Elizabeth Berg

illustration

Photo by Joyce Ravid

SELECTED WORKS

illustration Once Upon a Time, There Was You (2011)

illustration The Last Time I Saw You (2010)

illustration Home Safe (2009)

illustration The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted And Other Small Acts of Liberation (2008)

illustration Dream When You're Feeling Blue (2007)

illustration We Are All Welcome Here (2006)

illustration Open House (2000)

Inspiration Lots of things: nature, history, wacky incidents in the news, the yin and yang in everyone's life. But most of all, people: their mystery and charm, their accents and their widely differing points of view, the bigness of their hearts and their resilience. I'm also fascinated by awful people.

Readers Should Know With every book I write, I try to tell the truth. Even though it's fiction, there's an emotional reality I want to get at, and I want to present it with a mix of humor and pathos. The Last Time I Saw You, my novel about a fortieth high school reunion, is told from five different points of view: two men and three women. I think readers will find it a lot of fun to read; I certainly had fun writing it.

Readers Frequently Ask The question that comes up most often is: “How do you know so much about me when we've never met?” And the answer is: I'm like you. The first editor for whom I wrote told me, “You have the common touch, and that's a gift.” I do feel I have an intimate relationship with my readers. It's an honor and a joy.

Authors Who Have Influenced My Writing I was galvanized by J.D. Salinger, charmed by E.B. White, and absolutely knocked out by Alice Munro. But influenced? It's more “real people” who do that. They and the extraordinariness of ordinary life.

MY FAVORITE MEATLOAF

Makes 6 servings

I love meatloaf so much I wanted to title one of my novels The Hotel Meatloaf. That idea didn't go over so well — the title became Open House. But there is still a line in the novel about the Hotel Meatloaf. This is a recipe for meatloaf I found in a woman's magazine that everybody I've served it to loves. And it's easy!

I serve this with mashed potatoes, green beans, and apple pie. If there's any left, it's wonderful the next day.

8 slices fresh white or whole wheat bread (to make 2 cups fresh bread crumbs)

1½ pounds ground beef

¼ cup fresh lemon juice

¼ cup minced onion

1 large egg

2 teaspoons seasoned salt, such as Lawry's

1/3 cup ketchup

1/3 cup light brown sugar

1 teaspoon dry mustard

¼ teaspoon ground allspice

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

6 thin lemon slices, for garnish

1 Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9″ × 13″ × 2″ baking pan.

2 Remove the crusts from slices of bread, if desired, and tear slices into 1-inch pieces. Place bread in a food processor and pulse until the bread forms coarse crumbs.

3 In large bowl, combine bread crumbs, beef, lemon juice, onion, egg, and seasoned salt. Mix well. Shape by hand into 6 little meatloaves and place in baking pan. Bake 15 minutes.

4 Meanwhile, mix ketchup, brown sugar, mustard, allspice, and cloves in a small bowl. Spoon sauce over loaves and top each loaf with a lemon slice. Bake 30 minutes more, or until internal temperature registers 160°F on a thermometer.