The Diary [Paperback]

Eileen Goudge (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 7, 2009

When the two grown daughters of Elizabeth Marshall discover an old diary of their mother’s in her attic, it comes as a shock to learn that the true love of Elizabeth’s life was not their father. This is the mystery the two daughters must unravel as they stay up late reading the words penned by Elizabeth so long ago. Their mother can’t give them the answers: After a massive stroke, she lies mute and near death in a nursing home. Only the pages of her diary can provide clues to what really happened.

In a richly detailed journey into the past, we see Elizabeth lose her heart to one man while remaining devoted to another. Finally, she must choose between the stable, loyal Bob...and the electrifying and unpredictable A.J., who spent time in juvenile detention as a teen. When a suspicious fire in the neighborhood is linked to A.J., Elizabeth is faced with another dilemma: She’s the only one who can clear A.J.’s name, but to do so would ruin her reputation. Surprisingly, it’s Bob who comes to the rescue, forcing Elizabeth to make perhaps the most painful decision of her life....

The Diary is a love story. It’s also the story of the unshakable bond between a mother and her daughters.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

As their mother lies dying in a nursing home, two sisters find her diary—and a mother they never knew. Written shortly before their parents' marriage, the diary details their mother's romance with another man, and the sisters are moved to discover the depth of their mother's heartache. Slipping between a nostalgic past and the present, the story is suspenseful and surprising, and the versatile Susan Ericksen gives the characters the life, color and personality they deserve, effortlessly and faithfully conveying the middle-class, Midwestern setting. A Vanguard hardcover. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

About the Author

Eileen Goudge is the New York Times bestselling author whose novels include Domestic Affairs, Woman in Red, One Last Dance, Garden of Lies, and Thorns of Truth. There are more than three million copies of her books in print worldwide. She lives with her husband, entertainment reporter Sandy Kenyon, in New York City.

www.eileengoudge.com

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Vanguard Press (April 7, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1593155298
• ISBN-13: 978-1593155292
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #870,947 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I was born on the Fourth of July, and it's been fireworks ever since. I began writing at age eight, with short stories and poems, and I haven't looked back since. From the early days of mostly collecting rejection slips, I went on to publish thirty-two novels for young adults, thirteen (and still counting) of women's fiction, as well as numerous short stories and magazine articles, and one cookbook.

Often I'm asked where I get my ideas. Fortunately, I have a wealth of life experiences to draw from. Starting when I dropped out of college to get married, at age eighteen. Two years later I was divorced, with a baby son and no means of support. I ended up briefly on welfare, and stood in line for government surplus food. But every cloud has its silver lining, and this one led to my determination to make it as a professional writer. I borrowed a typewriter, and lacking a desk, plunked it down on the living room floor. The rest, as they say, is history.

Following a string of young adult novels, I published my first adult novel, GARDEN OF LIES, in 1986. The saga of baby girls switched at birth---one rich, the other poor---went on to enjoy a combined total of 16 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, in hardcover and paperback. Though there's no such thing as an overnight success, I felt like one, having gone in a matter of months from not knowing how I was going to pay the rent to wondering what I was going to do with all that money. The first thing I did was fulfill a fantasy born of years of wearing hand-me-downs: I walked into Saks Fifth Avenue and bought a dress...without even looking at the price tag!

I've since gone on to write many more novels. My most recent, which came out in June of '07, is WOMAN IN RED, a very special story about a woman just out of prison and a man struggling to get back on his feet after losing his wife on 9/11. Look for it in trade paperback in May of this year. I also have another hardcover coming out,in June, titled DOMESTIC AFFAIRS ---a Cinderalla story in reverse: Riches to rags but with a happy ending. I'll be posting sample chapters on my website at www.eileengoudge.com, so stay tuned. I would love to hear your comments once you've read the book! And, remember, there's always more where that came from...

