Ayoh - Shop now
Out of Print--Limited Availability.
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

d. ellis phelps
Follow
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Making Room for George: A Love Story Hardcover – August 5, 2013

by D. Ellis Phelps (Author)
4.8 out of 5 stars 9 ratings

...This beautifully inviting, intriguing, and very accessible story... gently shows us the way toward a more deeply honest and ultimately more satisfying life. The characters and dialogue... are artfully complex and refreshingly human.... [The story] moves us toward finding our own voices and power to love.
— Janet Davis author of My Own Worst Enemy (Bethany House, 2012)

Bet has had it. Twenty-five years of marriage to her husband, Steve; raising three kids; and denying her own needs have left her with the extreme conviction that it is finally her turn to fly.

Enter George, Steve’s incorrigible father who’s in trouble. Something has to be done, so George moves in with Bet and Steve.

In between infidelity, resentment, and making room for George, Bet realizes what she’s really been denying—and this changes everything.

“We all benefit whenever another woman can poetically put into words the wordless places of a woman finding her voice and creating space amidst any type of limitation … I believe women can breathe a collective sigh into the space [this book] has created for us.”
—Tina Karagulian, author of the memoir
It Is Time and the poetry collection New Skin

Read more
Previous slide of product details
  1. Print length
    272 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Balboa Pr
  4. Publication date
    August 5, 2013
  5. Dimensions
    5.98 x 0.75 x 9.02 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1452577803
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1452577807
Next slide of product details
"All the Little Raindrops: A Novel" by Mia Sheridan for $10.39
The chilling story of the abduction of two teenagers, their escape, and the dark secrets that, years later, bring them back to the scene of the crime. | Learn more

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Balboa Pr
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ August 5, 2013
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 272 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1452577803
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1452577807
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.22 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.98 x 0.75 x 9.02 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.8 out of 5 stars 9 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
d. ellis phelps

d. ellis phelps

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

My work has appeared widely online and in print. Go ahead! Google me. ;)

I'm a Texas woman. I've lived in Irving (near Dallas, where I grew up), Austin (where I graduated from UT in '74), Houston (where I married hubby number one), San Antonio (where my daughter was born) and Bulverde (in the Hill Country north of San Antonio).

I've lived in Bulverde since 1982 surrounded by cactus, limestone, opossum, racoon, white-tail, skunk, hawks, ravens, vultures, wild hogs, coyote, and even mountain lion. I've been married to my hubby for forty years and we raised three kids together who are now grown with kids of their own. I have three g-sons and one g-daughter!

I am introverted, creative, complicated, sensitive, intense, stubborn, serious, playful & compassionate; I love nature and wild places (you'll find lots of this in my poems).

I am the author of four collections of poetry: what she holds (Moon Shadow Sanctuary Press, 2020), what holds her (Main Street Rag, 2019) words gone wild (Kelsay Books 2021) and of failure & faith (Kelsay Books, 2023).

what holds her is a collection of ecstatic verse that I claim (and maintain) came to me and that I took down as a sort of dictation as I processed the death of both my parents within twenty-nine days of one another in 2009. I believe it holds a profound teaching that was meant especially for me and for me to share with the world.

In its writing, what she holds, my second collection, served as both process and transformative tool, helping me to heal the difficult relationship I had with my father, posthumously. Any woman who has experienced a form of love-hate will strongly relate and hopefully, be encouraged to heal as well.

I wrote the almost-a-memoir novel Making Room for George: a love story (Moon Shadow Sanctuary Press, 2016) as a way to process what was happening to my life when my father-in-law, George, moved in with us. It's a tender, humorous, bitter-sweet story of lives unraveling: his and mine.

words gone wild is a collection of rhymed verse for children, poems I've written over the past several decades.

of failure & faith explores the notion of spirituality as activism and includes many Texas themed poems of place.

Finally, I am founder and managing editor of Moon Shadow Sanctuary Press and of the digital fws: international journal of literature & art. I have served as managing editor for five hard-copy anthologies: The Larger Geometry: poems for peace (peaceCenter Books 2018), Through Layered Limestone: a Texas Hill Country Anthology of place (Friends of the Boerne Library, 2019), Easing the Edges (Friends of the Boerne Libray, 2021), purifying wind (MSSP, 2020),and woodlands (MSSP, 2022). Each purchase of the first three collections directly benefits either the peaceCenter San Antonio or the Patrick Heath Public Library in Boerne, Texas.

fws: international journal of literature & art publishes bi-annually and sponsors the Writer's Idea Box.

