Berg.
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Summary: Lessons for the living from one who is dying
Review: What a poignant, yet heartwarming book this is! Rather than try to sum up the story itself, let me just say that one person who is dying leaves lessons for the living, but not by teaching or by preaching, simply by example. A highly recommended book, one that is sure to enrich your life many times over, far behond the time you spend reading it.
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Summary: Definitely addictive!
Review: Well folks, she did it again- coming up with another novel that holds you throughout. Ms. Berg is such a talented writer- she holds your interest from the very first page, and I found myself taking the book everywhere I went. The ending is a mind blower! If you haven't been a Berg fan before, you will be after reading this.
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Summary: Laughter and Tears
Review: Elizabeth Berg has given us another lovely and moving story, that of Myra Lipinsky, a 51-year-old visiting nurse in Boston who has never married and never really even had a good friend. My heart ached for this woman, to have never known the joy of having a buddy whom she could talk to, be with, confide in. Myra had never been asked on a date, never asked to go shopping with the girls or to a movie or a dance. People liked her and talked to her--they just did not become her friends. Yet she did not ask for pity. Her best friend is her dog, Frank, but Myra seems very satisfied with her life, her patients, her house, her routine, and her Porsche Carrera 911.Myra's patients provide us with a cast of characters who are similar to those in an Anne Tyler book--odd, quirky, and likable despite their flaws. They have become Myra's "family" and friends. She said that she became a nurse because "I knew it would be a good way for people to love me. And for me to love them too." Into Myra's life comes Chip Reardon, her high school love (unbeknownst to him) and every girl's dream boy, who has returned home to his parents' house in their small home town, ill with an end-stage brain tumor. She is assigned as the nurse to his case and says something so sad: "You know something bad about me? I thought only one thing. I thought, Good. Now I can have him." How she and Chip arrive at a different kind of loving relationship is a wonderful story as only Elizabeth Berg can tell it. The writing in this book is graceful and lyrical. The author is a former nurse herself and although she did not practice nursing very long, she is obviously an astute observer of people as she seems to get them just right. Myra's dealings with her patients is just right too--she coddles those who need it and forces others into making choices and decisions. This is a serious book about a serious subject, but as presented by Berg, it is not too heavy-handed. The title of the book is an oft-written sentiment in high school yearbooks. Berg writes "...never change. As though it were a choice. As though one of our greatest lessons isn't that change is the only constant. The seasons tell us, everything in organic life tells us, that there is no holding on; still, we try to do just that. Sometimes, though, we learn the kind of wisdom that celebrates the open hand. Then we know that letting go of everything is the only way to keep the things that matter most."
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Summary: Berg just gets better and better....
Review: I've been following Elizabeth Berg's career for a while now. TALK BEFORE SLEEP was wonderful and I liked OPEN HOUSE. I was concerned that Berg would fall into the abyss with other 'Oprah Authors', but Berg has delivered one of her very best efforts with NEVER CHANGE. Berg has a special knack of getting into the very marrow of her character's bones. This story centers around a Myra and Chip....nurse and patient...wallflower and high school stud....man and woman.... Myra was never popular in school, never connected with anyone. Chip was Mr. Everything and seemed to have it all. Chip's now come home to die and Myra is his visiting nurse. Elizabeth Berg writes about real people, warts and all. This book will warm your heart while breaking it. Only one other book (BRIDGE OF BIRDS) in recent memory has evoked tears. It's that good. Buy this book and settle in for a wonderful story, well told. Enjoy!
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Summary: Stunning, funny, sensitive, and sweet
Review: I was a little nervous about reading "Never Change" after reading the blurb on the book. I wasn't sure I was in the mood for another "terminal illness love story". Once I started, though, I got really wrapped up into the characters. I liked Myra, the narrator, a lot. Yes, she is alone at 52, but she's not sitting around pining her life away. She's made a great life for herself, and when Chip, the subject of her biggest high school crush, comes back into her life, everything gets shaken up. One of the things I liked best about this book was how well defined the characters were. They seem like real people. Yeah, Myra is tough, intelligent, and funny, but she is also selfish and petty...just like a real person! And every person Myra comes in contact with, whether it's Chip or her other patients, including a teenage mom, a ..dealer, and a woman with alzheimer's, has something to teach Myra about life. Another great thing about this book was the suspenseful ending. This is a terrific book and not at all maudlin. There are life lessons that anyone could learn from this book. I loved it!
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Summary: You Must Read This Book!!!
Review: I have read every single book written by Elizabeth Berg and have enjoyed every one. "Range of Motion" has always been my favorite. Well, I now have a new favorite and it is this wonderful book! I didn't want the book to end. I would have re-read it immediately but I had promised it to a friend ( and I hardly ever read a book more than once). I loved the story, and Myra just seemed like the type of person you could have a cup of coffee with. This book is a MUST READ for all Berg fans!
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Summary: One of her best! The characters are so real...
Review: ...they'll stay with you long after. By the time you finish reading Never Change, you'll have a hard time remembering that Myra and her patient were just characters in a book. Berg makes them so real. She is a keen observer of oh so many little details--nuances that she picks up observing the patterns of everyday life. One can't help but wonder if the movie rights will follow soon? Seems this story would come to life on the screen--Myra, a caring, funny heroine who only appears to be self-assured. As a visiting nurse, her daily rounds include a delightful collection of patients that feel as real as your own funny old aunt or kibbitzing neighbor, or scared teenage mother you might know. When Myra takes on a new patient, a former high school crush of hers who is now 51 and dying of a brain tumor, Berg does what she does so well--any women will identify with the feelings, the humor, the insecurity that come pouring out. My only complaint is the story is too short. I read it in one night, savoring each page, and I didn't want it to end. Myra is someone I would like to have as a friend. Elizabeth Berg is wonderful!! After so many of the passages I read, I found myself smiling and nodding in agreement. She is so gifted when it comes to expressing what REAL women feel! I rated this book 5 stars only because the scale does not go to 6.
Rating: 
Summary: Never put it down!
Review: This is refreshingly different look at a typically dismal situation. In this book, Ms. Berg demonstrates that sickness and death do not have to be as terrible as one thinks. In a fantastic novel with several poignant moments, two high school acquaintances become reacquainted later in life. This is one that you don't want to miss!
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