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Elyssa Friedland

Biography

Elyssa Friedland

Elyssa Friedland is the acclaimed author of JACKPOT SUMMER, THE MOST LIKELY CLUB, LAST SUMMER AT THE GOLDEN HOTEL, THE FLOATING FELDMANS, THE INTERMISSION and LOVE AND MISS COMMUNICATION. Elyssa is a graduate of Yale University and Columbia Law School and currently teaches novel writing at Yale. She lives with her husband and three children in New York City, the best place on earth.

Books by Elyssa Friedland

by Elyssa Friedland - Fiction, Women's Fiction

The four Jacobson children were raised to respect the value of a dollar. But now that they’re adults, their financial lives are in disarray. The siblings reunite when their newly widowed father puts their Jersey Shore beach house on the market. Packing up childhood memories isn’t easy, especially when there’s other drama brewing. Matthew is miserable at his corporate law job and wishes he had more time with his son; Laura’s marriage is imploding in spectacular fashion; Sophie’s art career is stalled while her boyfriend’s is on the rise; and Noah’s total failure to launch has him doing tech repair for pennies. When Noah sees an ad for a Powerball drawing, he and his sisters go in on tickets while Matthew passes. All hell breaks loose when one of the tickets is a winner, and three of the four Jacobsons become overnight millionaires.

by Elyssa Friedland - Fiction, Humor, Women's Fiction

In 1997, grunge is king, Titanic is a blockbuster (and Blockbuster still exists), and Thursday nights are for “Friends.” In Bellport, Connecticut, four best friends and high school seniors are ready to light the world on fire. Melissa Levin, Priya Chowdhury, Tara Taylor and Suki Hammer are going places. Their yearbook superlatives confirm it: Most Likely to Win the White House, Cure Cancer, Open a Michelin-Starred Restaurant, and Join the Forbes 400. Fast forward 25 years, and nothing has gone according to plan as the women regroup at their dreaded high school reunion. When a forgotten classmate emerges at the reunion with a surprising announcement, the friends dig out the yearbook and rethink their younger selves. Is it too late to make their dreams come true?

by Elyssa Friedland - Fiction, Humor, Women's Fiction

In its heyday, The Golden Hotel was the crown jewel of the hotter-than-hot Catskills vacation scene. For more than 60 years, the Goldman and Weingold families have presided over this glamorous resort that served as a second home for well-heeled guests and celebrities. But the Catskills are not what they used to be --- and neither is the relationship between the Goldmans and the Weingolds. As the facilities and management begin to fall apart, a tempting offer to sell forces the two families together again to make a heart-wrenching decision. Can they save their beloved Golden, or is it too late? Long-buried secrets emerge, new dramas and financial scandal erupt, and everyone from the traditional grandparents to the millennial grandchildren wants a say in the hotel’s future.

by Elyssa Friedland - Fiction, Women's Fiction

Sink or swim. Or at least that's what Annette Feldman tells herself when she books a cruise for her entire family. It's been over a decade since the Feldman clan has spent more than 24 hours under the same roof, but Annette is determined to celebrate her 70th birthday the right way. Just this once, they are going to behave like an actual family. Too bad her kids didn't get the memo. Between the troublesome family secrets, old sibling rivalries and her two teenage grandkids, Annette's birthday vacation is looking more and more like the perfect storm. Adrift together on the open seas, the Feldmans will each face the truths they've been ignoring --- and learn that the people they once thought most likely to sink them are actually the ones who help them stay afloat.

by Elyssa Friedland - Fiction, Women's Fiction

After five long years, the unshakable confidence Cass Coyne felt as a bride is gone. But her husband, Jonathan, is still smitten. So it comes as a complete shock to Jonathan when Cass suddenly requests a marital "intermission": a six-month separation during which they'll decide if the comfortable life they've built is still the one they both want. Aside from a monthly custodial exchange of their beloved dog, contact will be limited. But as the months pass, they begin to see that calculated silences just like these have helped to drive them apart --- and that it may finally be time to confront the blistering secrets they've been avoiding.