Elizabeth Strout is an American novelist and author. She is widely known for her works in literary fiction and her descriptive characterization. Born and raised in Portland, Maine, her experiences in her youth served as inspiration for the themes, motifs, and plot lines in her novels–the fictional "Shirley Falls, Maine" has served as the setting of four of her six novels. After attending Bates College in Lewiston, and Syracuse University in Syracuse, she waitressed before writing her first novel, Amy and Isabelle . Her debut was met with widespread critical acclaim, became a national bestseller, and was adapted into a movie starring Elisabeth Shue.
Her second novel, Abide with Me , received critical acclaim but ultimately failed to be recognized to the extent akin to her debut novel. Two years later, she wrote and published Olive Kitteridge , to critical and commercial success grossing nearly $25 million with over one million copies sold as of May 2017. The novel was shortlisted for the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction before winning it along with the Premio Bancarella Prize; it was also a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. The book was adapted into a multi Emmy Award-winning mini series and became a New York Times bestseller. Five years later, she published The Burgess Boys , which became a national bestseller before writing My Name Is Lucy Barton . Her 2016 effort was met with international acclaim, topped the New York Time bestseller list, and created the main character, Lucy Barton, of her next novel, Anything Is Possible .
“She didn't like to be alone. Even more, she didn't like being with people. (148)”
Source: Olive Kitteridge
“But the books brought me things. This is my point. They made me feel less alone.”
Source: My Name is Lucy Barton
“Traits don't change, states of mind do.”
Source: Olive Kitteridge
