Description:
Nothing prepared Liz, the academic scientist (with a background in Australia and UK) for Linda, the quick-witted eighth-grade dropout from Texas excelling in malapropisms and outlandish jokes. Linda was still married and Liz a grieving widow. How could they sustain a relationship when they had such different personalities, backgrounds, and interests? But despite obvious incompatibilities, their chemistry was undeniable, and the extraordinary contrast was exciting for both of them.
Over time, each of them enthusiastically engaged the other in different pursuits and each of them bonded over the novelties. They introduced each other to their favorite entertainments, with mixed results (Linda found opera boring; Liz cheered for the wrong team at a University of Arizona basketball game). Linda's jokes kept them constantly alive to humor that offset the complexities of the lives they led when they were apart. But slowly, their shared love of nature, carefree RV trips, and travel abroad (with the help of antianxiety meds for Linda's first time on a plane), brought them ever closer. Maybe, they realized, they were more alike than they thought, as each pondered their love of being rebels. Maybe their differences were to be celebrated rather than overcome.
With humor and heart, Across the Divide: The Strangest Love Affair reveals how possibilities unfold when we open ourselves to unlikely opportunities.
Brief description: Elizabeth Bernays is the author of Six Legs Walking: Notes from an Entomological Life, House of Pictures: Reflections on Art, Memory, and the Meaning of Home, and Three Miles: A Walk for all Seasons. She lives in Tucson, Arizona.
Review Quotes:
Praise for Across the Divide
"Bernays presents a memoir of second-chance love set against a backdrop of the wild and beautiful Arizona desert. A touching remembrance about two people who went through a lot to find each other." - Kirkus Review
"This book will make you smile as you watch two different people with different lifestyles come together and conquer the world. The characters will have you cheering them on to the very end. This book was a joy to experience; I predict others will enjoy reading it." - Midwest Book Review
"Especially engaging are stories of the women's rambles through the desert and around the world, the sense of trust and connection strengthening between them. Bernays writes with clear-eyed tenderness, stirring readers to invest in this love story." - Book Life Review
"A charming memoir about new forms of love later in life. Joyful, but also profound and reflective, the book is an enchanting and memorable read that mixes levity with deep emotion." - Self-Publishing Review
"A scientist and a creative writer, Bernays' knack for rich detail, vivid imagery, and humorous dialogue make this memoir a captivating read. Highly recommend!" - Dr K. Wagner, psychologist
"This heartfelt memoir, full of humor and insight, depicts a life charged with uncertainties and bravery and joy - an engaging and transformative read.: - Ken Lamberton, award-winning author
"We are privileged to follow along as Liz turns her famous observational eye inward as well as outward to paint a portrait of a life full of insights, surprises, and love." - Martha Weiss, Professor, Georgetown University
"Bernays has written a wonderful ode to life's transitions; a deeply engaging memoir on the mystery of love, both for people and biodiversity." - Noah Whiteman, Professor, University of California Berkeley
"The opposites, Liz and Linda, learn to see nature through each other's eyes and observing oneself changed by the confounding nature of the "other."" - Gail Browne, former Director of the University of Arizona Poetry Center