Summary
When the two grown daughters of Elizabeth Marshall discover an old diary of their mother's in her attic, it comes as a shock to learn that the true love of Elizabeth's life was not their father. But is all as it seems? That's the mystery the two daughters must unravel as they stay up late reading the words penned by Elizabeth so long ago. Their mother can't give them answers; after a massive stroke, she lies mute and near death in a nursing home. Only the pages of her diary can provide clues to what really happened. Did Elizabeth marry their father, Bob, out of a sense of obligation rather than love? What happened to the mysterious A.J. and who ignited Elizabeth's passions as a young woman in the small town of Emory, Nebraska? In a richly detailed journey into the past, we see Elizabeth lose her heart to one man while remaining devoted to another. The Diary is a love story. It's also the story of the unshakable bond between a mother and her daughters. Elizabeth's daughters are forced to ask the question that all adult children must ask themselves at some point. How well do you really know your parents?
Eileen Goudge was born July 4, 1950 and grew up in the San Francisco bay area. She began writing at the age of eight. At eighteen, she dropped out of college, ran off with a man dodging the draft, and got married. Two years later, she was divorced, with a baby, and had to go on welfare. She decided to become a professional writer, started writing non-stop and managed to sell a few articles. In the early eighties, she was chosen to help launch a new line of teen romances, which became the successful Sweet Valley High series. She now had enough money to end another bad marriage and move to New York City with her two children. She continued to write the Sweet Valley High titles while working on a novel. Her first novel, Garden of Lies, was sold in 1986 to Viking for nearly one million dollars. Since then, she has written over thirty novels for young adults and over ten works of women's fiction. Her other works include Thorns of Truth, The Diary, and Once in a Blue Moon. Her title The Diary is a New York Times bestseller.
(Bowker Author Biography)