Emily Giffin's MySpace page claims her interests include travel, photography, reading, writing, running, and college basketball. One of her top MySpace friends is Ralph Sampson, which figures.   Sampson, who was the college basketball player of the year for 1981-1983, has several things in common with Giffin besides a love of basketball.  Sampson had legal troubles after having children (perjury in a child support case) and Giffin was a Wall Street lawyer but quit to become a novelist due to stress and because she wanted to have children. Both friends currently reside in Atlanta; Giffin with husband Buddy, and children Edward, George, and Harriet.  An over-achieving student, she was the daughter of a Sears executive and a librarian.  Her older sister Sarah thought Emily was a hopeless geek.  "She did homework on Saturday mornings."

"I always knew I wanted to be a novelist, but I wanted some other life experiences first--experiences I could later draw on in my writing. Like Rachel in Something Borrowed, I loved law school, but I didn't enjoy being an attorney at a big corporate firm" (Kalmbach Publishing - The Writer Jan 1, 2006)

Giffin's first book Something Borrowed is about Rachel and Darcy, who have been best friends since elementary school. Rachel is a self-described "good girl", an attorney trapped at a suffocating New York law firm. Darcy is the complete opposite, a stereotypical outgoing publicist. Rachel introduces a "good guy" named Dex to Darcy and encourages their romance because there is no spark for her with him. Dex and Darcy decide to marry, but after Rachel's 30th birthday party, she knocks back one drink too many and winds up in bed with Dex. Instead of feeling guilty about sleeping with her best friend's fiance, Rachel realizes that Dex is the only man she's really loved.

Something Blue is the novel that takes up the character Darcy Rhone where Something Borrowed left off.  Darcy is understandably upset and confused.  She 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 now she's without a hubbie and has a baby on the way. In her searching for the return of her past successes, she discovers the true meaning of friendship, love, and happily-ever-after. It's a novel for anyone who has ever, even secretly, wondered if the last thing you want is really the one thing you need.

Her third book Baby Proof (2006) "Things seem too good to be true when Claudia and Ben fall in love and agree to buck tradition with a satisfying, child-free marriage. Then the unexpected occurs: one of them has a change of heart. One of them wants children after all.  It is the witty, heartfelt story about what happens to the perfect couple when they suddenly want different things." (www.emilygiffin.com)

In her latest book, Love the One You're With, (#2 on the NYT Bestseller's List) photographer Ellen begins to have misgivings about her one year marriage to Andy when she runs into old flame, Leo, and feels the familiar lightning bolt of attraction. It is clear, however, that her marriage doesn't just seem perfect, it is perfect.  How Giffin scores from the three-point paint is her ability to take an insecure woman's feelings toward the bad boy ex who dumped her without explanation, and making her indecision believable and her resulting actions mysterious and exciting.

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Escondido Public Library.
 Revised: 02/17/09.