Range of Motion

by Elizabeth Berg

Book Overview

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Story of Arthur Trulov and Night of Miracles comes "the love story of the year"*--an inspiring story of a woman at the limits of her faith and hope.

When a freak accident leaves her husband comatose, Lainey Bergman dutifully waits for him to awake, desperate not to lose hope. Through the invisible wall that separates them, she seeks to connect with him...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 042516876X
• ISBN13: 9780425168769
• Release Date: April 2000
• Publisher: Berkley Books
• Length: 251 Pages
• Weight: 0.54 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.2" x 8.1"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 12 and higher

Customer Reviews

Although I've loved (and reacted strongly) to every Elizabeth Berg book, this is without doubt my ve

Elizabeth Berg has done it again! She's written another brilliant novel that touched this reader on a deeply emotional level. While correctly classified as a family/medical drama and not a romance novel, it was sweetly romantic in its hopeful and life-affirming message. The vividly described details brought the setting and situation to life, making them very real and tangible. I adored Lainey: Her tenderness, her strength, her unwavering belief and faith, her devotion and level of commitment, her coping mechanisms. Evie and Alice were such wonderfully supportive characters. It was fascinating to be able to "listen in" on Jay's thoughts while he was in the coma.

Fantastic and moving

This is one of the few books that have brought me to tears... tears rolling down my face, dripping across my nose and onto my pillow. Elizabeth Berg never handles a situation like you'd think it would (or probably should) be; she handles it in the way in which it would truly happen. What would I really think if my husband were in a coma? No really, what would I be THINKING? It's an incredibly complicated concept, even more heart-wrenching than other books about actual death that I've read. She has a wonderful, intimate way of bringing the same hurt, confusion and intensity of emotions her characters experience into the mind and heart of her readers. It's a very genuine thing that keeps me reading her stories with open ears.

Gets under the surface of things, and sticks with you

This was the first book I read by Elizabeth Berg. It was one of those happy accidents where you decide to try that book in the bargain pile by an author you don't know, and it turns out to be one of your favorites. I love the tenderness of Lainey's relationship with Jay, how she so deeply misses him, the images of how hard it is to have your partner in the terrible limbo of a coma, and how hard it must be to be the only one who believes he'll ever wake up. Lainey's internal dialogue is very interesting, how her view of the world both evolves and doesn't while she deals with her situation. And as with all of Elizabeth Berg's novels (at least the several I've read), you can't help but find cause for optimism at the end, no matter what happens.The images that stick with you are the way she uncovers the beauty, the poetry, in the most everyday things. That's a hallmark of her writing. It tends to point out why you should tell your partner and your children why you love them, why you should remember to look at the sunset, stop to catch snowflakes on your tongue, etc.Just read it. Especially for this book, but to some degree for all of her novels, it's hard to describe the charm of Elizabeth Berg's writing.

Wonderful

This being the first Elizabeth Berg that I have read, I had some pretty high expectations. My mom got me this book for Christmas last year and I only got around to reading it last week. I have to say that it is one of the most engaging books I have read in a really long time. Jay Bermann is walking to work one winter day when a huge block of ice falls off a roof and knocks him into a coma. His wife Lainey, the only one who believes that he will recover, tries in every way to revive him with his favorite shirts, spices, etc. Her enormous persistance to get him to recover is aided by the help of two extraordinary women. The wondeful style of this book makes it romantic without being romantic. The reader is in a rush to figure the outcome of the story, while at the same time they are reluctant to see it end. I look foreward to reading other books by Elizabeth Berg.