Home Safe

Finished May 3
Home Safe by Elizabeth Berg, read by the author

Helen Ames, an accomplished writer, has had writer's block since her husband died nearly a year ago, but she hasn't been able to tell anyone. She lives in the Chicago suburbs, and her daughter Tessa lives closer to the center of the city. Tessa is also a writer, currently working for a magazine. Helen's husband Dan died very suddenly, and Helen is still coming to terms with it. She has been depending on Tessa a lot for things Dan used to do, and letting other things slide. When her accountant gives her a wake-up call on her finances, she is hit by the fact that she didn't know as much as she thought about her husband. And she needs to get her mojo back regarding her writing.
Helen accepts a grant-funded position to run a writing workshop at the public library, something she's not sure she's comfortable doing. But as the librarian indicates, this is not your usual writing workshop, and Helen finds the diverse group of people attending interesting. She experiments and goes with what seems to work, and her students respond enthusiastically.
As Helen learns to do things for herself more, she also learns to let Tessa go and to move on with her own life.
This is a story of love and loss, and finding hope. A comforting read.