I am delighted you are here. Thanks for your support of my work in the world. Let me know what you think. Ask me a question. I'll tell you almost anything!

Namste,

d

Customer reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars
9 global ratings

Review this product

Share your thoughts with other customers
Write a customer review

Top reviews from the United States

  • mary simmons
    5.0 out of 5 stars A marvelously human story of compassion...and love
    Reviewed in the United States on April 7, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    What a wonderful book!
    Making Room for George is a very well-written story of the journey of the soul opening itself to love. The main character, a formidable woman named Bet, finds her way through her unhappy life by the arrival of her on-the-verge-of-dementia father-in-law, George. He comes to her needy and stinky and still managing to be incorrigibly, hilariously flirtatious.
    Bet’s husband is a shadowy figure, with whom she has a deeply unsatisfying relationship and who checks out on his father, leaving Bet to look after him by herself. Somewhere along this path, George endears himself to Bet, and she cracks open and courageously goes after what she has needed her whole life.
    This is a marvelously human story of compassion and the unexpected ways of love.
    One person found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • J Kahele
    4.0 out of 5 stars Good.
    Reviewed in the United States on August 23, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    Different but very intriguing.
    Helpful
     Report
  • pattilola
    5.0 out of 5 stars Hits home in todays world.
    Reviewed in the United States on September 23, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    Wonderful book! I really enjoyed your book and had me "boohooing" at the end! What a wonderful daughter-in-law George had!!!
    Helpful
     Report
  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Bet is a heroine to be inspired by!
    Reviewed in the United States on August 10, 2016
    I admit I starting reading with some trepidation since I avoid “sad” stories and Making Time for George looked like it might be one. But I got involved with the heroine. Her unvarnished story, her thoughts, her self-talk and her actions with the others in her life enrolled me. It was difficult to hear about the husband’s behavior without wanting to throw something at him although that inspired me to be more discerning about who I spend my own time with. I felt Bet was a friend I was watching go through difficult times and rise to (and overcome) challenges in her own unique style. I loved that she got more love and light in her life! I also so appreciated and value the example she set of how to relate to and connect with and love an older and increasingly less present relative in such real, humorous, practical and heart touching ways. I was groaning, cursing, grieving, holding my breath in suspense, laughing, sighing with relief and celebrating with her and with George on every page. For every woman and especially for those in challenging situations, Bet is a heroine to enjoy reading about and to be inspired by!
    Helpful
     Report
  • Cody Pelletier
    5.0 out of 5 stars A fantastic read
    Reviewed in the United States on November 13, 2020
    This well written book is honest, compelling and a wonderful read. The writing is clear, vivid and almost immediately, you feel like you are part of the story not just reading it. Very well done.
    Helpful
     Report
  • Georgene Moon
    5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read
    Reviewed in the United States on September 4, 2014
    I couldn't put this book down. The author's words made the characters come alive as she painted a picture of this touching story. It is a must read for anyone who has ever lived with Alzheimer's. It brought back wonderful memories of my own father as the story unfolded. You could feel the love that went into writing this.
    Helpful
     Report
  • stephanie sepaugh
    5.0 out of 5 stars An unexpected love story
    Reviewed in the United States on November 18, 2013
    I enjoyed very much this sweet & satisfying account of one woman's journey to a happy life of her own choosing. Phelp's character Bet demonstrates with simple heartfelt beauty the struggles and dreams of every woman; her evolution mirrors each of ours, regardless of the particulars. I laughed out loud and cried, which are always indicators for me of a worthwhile read. Noticing the profundity of an ordinary life well-lived, and our capacity to enrich others' lives by healing our own, brought me joy. Nicely done, D.Ellis Phelps.
    Helpful
     Report
  • Freda J.
    5.0 out of 5 stars Life is what happens
    Reviewed in the United States on September 15, 2014
    This is a wonderfully written book about love and compassion. The author gives a strong voice to the character, Bet, who cares for George with patience, understanding, and humor.
    Helpful
     Report