Rating: 
Summary: Life Changing
Review: This novel is a MUST READ to any woman with a best friend!Reading "Talk Before Sleep" was a life changing experience. I tend, as most women, to have one or two close friends. When I read this novel, I was amazed at the way that Ms. Berg captured those friendships into words. After readng the book, (in less than a day) I then reread it, and passed it along to my best friend. She and I both saw ourselves in the main characters of the book. And, a few months later, my friend was also diagonsed with cancer. During her treatment, we both lived the closeness and love felt by the characters of the book. Her story, thanks to prayer and a wonderful medical staff, has a much better ending. She has beaten pancreatic cancer and is living and laughing with us today. Thanks to Ms. Berg, we did not feel ashamed at being scared, crying, laughing, and praying together during her terrible illness.
Rating:
Summary: Deep and true
Review: A story that distills life into its most important aspects. Imminent death tends to do that. What choices do we make when we (or our friends) have only weeks to live? What do we talk about? What do we eat? Aptly named, beautifully and truthfully written, this book includes memorable characters and is full of simple, profound wisdom that seeps into one's bones. Elizabeth Berg is a genius.
Rating:
Summary: superb read
Review: I agree with other reviews that this reads as reality, not fiction. The saddest part thing about this book is that it ended. The friendship of the women in this story is envious and admirable.
Gutsy story that teaches how to live honestly, how to be a friend and how to die with dignity. You MUST read this
Rating: 
Summary: The problem is
Review: The problem some are going to have with this book is the fact that they'll forget it's actually fiction. Berg's prose is so clear and real that this book is unnerving, but in a good way. I've read where other reviews have called this "gripping" and that's certainly the case. If you have to read any book this year, please make it this one. I would also recommend another great read, though it's totally different from this (why would you want to read the same thing in a row?). It's called "The Bark of the Dogwood" and it's very shocking and funny. Guaranteed to be like nothing else you've come across. Also try "The Art of Mending."
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Summary: A book that sticks with you & teach you some life lessons...
Review: It is not often that a book will teach you a life lesson but this one does. Talk Before Sleep is a wonderful story centered around 2 friends, one of whom is dying of breast cancer. Have you ever wondered what you would do if you knew you were dying? That is what the characters face as they know the end is near. The book makes us stop and be grateful that we have today and thankful for all the people in our lives, especially good friends who are there to help us not only to die, but to live.
Rating: 
Summary: She has done better
Review: Even so I read the book in two days and was touched by it, I have to say that Elizabetz Berg has done better. Unlike in 'Range of motion' or her 'Katie-books' for example, the dramatic moments in this one often feel forced and tasteless. The character of the nurse remains flat and lifeless, the other characters often seem very exaggerated. It almost feels as if Berg tried to fill the story with life by adding different stereotypes, like Sarah, the efficient, pretty, petit businesswoman and L.D., the baseball cap wearing, bulky lesbian with a crew cut.
So all in all it was a disappointing book, especially since one is spoiled by Berg's previous excellent work.
Rating:
Summary: Good read; tough subject
Review: This story will make you think about a subject we really don't like to. Solely because of its subject matter, the story is sad but the strength of the bond of friendship is inspiring. The writer present a well composed piece of work, easy to read in its structure. Worth reading!
Rating:
Summary: Written in classic Berg style
Review: In `Talk Before Sleep' Elizabeth Berg displays the dynamics of the female friendship in such a moving and realistic way that this could be a true story, only it's not. Berg explains that she wrote the story to help sort out her experiences during her own friend's death, and this connection between herself and her characters keeps them real and alive. You will not often find a book in which the characters so confidently propel the story forward. Ruth is dying of caner, it's plain and simple. Though she toys with the idea of `curing' herself, it's pretty apparent that she will be leaving her friends before she should have to. But like so many of Berg's books, this story is really about Ann, Ruth's maternally-inclined friend, who temporarily sacrifices her husband and daughter to care for Ruth in her home. While Ann is waiting on Ruth hand and foot (emotionally, physically and medically) there is plenty of time for flashbacks that take the reader through the women's friendship; through divorces and children and all the messy stuff that life is made of. While Ruth's other friends also play intricate parts in the story, the focus really is on Ann and what she will choose to retain from her friendship with Ruth and this phase of her life. Even though the subject is somewhat grim, I enjoyed reading this book. One thing that is always consistent in Berg's writing is that she doesn't skip over the less-attractive parts of the human nature, so when you're reading you find yourself easily relating to one or more of her characters. Reading is so often such a solitary thing, but when it becomes interactive it stays with you.
Rating:
Summary: A story of women's friendships in the shadow of cancer
Review: As the book opens, Ann prepares to leave for the home of her best friend, Ruth, who has breast cancer. By the time the book begins, Ruth has already been through treatment and there is nothing more that the doctors can do for her, but through flashbacks, we discover not only the story of Ruth's diagnosis but also the development of Ann and Ruth's amazing friendship. The story is told from Ann's perspective, but the book also features several of Ruth's other friends, which gives the reader a window into how a group of diverse women might react to a friend's illness: Ann, confused by unfailingly loyal and supportive; LD., the tough one who refuses to believe that Ruth's situation is hopeless; Sarah, the practical one who takes flack from the others; and Helen, Ruth's childhood friend. The characters are very real, and the various aspects of the story ring true, from Ruth's confusion over her marriage to the reactions of Ann's school-age daughter. An enjoyable book about love, loss, and--most importantly--women's friendships.
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