Emily Giffin

Emily Giffin (born March 20, 1972) is an American author of several novels commonly categorized as chick lit.

Early life

Emily Giffin was born in Baltimore, Maryland on March 20, 1972. She attended Naperville North High School in Naperville, Illinois (a suburb of Chicago), where she was a member of a creative writing club and served as editor-in-chief for the school's newspaper. Giffin earned her undergraduate degree at Wake Forest University, where she also served as manager of the basketball team. She then attended law school at the University of Virginia.

Career

After graduating from law school in 1997, she moved to Manhattan and worked in the litigation department of Winston & Strawn. However, she determined to seriously pursue her writing. In 2001, she moved to London and began writing full time. Her first young adult novel, Lily Holding True, was rejected by eight publishers. Giffin began a new novel, then titled Rolling the Dice, which became the bestselling novel Something Borrowed.

Giffin found an agent in 2002 and signed a two book deal with St. Martin's Press. While doing revisions on Something Borrowed, she found the inspiration for a sequel, Something Blue. Something Borrowed was released spring 2004. It received positive reviews and made the extended New York Times bestsellers list. Something Blue followed in 2005, and in 2006, her third, Baby Proof, made its debut. She spent 2007 finishing her fourth novel, Love the One You're With.

Her novels have been international bestsellers. Three appeared simultaneously on USA Today's Top 150 list."USA Top 150 books" Something Borrowed was adapted into a major feature film (released on May 6, 2011), and its sequel novel Something Blue has also been optioned for film.

Novels

Something Borrowed (2004)

Main article: Something Borrowed (novel)

Rachel White and Darcy Rhone have been best friends since childhood. Rachel is used to being the good girl, the hard worker who exists in the shadow of flashy—often selfish—Darcy. However, on her 30th birthday, Rachel drinks too much and sleeps with Darcy's fiance, Dexter. The fling turns into an affair, and Rachel is forced to decide which is more important, friendship or true love.

Something Blue (2006)

The sequel to Something Borrowed, Something Blue tells the story of Darcy Rhone, who thought she had it all figured out: the more beautiful the girl, the more charmed her life. Never mind substance. Never mind playing by the rules. Never mind karma. But Darcy's neat, perfect world turns upside down when her best friend, Rachel White, the "good girl," steals her fiancé, while Darcy finds herself alone and pregnant. Trying to recover, she flees to her childhood friend (Ethan) living in London and resorts to her tried-and-true methods for getting what she wants. But as she attempts to recreate her glamorous life on a new continent, Darcy finds that her old ways no longer apply.

Baby Proof (2007)

Claudia Parr and her perfect husband Ben agreed from the beginning of their marriage that children are not for them. When Ben changes his mind, Claudia is forced to reevaluate her reasons for not wanting children. At the same time, she wonders, is there ever a deal-breaker for true love?

Love the One You're With (2009)

Ellen and Andy’s relationship has been perfect for the first year. There is no question how deep their devotion is, and how naturally they bring out the best in each other. But one fateful afternoon, Ellen runs into her former beau Leo for the first time in eight years. Although Leo brought out the worst in her and left her heartbroken with no explanation, he is also the love she could never quite forget. When his reappearance ignites long-dormant emotions, Ellen begins to question whether the life she is living is the one she is meant to live.

Heart of the Matter (2010)

Tessa Russo is the mother of two young children and the wife of a renowned pediatric surgeon. Despite her own mother’s warnings, Tessa has recently given up her career to focus on her family and the pursuit of domestic happiness. Valerie Anderson is an attorney and single mother to six-year-old Charlie, a boy who has never known his father. After too many disappointments, Valerie has given up on romance—and even to some degree, friendships—believing that it is always safer not to expect too much. Although both Tessa and Valerie live in the same Boston suburb, the two have relatively little in common aside from parenthood. However, a tragic accident causes their lives to converge.

Where We Belong (2012)

Thirty-six-year-old Marian Caldwell is a successful television producer whose life changes when 18-year-old Kirby Rose appears on her doorstep.

Controversy

In August, 2012, Giffin's husband responded to a negative review of Where We Belong, mocking the reviewer and calling him/her a "psycho". This began an intense internet attack, with many reviewers joining the argument on both sides.

One influential reviewer, Corey A. Doyle, became the center of attacks when she changed her four-star review to a one-star review, claiming Giffin's responses were unprofessional and even encouraged the attacks. The issue came to a head when Doyle got anonymous phone calls criticizing her review and one which even included "an exhortation to commit suicide".

According to Doyle, Giffin never apologized, but instead suggested that Doyle simply remove the negative review.

Giffin's later delivered an apology, through her publicist, to The Atlantic Wire, in which she stated "Although I have never willfully hurt another through social media, I understand the impact of my posts last week and apologize to any and all who were affected by them."

Personal life

Giffin married in 2002. In 2003, she and her husband left England for Atlanta, Georgia. A few months later, on New Year's Eve, she gave birth to identical twin boys, Edward and George. A daughter, Harriet, was born May 24, 2007.

External links

• Official website