Author Stories Podcast Episode 1105 | Elyssa Friedland Returns With Last Summer At The Golden Hotel


Elyssa Friedland drops by today to talk about her new book Last Summer At The Golden Hotel.

A family reunion for the ages when two clans convene for the summer at their beloved getaway in the Catskills – perfect for fans of Dirty Dancing and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel – from the acclaimed author of The Floating Feldmans.

In its heyday, The Golden Hotel was the crown jewel of the hotter-than-hot Catskills vacation scene. For more than 60 years, the Goldman and Weingold families – best friends and business partners – have presided over this glamorous resort which served as a second home for well-heeled guests and celebrities. But the Catskills are not what they used to be – and neither is the relationship between the Goldmans and the Weingolds. As the facilities and management begin to fall apart, a tempting offer to sell forces the two families together again to make a heart-wrenching decision. Can they save their beloved Golden, or is it too late?

Long-buried secrets emerge, new dramas and financial scandal erupt, and everyone from the traditional grandparents to the millennial grandchildren wants a say in the hotel’s future. Business and pleasure clash in this fast-paced, hilarious, nostalgia-filled story, where the hotel owners rediscover the magic of a bygone era of nonstop fun even as they grapple with what may be their last resort.

Elyssa Friedland is the author of four novels and a forthcoming picture book. She attended Yale University, where she served as managing editor of the Yale Daily News, and is a graduate of Columbia Law School. She worked as an associate at a major firm before turning to writing full-time. Elyssa currently teaches creative writing at Yale. Her work has been published in The Washington Post, McSweeney’s, POPSUGAR, RealSimple.com, Bustle, Modern Bride, New York magazine, Columbia Journalism Review, CBS MarketWatch.com, Yale Alumni Magazine, and Your Prom. Elyssa resides in New York City with her husband and three young children.

THE FLOATING FELDMANS was a People Magazine “People Pick” and a “SkimmReads” selection and was praised by Cosmopolitan, Bustle, Good Housekeeping, National Geographic, Woman’s Day, Woman’s World, Kirkus, Publisher’s Weekly, Library Journal, Booklist and more. THE INTERMISSION was praised by The Wall Street Journal, SheReads, PureWow, POPSUGAR, HelloGiggles and featured in USA Today. Her debut novel, LOVE AND MISS COMMUNICATION, was a “best book” in Cosmopolitan, Glamour and InStyle magazines. THE MUSEUM OF LOST TEETH, her first picture book, will be published in Fall 2022. She is also a co-author of FIRST STREET, a serialized novel available in electronic and audio formats about four ambitious lawyers clerking at the Supreme Court.

Elyssa loves wine, ice cream, Forensic Files and texting her friends obsessively.

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