The Pull of the Moon

By: Elizabeth Berg

Narrated by: Elizabeth Berg

Length: 4 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

“Reading The Pull of the Moon is like sitting down for a long, satisfying chat with a best girlfriend... pleasantly encourages readers to recover a little life-embracing enthusiasm themselves.” (Orlando Sentinel)

In the middle of her life, Nan decides to leave her husband at home and begin an impromptu trek across the country, carrying with her a turquoise leather journal she intends to fill. The Pull of the Moon is a novel about a woman coming to terms with issues of importance to all women. In her journal, Nan addresses the thorniness - and the allure - of marriage, the sweet ties to children, and the gifts and lessons that come from random encounters with strangers, including a handsome man appearing out of the woods and a lonely housewife sitting on her front porch steps.

Most of all, Nan writes about the need for the self to stay alive. In this luminous and exquisitely written novel, Elizabeth Berg shows how sometimes you have to leave your life behind in order to find it.

"This is not a novel about a woman leaving home but rather about a human being finding her way back." (Chicago Tribune)

“When was the last time you thought about running away? In The Pull of the Moon, Berg shares her strength, the wonderful widening of her soul so that we, too, can take the journey in the ease of our chair." (Greensboro News & Record)

"Berg’s gift as a storyteller lies most powerfully in her ability to find the extraordinary in the ordinary, the remarkable in the everyday." (The Boston Globe)

©2010 Elizabeth Berg (P)2013 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

For women over 50

Well written, could strongly identify with Nan as she refunds herself. Each woman has her own journey, but some definite commonalities.
I thought the ending was very appropriate.

For all women

I found this title as a “modern take on The Awakening.” As former hs English teacher who still keeps in touch with many of my now- adult former students, I passed this title on to a few 30-something women who might benefit from Nan’s hindsight.

Insightful!, Creative, Humorous

Elizabeth Berg is a marvelously talented writer not only because she knows the intangibles of women’s feelings but because her prose flows easily between matter-of-fact descriptions to wonderfully observant, colorful portrayals.
I’ve always adored the use of letter writing to tell all of part of a story. Ms. Berg’s main character takes a road trip to rediscover herself, basically running away from home, something most women wish they could do at one time or another. We find out more about her as time passes not only by her interesting interactions with people but also through her introspective journal entries and daily letters to her husband.
This was my second time reading this novel. The first was when it was published and again in 2022, finishing it the first few days of 2023. An eye injury forced me to switch from print to Audible, an enjoyable way to listen since Ms. Berg pronounces plainly. Her inflection is welcoming, enhancing the charm of this book, which is full of spontaneity! However, something I must admit, with excellent writers I’ve always loved lingering over their best passages, their best portraitures, for I love the creation of weaving words into narratives…..what a lovely art form! So there are advantages to reading and to listening.
You won’t be disappointed reading this novel: in fact, you’ll find yourself smiling and being reassured that self-examination is a necessary and good thing, never to be feared.

So relatable!!!

I felt so connected at times almost like the author was me!!! I felt validated in my thoughts.

For any partner that has wondered..

Her journey resembled something I had thought about, although I would never have disappeared on my husband that way, I would thoroughly discuss it, and I have discussed it with him. Maybe that was why I never did it, or maybe the fact that we discussed it set me free enough in the relationship that I didn’t need to disappear. I would love to know how the proverbial husband would react? Maybe a sequel could show his side, receiving her letters and their relationship after the trip? I would enjoy that quite a bit.

Middle Age Road Trip

The privilege rolls off this character in a way that makes me want to grind my teeth. The author does acknowledge it somewhat. But if you ignore that, it’s a lovely white feminist story of a wealthy woman turning 50 and trying to find herself.

Going forward

Listening to this storyI felt I was listening to my own, not in the details of her journey, but in her thoughts and feelings about her life. This is a perfect book for women of a certain age who begin the journey of their old age by revisiting the moments that brought both joy and resentments and trying to make sense of the woman they made. It’s that how did I get here, where should I go time of life. This book was comforting in sharing what so many of us feel and reassuring that there is another age of discovery in front of us.

I loved this book!

This book was so relatable to me and had me laughing out loud! So good!

The boredom of it

As a woman I can relate to aging but menopause and at 50. You would think via the readers voice and the lack of energy the woman is turning 90

Terrible

I usually love Elizabeth Berg's stories, but this insipid, whiney character annoys the hell out of me. Having the entire story be her spoiled rantings was too much, I couldn't finish it. Not that some of her issues aren't valid, but she needs therapy, not to run away. If you like stories about women going through a midlife crisis, maybe this is for you.