Judith Guest

• Born: 1836
• Birthplace: Detroit, MI

Judith Guest is best-known for her book, Ordinary People, the story of what happens to a family after the death of their teenage son. The book was made into an Oscar-winning movie, directed by Robert Redford, and starring Mary Tyler Moore, Donald Sutherland and Timothy Hutton.

Guest studied at the University of Michigan, receiving her bachelor's degree in Education in 1958. She taught elementary school for a while before trying her hand at writing a novel. After the success of Ordinary People, Guest went on to write several more novels, all more moderately successful than her first. She wrote Second Heaven, Killing Time in St. Cloud, Errands, and The Tarnished Eye.

Judith Guest is the niece of poet Edgar Guest who at one time was Poet Laureate of Michigan, and who wrote a poem a day for 40 years for the Detroit Free Press.

Most Famous Works

• Ordinary People (1977)
• Second Heaven (1982)

Quotes:

"Geez, if I could get through to you, kiddo, that depression is not sobbing and crying and giving vent, it is plain and simple reduction of feeling. Reduction, see? Of all feeling. People who keep stiff upper lips find that it's damn hard to smile."

"Two separate, distinct personalities, not separate at all, but inextricably bound, soul and body and mind, to each other, how did we get so far apart so fast?"

Judith Guest
Born	March 29, 1936 (1936-03-29) (age 73) Detroit, Michigan
Occupation	Novelist
Nationality	United States
Alma mater	University of Michigan
Writing period	1976-present
Genres	Literary fiction, mystery
Official website

Judith Guest (March 29, 1936) is an American novelist and screenwriter. Born in Detroit, Michigan, she is the great-niece of Poet Laureate Edgar Guest (1881–1959).^[1]

Contents 1 Professional Accolades 2 Personal 3 Bibliography 4 References 5 External links

Professional Accolades

Judith's first book, Ordinary People, published in 1976, was made into a 1980 film that won the Academy Award for Best Picture.^[2][3] This novel and two others, Second Heaven (1982) and Errands (1997), are about adolescent children forced to deal with a crisis in their family. She also wrote the screenplay for the 1987 film Rachel River.

Judith Guest co-authored the mystery Killing Time in St. Cloud (1988) with fellow novelist Rebecca Hill. Guest's most recent book, The Tarnished Eye (2004), is loosely based on a true unsolved crime in her native Michigan.^[4]

Personal

Judith attended Detroit's Mumford High School in 1951; when the Guest family moved to Royal Oak, Judith transferred to Dondero High School - where she graduated in 1954. Guest then studied English and psychology at the University of Michigan, graduating with a BA in education. She taught at a public school for a number of years before making the decision to devote herself full time to completing a novel.

Judith is married to businessman Larry LaVercombe; a former All-City basketball player at Detroit's Cooley High School^[5][6] and a graduate of the University of Michigan (where he met Miss Guest). Judith and Larry have three sons and several grandchildren; all residing in Minnesota.^[7]

Bibliography

• Ordinary People (1976)
• Second Heaven (1982)
• Killing Time in St. Cloud (with Rebecca Hill) (1988)
• The Mythic Family (essay) (1988)
• Errands (1997)
• The Tarnished Eye (2004)

References

1. ^ Biography of Judith Guest (self-written)
2. ^ Biography of Judith Guest (self-written)
3. ^ Books by Judith Guest
4. ^ Books by Judith Guest
5. ^ http://www.detroitpslbasketball.com/?page_id=40
6. ^ http://www.detroitpslbasketball.com/?page_id=104
7. ^ Biography of Judith Guest (self-written)

External links

• Official website
• 2004 Interview

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)