Tryin' to Sleep in the Bed You Made

My best friend from high school told me to read this book. I love it and I've read it a few times. I've purchased it twice because I gave my cousin a copy.

I love stories that develop and continue to unfold as you read on. This story of true sisterhood and family is beautiful but also full of plot twists and character development that will have you looking at yourself to see which character you’re more like than the other. I am more of a Pat, personally, but I am also a Gayle some days, even a Marcus. It was great reading a book that has characters who are just like me, both culture and race-wise. I just highly recommend it! Seriously. Please get it, read it, save it for your daughters to read when they are older: I know i’ll save it for my younger sister and future daughter! It is a story worth reading.

Tryin' to Sleep in The Bed You Made written by friends, Virginia DeBerry and Donna Grant is one of most beautiful and memorable novels I've read. This novel was originally published in 1997 but republished this year. This edition includes an all-new chapter that has not been published before. Now lets get to the story.Gayle Saunders and Patricia Reid have been friends since childhood. They chose each other for their best friend. They are completely opposite. Gayle is beautiful and well loved by her parents. Her only ambition is to marry a man who has money and is someone with high standing in the community. Pat on the other hand comes from an unstable home. She is smart and determined to work her way to the top. Circumstances change for Pat and Gayle's parents adopt her. They grow up together like sisters. Pat is accepted into a prep school and their lives take different paths. Gayle marries Ramsey, a gambler who almost destroys her life. She does not have a clue about her husband's secret life. He is very controlling and Gayle lives to be the dutiful wife. Needless to say Pat graduated from college with honors. Her determination and hard work took her to top of her career in Advertising. After reaching the top Pat was not satisfied. She was still trying to find a place that she could call home. After years of separation and many trials and tribulations Pat and Gayle find the meaning of true friendship.Marcus Carter who is a childhood friend of Pat and Gayle is troubled. He is being haunted by a tragic accident that occurred during his childhood. The details of the accident are a well-kept secret. Pat and Gayle share this secret with him.The new chapter is an expansion of the original storyline and is well written. There is more about how you sleep in that bed you made. You are in for a surprise.DeBerry and Grant have written a novel that is filled with so much honesty in their characterizations. The writing is clear and easy to follow. They have succeeded in making the characters feel like real people. I was really touched by this book. It made me think about my friendships with other women. There is many twist and turns in this book but you are never confused about what really happens. This is a good book one that I could not put down until I finished.I would recommend this book to all women.Reviewed by Dorothy Cooperwood

I purchased this book at the airport in Atlanta, GA in Oct. 1997 while waiting for my ride. I was there to visit my best friend and Godson. I couldn't put the book down. Imagine being on vacation and not wanting to do anything but read a book. I read the book every chance I got. I stayed up late while everyone was sleeping and I finished it in 2 nights. This is my favorite book to this day. Pat and Gayle's story was so interesting. Just because you are best friends doesn't mean you have the exact same views on life. And you still love and respect each other. This was so true for Pat and Gayle in the end. I recommended this book to at least 10 others and they enjoyed it as just as much as I. My best friend is not a big time reader, but she called me one day and told me that I had to read this really good book she was reading and I asked her for the title and she said... Tryin' to Sleep in the Bed You Made. I laughed and reminded her of the time when I visited in Oct. 1997 and she laughed because she remembered that I couldn't stop reading a certain book and to find out that this was the book she couldn't stop laughing. Maybe this was boring to you, if so I'm sorry. I read this book for a 2nd time in July of this year and it was still as excellent as the 1st time. I've recently purchased Virginia and Donna's new book called Far From the Tree. So far it's excellent as well. Tryin' to sleep in the Bed you Made is a MUST read.

My book club The Sistah Circle Book Club read this book back in November(1999) and we all truly enjoyed it. It was surreal, refreshing and very touching. Both DeBerry and Grant are a breath of fresh air in the literary world and I'm on pins and needles waiting for their new novel, due for release later this summer. This novel sent me on a journey from my own childhood to the present. It helped me to see that the choices we make or have made for us can greatly affect our lives and the path(s) we choose to take. This story also showed how lies and secrets can and will hurt and at times can kill when you least expect it. It celebrates a precious 20 year friendship, that's more like a sistahood between Patricia Reid and Gayle Saunders. Then there's the tragic day after school that changes not only their lives but that of their other friend-Marcus Carter. As they all grow and go on with their lives they realize love will see you through it all. I look forward to reading this book again and again. I've recommended this book to my sister-Joi, countless others and a woman in the bookstore who bought on "the spot."

I finished reading this book yesterday, and I'm still in awe! DeBerry and Grant did a superb job of telling a beautiful story of frienship, betrayal, love, forgiveness, and letting go of the pain of the past. I wonder how the authors went about writing the book together, because it reads as though it was written by one person. One person with a profound voice, and a way with words that had me laughing out loud at some points, pissed off at some points, and crying like a baby at other points. And the way they wrote that Ramsey character! I fell in love with him right along with Gayle in the scene where she lost her virginity to him! And I was ready to take him back for Gayle in that scene in the cemetary! I think I identify more with Gayle than with any of the other characters in the book, but I loved them all!This was definitely one of the best books I've read this summer, and I would even read it again. And I don't usually read books more than once, no matter how much I like them! I would also love to see this book made into a movie. For some reason, I see Vanessa L. Williams as the perfect Gayle. But enough of my raving about the book. If you haven't read it, you should! Believe me, you'll be glad you did!

I bought this book a few years ago never hearing one word about whether or not the book was "good". They had copies on display in the bookstore and it sounded interesting so I took a chance. Well, this is, was, and always will be one of my all-time favorites. I really got into both characters and I was very happy to see Gayle and Pat, two former best friends get through their differences and problems with each other and realize that true friendship never dies. An excellent book that should not be missed!