Tryin' to Sleep in the Bed You Made [Hardcover]

Virginia DeBerry (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 15, 1996

Curl up in a chair and enter the lives of two unforgettable women whose joys and sorrows you will never forget. And when you're finished, call your best friend. With heart and soul, passion and poignancy, Tryin' to Sleep in the Bed You Made follows the lives of two best friends, Gayle Saunders and Patricia Reid, as they grow, learn, make choices, find love, and find heartache.

From the time they were young, Gayle and Patricia were raised like sisters, as close as two friends could be. But they each had dreams that would take them far away--and far away from each other.

Gayle was the beauty who believe that a man could make her world complete. Patricia was the intellectual who thought that rising to the top of her career would make her happy. And then there is Marcus Carter, who has been linked to both Pat and Gayle since the tragedy that occurred when they were all children. Can either one save him from himself? Can friends survive a love that comes between them? Each of them gets what she wants, but no one counts on the price they have to pay.

When they realize that dreams can be hollow and love has its cost, they learn the most important lesson of all: to never given up on the people who love you, and that it isn't just blood that makes two people sisters.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In 1989, Gayle Saunders Hilliard is living a nightmare. Her husband, Ramsey, a compulsive gambler, has committed suicide, leaving Gayle, her young daughter and her widowed mother destitute. Pressed to add to her income as a receptionist, Gayle, who is African American, takes a part-time job as a maid at a suburban New York hotel, where she encounters her childhood best friend, Pat Reid, a polished executive for an ad agency. Pat, who was taken in by Gayle's parents and brought up as family after her mother abandoned her, hasn't spoken to Gayle in 10 years?ever since Gayle neglected to pick her up at an abortion clinic because she was tied up with her gambler husband. In flashbacks, we see Gayle's upbringing as the indulged child of older parents, and Pat's need to revise her family history as she becomes a workaholic and claws her way up the hierarchy of Manhattan corporate life. Eventually, the two draw upon their shared past to rebuild their lives. The authors have collaborated seamlessly on this well-paced debut. Their heroines are balanced and clearly drawn, while their plot manages to spring myriad surprises without resorting to obvious gimmickry. In an age when personal responsibility is often abrogated in the name of early childhood emotional trauma, Pat and Gayle are refreshingly honest characters, accepting of their own and each other's shortcomings. Author tour.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

YA. This novel about the friendship of three African Americans from their childhood meeting through their present-day lives is filled with fast-paced events that pull readers into the story. Gayle Saunders, growing up in a home with caring, loving parents, seems to have it all?beauty, charisma, and eventually a rich, handsome husband and a beautiful daughter; she loses almost everything and ends up in a homeless shelter. Patricia Reid is a tossed-away child who struggles for acceptance by becoming an academic and, later, a corporate success; she strives for perfection before revealing her true identity to her wealthy father; she becomes emotionally empty and another victim of downsizing. Marcus Carter becomes the baseball hero he's never wanted to be and almost kills himself in the process. He seems on a self-destructive course until he faces the truth about his brother's death. As adolescents, the lives of the three are forever intertwined when they witness the gun accident that kills Marcus's brother. The choices they make throughout their lives lead to undesirable consequences but result in each person becoming a worthwhile and compassionate adult. In the satisfying ending, Gayle, Pat, and Marcus emerge from their desolation and all is right with their world. The story is filled with lessons about life, including the church as a social haven and the value and necessity for true friends and family. YAs will identify with these strong personalities as they struggle to overcome real problems in a contemporary world.?Dottie Kraft, formerly at Fairfax County Public Schools, VA
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press; 1st edition (December 15, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312152337
• ISBN-13: 978-0312152338
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (270 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,148,874 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars True Friendship, March 9, 2002

By 

The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers (RAWSISTAZ.com and BlackBookReviews.net) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tryin' to Sleep in the Bed You Made (Hardcover)

Tryin' to Sleep in The Bed You Made written by friends, Virginia DeBerry and Donna Grant is one of most beautiful and memorable novels I've read. This novel was originally published in 1997 but republished this year. This edition includes an all-new chapter that has not been published before. Now lets get to the story.

