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Title: What Alice Forgot
Author: Liane Moriarty
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Penguin Group
Release Date: May 2012
Format: Paperback
Pages: 459
ABOUT THE BOOK {from the back cover}
Alice Love is twenty~nine, crazy about her husband, Nick, and pregnant with her first child.
So imagine Alice’s surprise when she comes to on the floor of a gym {a gym! she HATES the gym!} and is whisked off to the hospital, where she discovers the honeymoon is truly over: She is actually thirty~nine years old, has three kids, and is getting divorced.
That knock on her head has misplaced ten years. Now Alice must piece together the events of the lost decade, and find out if it’s possible to reconstruct her life at the same time. She needs to figure out why her sister hardly talks to her, and how is it that she’s become one of those super skinny moms with really expensive clothes. Ultimately, Alice must discover whether forgetting is a blessing or a curse ~ and how to start over…
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Liane Moriarity is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller The Husband’s Secret as well as The Hypnotist’s Love Story, What Alice Forgot, The Last Anniversary, and Three Wishes. She lives in Sydney, Australia, with her husband two children.
You can find out more about Liane Moriarity at her website.
MY OPINION
What no one tells you is that marriage is hard. What we learn, if we stick it out, is that marriage is beautiful.
As many of you know, The Hubs and I have entered the empty nest stage in our lives/marriage but, oh~my~word, do I remember the early years of our marriage when it felt like all I was doing was getting Kool~Aid and little else: no sleep, no sense of self, no romance, none of the things that the fairy tales promise with their singing birds , dancing tea kettles, and happily ever afters. For The Hubs part, he was focused on his career and trying to earn enough to support our growing family. For years, it felt like we were living separate lives, coming together to pay the bills, eat an occasional meal, and, well, that was about it.
You don’t think when you get married that your conversations will drift from whispers of love and adoration to grunts of approval or disapproval. Sexy nighties will give way to oversized tees with questionable stains. Romantic dinners will morph into sampling while cooking and eating the kids’ {cold} leftovers. The funny thing is that these changes happen so subtly that you don’t even notice it. And when you do, the kids are teenagers and you and your spouse are sitting there looking at each other wondering what you’ve become.
This is what happened to Alice.
In the span of ten years she {and her life} had become unrecognizable. After getting bumped on the head, Alice forgets the last ten years of her life and slowly learns through conversations and interactions with those around her that she and her life are not at all what she had expected. And now that she has a chance for a do~over, will she take it? Or will she stay and fight for the life she always dreamed she’d have?
This book is about facing the realities of our decisions and learning to fight for the things we believe in.
This story, Alice’s life, is relatable and I think that’s what makes this book an enjoyable {believable} read. “Watching” Alice come to grips with the person she’s become and how her actions have affected others is both revealing and thought provoking. Are we fair to others? Or are we so caught up in our own lives that the smallest slight becomes reason enough to walk away from lifelong relationships?
The characters are well developed and engaging. There are several different {back} stories that are told from the perspective of different family members, which I found interesting. Kind of made me wish I could get into the heads of some of my friends and family members to see what they’re thinking/feeling.
I’d recommend this book for anyone who enjoys family drama. Excellent choice for book groups because of the wide range of topics.
FAVORITE SENTENCE/PASSAGE
They could look at an old photo together and travel back in time to the same place; they could begin a million conversations with “Do you remember when…”; they could hear the first chords of an old song on the radio and exchange glances that said everything without words. Each memory, good and bad, was another invisible thread that bound them together, even when they were foolishly thinking they could lead separate lives.
Page 457
This passage resonated with me because I always tell people this is one of the things that I love about my marriage. The Hubs and I can look at each other from across the room and know exactly what the other is thinking and feeling. It’s comfortable. It’s rewarding. It’s perfect.
RATING
★★★★
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