Suddenly [Mass Market Paperback]

Barbara Delinsky (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1994

From the New York Times bestselling author of More Than Friends comes an emotionally charged novel that reflects upon the consequences of one irrevocable act.

In the idyllic small town of Tucker, Vermont, life flows at a rhythmic pace for pediatrician Paige Pfeiffer. But when Mara O'Neill, her best friend and medical partner, inexplicably kills herself, Paige's comfortable life is suddenly shattered. Temporarily caring for Mara's newly adopted baby daughter while she comes to grips with her grief, Paige clings to the hope that, in time, her orderly life will return.

What she hadn't counted on were the unexpected pleasures that often come with change, including the touch of a man who offers Paige things she never thought she wanted. She hadn't counted on finding the meaning of life in the death of a friend.

For everyone who has ever made a choice between what is and what could be, Barbara Delinsky unveils a truly moving gift from the heart that captures one woman's story and ultimately speaks to us all.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

When pediatrician Mara O'Neill is found drugged with Valium and dead of carbon monoxide poisoning--an apparent suicide--it sets off crises in the lives of the three pediatricians who were in practice with her in a small Vermont town. For Angie Bigelow, dealing with Mara's death becomes the final straw in the disintegration of her once-well-organized--and ostensibly happy--home and marriage. Peter Grace, whose involvement with Mara was more complex than he admits publicly, must resolve a sense of discontent rooted in his youth. Paige Pfeiffer, who was Mara's friend since college, copes with her deep sense of loss by caring for the infant from India that Mara had arranged to adopt. Paige's life is further complicated by the attentions of Noah Perrine, acting head of the posh but troubled private school where Paige coaches girls' athletics. Delinsky ( More Than Friends ) does her usual good job of creating a dynamic interaction among a varied ensemble of characters, but their lives convey a subtle and complex subtext on parenting--that being a perfect parent is integral to being a perfect person--that may wilt some readers' enjoyment. Author tour.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Barbara Delinsky, a lifelong New Englander, was a sociologist and photographer before she began to write. There are more than 30 million copies of her books in print.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 469 pages
• Publisher: Avon (January 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061042005
• ISBN-13: 978-0061042003
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #926,528 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #28 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Romance > Authors, A-Z > ( D ) > Delinsky, Barbara

More About the Author

Barbara Delinsky, author of ESCAPE (2011), NOT MY DAUGHTER (2010), WHILE MY SISTER SLEEPS (2009), THE SECRET BETWEEN US (2008), and FAMILY TREE (2007), has written more than twenty bestselling novels with over thirty million copies in print. She has been published in twenty languages worldwide. Barbara's fiction centers upon everyday families facing not-so-everyday challenges. She is particularly drawn to exploring themes of motherhood, marriage, sibling rivalry, and friendship in her novels.

A lifelong New Englander, Barbara earned a B.A. in Psychology at Tufts University and an M.A. in Sociology at Boston College. As a breast cancer survivor who lost her mother to the disease when she was only eight, Barbara compiled the non-fiction book Uplift: Secrets From the Sisterhood of Breast Cancer Survivors, a handbook of practical tips and upbeat anecdotes. She donates her proceeds from the sale of this book to her charitable foundation, which funds an ongoing research fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Barbara enjoys knitting, photography, and cats. She also loves to interact with her readers through her website at www.barbaradelinsky.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/bdelinsky, and on Twitter as @BarbaraDelinsky.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic, July 5, 1999

By 

Hannah M. Hurey (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Suddenly (Mass Market Paperback)

This was the first book by this author that I had ever read and reread. It made me go out and look up more of her other books to read. I LOVED THIS BOOK!!!!! It made me realize how special my best friends are and how important it is to talk to them about all of your feelings. I just got married and read this book before I picked my bridesmaids. I think it really meant a lot to those young woman to hear why I had picked them and how very special they were to me. This book was what made me realize it. It is a book for anyone who has ever wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. It is about "REAL" people facing real situations and the feelings that we all feel. I could not put this book down and would highly recommend this book to anyone. READ IT!!!! YOU WILL LOVE IT!!!!

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Heartwarming, but controlled, January 7, 2002

By 

K. Fisher "Geek Extraodinaire" (Rainy Portland, OR USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Suddenly (Mass Market Paperback)

In a small town with few problems and low crime, the death of a friend and fellow pediatrician stuns a practice, a town, and throws all rules out of the window. Add to this the secrets that it seems all people keep, and once things start coming to light, you aren't sure if you want to cry with them, or wish you were a character in the story to help hold everyone together.

While I enjoyed the book so much that I read it straight through, I felt that B. Delinsky portrayed the women in this book as being controlling to the point of not being able to see their own lives and the inevitable lonely paths that they were choosing in their shortsightedness, until, of course, the men around them were able to "bring them to their senses." This may be the typical theme in many romance novels, but usually it isn't so obvious in Ms. Delinsky's books, so in this way I was disappointed.

Otherwise though, it had mystery, wrongdoing, some knights in shining armor, even princesses and queens in shining armor, and some tasteful steamy romance scenes. All in all, it was a great book, it just had that one downside to it...

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars REMINDS US OF THE VALUE OF FRIENDSHIP, COMPASSION, AND LOVE, April 26, 2008

By 

Gail Cooke (TX, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Suddenly (Hardcover)

How do you cope with the loss of your best friend - not an expected passing related to age or illness but a sudden, shocking death due to suicide? Do you weep, grieve, and chastize yourself for not being aware of your friend's anguish?

Pediatrician Paige Pfieffer did all of the above when her best friend and business partner Mara O'Neill was found dead. "All she could think was that the tragedy might have been prevented if she had been more attentive, more understanding or more perceptive a friend."

To compound matters Mara's parents ask Paige to make funeral plans, a painful task. Further, when she learns that Mara's body had been found filled with Valium she wonders as she and the other partners, Angie and Peter, knew that Mara was "....vehemently opposed to drug taking. Of the four of us, she issued the fewest prescriptions."

All believed Mara to be her usual energetic self, enthusiastically working, happy, eagerly looking forward to the arrival of her adopted daughter from India.

As author Delinsky reveals in Suddenly, sometimes when a tragedy such as this seemingly senseless, inexplicable one occurs others reevaluate their lives, their beliefs, their actions, their goals. Such is the case with all of the partners but is primarily explored through Paige who cares for Mara's young daughter and finds herself attracted to Noah Perrine, the acting head of a local school where Paige coaches girls' athletics.

Many will be touched by this story and once again realize the value of friendship, compassion and love.

- Gail Cooke