Gayle Saunders and Patricia Reid have been friends since childhood. They chose each other for their best friend. They are completely opposite. Gayle is beautiful and well loved by her parents. Her only ambition is to marry a man who has money and is someone with high standing in the community. Pat on the other hand comes from an unstable home. She is smart and determined to work her way to the top. Circumstances change for Pat and Gayle's parents adopt her. They grow up together like sisters. Pat is accepted into a prep school and their lives take different paths. Gayle marries Ramsey, a gambler who almost destroys her life. She does not have a clue about her husband's secret life. He is very controlling and Gayle lives to be the dutiful wife. Needless to say Pat graduated from college with honors. Her determination and hard work took her to top of her career in Advertising. After reaching the top Pat was not satisfied. She was still trying to find a place that she could call home. After years of separation and many trials and tribulations Pat and Gayle find the meaning of true friendship.

Marcus Carter who is a childhood friend of Pat and Gayle is troubled. He is being haunted by a tragic accident that occurred during his childhood. The details of the accident are a well-kept secret. Pat and Gayle share this secret with him.

The new chapter is an expansion of the original storyline and is well written. There is more about how you sleep in that bed you made. You are in for a surprise.

DeBerry and Grant have written a novel that is filled with so much honesty in their characterizations. The writing is clear and easy to follow. They have succeeded in making the characters feel like real people.

I was really touched by this book. It made me think about my friendships with other women. There is many twist and turns in this book but you are never confused about what really happens. This is a good book one that I could not put down until I finished.
I would recommend this book to all women.

Reviewed by Dorothy Cooperwood

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars MY FAVORITE BOOK, November 8, 2000

By 

Nanette Sims "Real Music Lover" (Detroit, MI United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tryin' to Sleep in the Bed You Made (Trying to Sleep in the Bed You Made) (Mass Market Paperback)

I purchased this book at the airport in Atlanta, GA in Oct. 1997 while waiting for my ride. I was there to visit my best friend and Godson. I couldn't put the book down. Imagine being on vacation and not wanting to do anything but read a book. I read the book every chance I got. I stayed up late while everyone was sleeping and I finished it in 2 nights. This is my favorite book to this day. Pat and Gayle's story was so interesting. Just because you are best friends doesn't mean you have the exact same views on life. And you still love and respect each other. This was so true for Pat and Gayle in the end. I recommended this book to at least 10 others and they enjoyed it as just as much as I.

My best friend is not a big time reader, but she called me one day and told me that I had to read this really good book she was reading and I asked her for the title and she said... Tryin' to Sleep in the Bed You Made. I laughed and reminded her of the time when I visited in Oct. 1997 and she laughed because she remembered that I couldn't stop reading a certain book and to find out that this was the book she couldn't stop laughing.

Maybe this was boring to you, if so I'm sorry. I read this book for a 2nd time in July of this year and it was still as excellent as the 1st time. I've recently purchased Virginia and Donna's new book called Far From the Tree. So far it's excellent as well.

Tryin' to sleep in the Bed you Made is a MUST read.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Now These Women Know How to Tell A Story!, July 16, 2000

By 

Michelle Simmons - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tryin' to Sleep in the Bed You Made (Trying to Sleep in the Bed You Made) (Mass Market Paperback)

I finished reading this book yesterday, and I'm still in awe! DeBerry and Grant did a superb job of telling a beautiful story of frienship, betrayal, love, forgiveness, and letting go of the pain of the past. I wonder how the authors went about writing the book together, because it reads as though it was written by one person. One person with a profound voice, and a way with words that had me laughing out loud at some points, pissed off at some points, and crying like a baby at other points. And the way they wrote that Ramsey character! I fell in love with him right along with Gayle in the scene where she lost her virginity to him! And I was ready to take him back for Gayle in that scene in the cemetary! I think I identify more with Gayle than with any of the other characters in the book, but I loved them all!

This was definitely one of the best books I've read this summer, and I would even read it again. And I don't usually read books more than once, no matter how much I like them! I would also love to see this book made into a movie. For some reason, I see Vanessa L. Williams as the perfect Gayle. But enough of my raving about the book. If you haven't read it, you should! Believe me, you'll be glad you did!