Grunwald, Lisa 1959–

PERSONAL: Born June 1, 1959, in New York, NY; daughter of Henry Anatole (an editor) and Beverly (a writer; maiden name, Suser) Grunwald; married Stephen Adler (writer and editor); children: one son, one daughter. Education: Harvard University, B.A., 1981.

ADDRESSES: Home—105 W. 70th St., New York, NY 10023. Agent—Liz Darhansoff, 1220 Park Ave., New York, NY 10028.

CAREER: Journalist, writer, and editor. Vineyard Gazette, Martha's Vineyard, MA, reporter, summers, 1975–80; Avenue, New York, NY, managing editor, 1981–85; Esquire, New York, NY, former associate editor, beginning 1985.

WRITINGS:

Summer (novel), Knopf (New York, NY), 1986.

The Theory of Everything (novel), Knopf (New York, NY), 1991.

Now, Soon, Later (picture book), illustrated by Jane Johnson, Greenwillow (New York, NY), 1996.

New Year's Eve (novel), Crown (New York, NY), 1997.

(Editor, with husband, Stephen J. Adler) Letters of the Century: America, 1900–1999, Dial Press (New York, NY), 1999.

(Editor, with Stephen J. Adler) Women's Letters: America from the Revolutionary War to the Present, Dial Press (New York, NY), 2005.

Whatever Makes You Happy (novel), Random House (New York, NY), 2005.

Former contributing editor, Life magazine.

SIDELIGHTS: Former journalist turned author Lisa Grunwald has published several novels that deal with family relationships. Her first novel, Summer, tells the story of the prominent Burke family and their summer vacation on an island off Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Milo Burke, a well-known sculptor, his wife, Lulu, and their daughters, Jennifer and Hilary, have always spent their summers on the island. The vacation described in Summer is very different, however, because Lulu reveals that she is dying of cancer. Narrated by eighteen-year-old Jennifer, Summer examines how the Burke family copes with Lulu's declaration and the changing relationships involved with such an ordeal. Jennifer, for example, becomes angry with her mother because she continues to live her life as if nothing is wrong. While Jennifer is terrified by the thought of losing her mother, her mother remains cheerful. "She would not act like a dying woman," Jennifer explains in Summer. She "would not grant us the haven of feeling sympathy and outrage and pity and sorrow."

Noting that Grunwald's own mother died of cancer in 1981, Detroit News critic Ruth Pollack Coughlin suggested that "autobiography and a minimal plot are undeniable components of Summer." She declared that nonetheless "the novel is beautifully constructed and richly textured." Coughlin added that Summer is "an accomplished and moving first novel," calling Grunwald "an extremely talented young woman."

In her second novel, The Theory of Everything, the author tells the story of Alexander Simon, a physicist who may be close to establishing a unifying "theory of everything," that explains the fundamental science behind the existence of mass, energy, and space-time. Despite his work, Alexander deals with inner struggles involving abandonment by his mother, who had introduced Alexander to New Age beliefs. Noting that the novel "displays the conflict between the opposing worlds of science and magic," Publishers Weekly contributor Sybil Steinberg commented on the author's "lyrical and sensitive prose." Commenting on the novel's central themes of the battle between science and metaphysics, Stefan Kanfer wrote in Time magazine that "Grunwald offers no final answers, but her chart of genius in extremis is witty and sympathetic."

Grunwald's next novel, New Year's Eve focuses on twin sisters Erica and Heather, who have children only weeks apart in age. After Heather's son, David, dies in a car accident, Sarah, Erica's daughter, believes she can talk with him as an angel. Heather encourages Sarah's devotion to her departed son and, as a result, begins to break the family apart. Theresa Ducato, writing in Booklist, noted that the author "understands her characters and subtly guides their emotions as they shift and collide throughout this perceptive novel." People contributor Paula Chin complimented the author for being "strong in her portrayal of sibling rivalry" and added that "she spins her story briskly." In a review for World and I, Maude McDaniel concluded that the novel is "a delicate filigree of a story that is as pleasing in its parts as in its pattern."

Whatever Makes You Happy spins a tale around Sally Farber, who seemingly has it all, including a contract to write a book about happiness. Despite a loving husband and two lovely daughters, Sally is approaching middle age and is restless. Her personal idea of happiness is soon tested when she finds herself drawn to an artist. In a review in Time, Pico Iyer wrote that the author "tells the story with a wit … that never quite conceals the sting of wisdom just below." Cathleen Medwick attested in O, The Oprah Magazine that the novel is "a dictionary of delights."

In addition to her novels, Grunwald has also written a picture book, Now, Soon, Later, which provides a series of illustrated vignettes about the meaning of these words both in the long and short term. "This gentle book is a wonderful tool to teach young children … the concept of how time passes," according to a Publishers Weekly contributor.

Grunwald has also edited several letter collections with her husband, Stephen J. Adler. For example, Letters of the Century: America, 1900–1999 includes more than four hundred letters from the twentieth century by American writers as diverse as social leaders and criminals. Jesse Birnbaum, writing in Time, called the book "an exceptional bedside companion." In a similar book, Women's Letters: America from the Revolutionary War to the Present, the editors provide readers with a look at American history through women's eyes; topics cover everything from notable events to the matters of going about everyday life. "This is a delightful collection of belles letters in the most literal sense of the term," observed a Publishers Weekly contributor.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

Grunwald, Lisa, Summer, Knopf (New York, NY), 1986.

PERIODICALS

Booklist, December 1, 1994, Donna Seaman, review of The Theory of Everything, p. 645; July, 1996, Donna Seaman, review of Now, Soon, Later, p. 1829; November 1, 1996, Theresa Ducato, review of New Year's Eve, p. 481.

Detroit News, February 23, 1986, Ruth Pollack Coughlin, review of Summer.

Good Housekeeping, November, 1996, Lisa Grunwald, "New Year's Eve," p. 179.

Kirkus Reviews, May 1, 2005, review of Whatever Makes You Happy, p. 495.

Library Journal, May 15, 2005, Maureen Neville, review of Whatever Makes You Happy, p. 105.

New Republic, April 21, 1986, Ivan Kreilkamp, review of Summer, p. 40.

O, The Oprah Magazine, June, 2005, Cathleen Medwick, review of Whatever Makes You Happy, p. 162.

People, February 3, 1986, Campbell Geeslin, review of Summer, p. 16; January 20, 1997, Paula Chin, review of New Year's Eve, p. 33; June 6, 2005, review of Whatever Makes You Happy, p. 50.

Publishers Weekly, February 1, 1991, Sybil Steinberg, review of The Theory of Everything, p. 68; July 15, 1996, review of Now, Soon, Later, p. 73; October 14, 1996, review of New Year's Eve, p. 62; September 13, 1999, review of Letters of the Century: America, 1900–1999, p. 68; November 1, 1999, review of Letters of the Century, p. 50; May 2, 2005, review of Whatever Makes You Happy, p. 175; July 18, 2005, review of Women's Letters: America from the Revolutionary War to the Present, p. 199.

Time, February 17, 1986, Stefan Kanfer, review of Summer, p. 77; April 15, 1991, Stefan Kanfer, review of The Theory of Everything, p. 66; November 8, 1999, Jesse Birnbaum, review of Letters of the Century, p. 152; May 30, 2005, Pico Iyer, review of Whatever Makes You Happy, p. 75.

W, July, 2005, Jenny Comita, review of Whatever Makes You Happy, p. 60.

World and I, April, 1997, Maude McDaniel, review of New Year's Eve, p. 292.