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Diary You Will Want to Keep! THE DIARY by Eileen Goudge, April 15, 2009

By 

Bingo-Karen Haney "Reader, Reviewer, and BOOK... (Florida) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Diary (Hardcover)

THE DIARY by Eileen Goudge was sent to with a personal inscription that made me aware that this was a very special story for Eileen to write. Then I focused on the "Author's Note" which immediately touched my heart as I saw it was dedicated to Eileen's parents and I knew I was in for something very special. Reading Eileen Goudge's books are always a pleasure but I was not prepared for just how extraordinary THE DIARY is. I read it in one sitting which is unusual for me with my busy schedule but there was no way I was putting it down.

I was caught up immediately with Emily and Sarah's discovery of their mother's diary which tells the story of A. J. and Elizabeth. The two adult sisters are clearing out their mother's attic following her declining health as a result of a debilitating stroke that has left her mute and close to death. The diary is delicately described as "bound in maroon leather dulled with age, its gilt tooling worn away in spots" with a "satin bookmarker, once red, now faded to the ashy-pink of dried, pressed rose." It also said the diary "seemed to carry the scent of dried roses" and with that description I was transported with all my senses to the setting of the story within that diary!

The diary reveals a completely different mother than the one the daughters thought they knew. With their father having predeceased their mother, and her unable to speak, they have nobody to turn to with their questions concerning the information that is divulged in the writing in this journal. Diary entries are written verbatim and the story simultaneously presents the narrative to accompany each entry.

Sarah and Emily are as entranced as they are shocked to discover that according to the diary their mother's true love was not their father--the father they adored, the couple they thought they knew so well all their lives. The more the girls read, the more they realize they had a mystery they must solve.

Was there really another man, this "A. J." in their mother's life before their father who was the one they were always led to believe was her one and only true love? Who was the mysterious A. J. who the diary describes as someone who made their mother a young woman of passions unknown to her daughters? If this A. J. was Elizabeth's first true love, what made her leave him for their father?

This is a story that will make you ask yourself how well you know your own parents. Think of yourself now as an adult, and how well do you think your own children know about your romantic past with the man in your life, your spouse? That was a question that really made me think about my own son and what does he really know about his parents and the love they have shared for 36 years?

This is a gem of a book. One to share with everyone you care about. It would make a wonderful Mother's Day gift or Easter present for that special parent or person in your life. I know it is a book that I will long cherish and reread as it is written to enjoy over and over again. Eileen Goudge has shared some very personal background with her readers and by opening her heart has created a book to cherish now and for generations to come.

Submitted Originally to BOOKIN' WITH BINGO by Karen Haney, April, 2009

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful story, quick read, April 22, 2009

By 

Liz (Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Diary (Hardcover)

I really enjoyed this book. I read three chapters the first night and finished it the second night. I couldn't put it down, I was swept away wondering what was going to happen next and trying to put the pieces together of who their mother had chosen. It really makes you wonder just what you may not know about the people closest to you. It is a wonderful story of love and what a woman had to go through in the past when chosing a husband based on love or based on status. I highly recommend this story to anyone who wants to be swept away in an easy read.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A nice light read..., August 23, 2009

By 

CoffeeGurl - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Diary (Paperback)

Sara and Emily are cleaning up their moribund mother's house when they discover an old diary in the attic. Her mother had penned the diary during her youth. To her middle-aged daughters' dismay, it appears that she'd had a big love of her life -- a man that was not their father. How could this be? Their parents had been very happy, seemed to be in love! What's more is that their mother must have lied about certain things throughout her life. But as the women read on, they learn about that goes on to the young and beautiful Elizabeth since the year of 1951. What transpires is a story full of intrigue, misunderstandings and star-crossed romance.

The Diary is a cuddle-under-the-sheets (or beach towel) type of comfort read that you'd get from the likes of Nicholas Sparks and Cecelia Ahern. It reminded of The Notebook in more ways than one, only not as sentimental. I thought this was a nice, albeit insubstantial read that you can gobble up in two or three sittings -- definitely something to take with you on a lazy day on the beach. Eileen Goudge has created something of a light and enjoyable chick-lit that will be picked up by people in the bargain for the aforementioned read again and again. And that, in a nutshell, sums up the book quite well.