WHAT ALICE FORGOT
A “cheerfully engaging” (Kirkus) novel for anyone who’s ever asked herself, “How did I get here?”
Alice Love is twenty-nine, crazy about her husband, 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’s getting divorced, , she has three kids, and she’s actually 39 years old. Alice must reconstruct the events of a lost decade, and find out whether it’s possible to reconstruct her life at the same time.
A “cheerfully engaging” (Kirkus) novel for anyone who’s ever asked herself, “How did I get here?”
Alice Love is twenty-nine, crazy about her husband, 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’s getting divorced, , she has three kids, and she’s actually 39 years old. Alice must reconstruct the events of a lost decade, and find out whether it’s possible to reconstruct her life at the same time. She has 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 whether it’s possible to start over…
- Berkley
- Paperback
- April 2012
- 469 Pages
- 9780425247440
Buy the Book
$15.00
About Liane Moriarty
Liane Moriarty is the author of two other novels, Three Wishes and The Last Anniversary, both of which have been published around the world and translated into seven languages. She is also the author of the Nicola Berry series for children. Moriarty lives in Sydney, Australia, with her husband and two small, noisy children.
Praise
“I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a fun AND thoughtful summer read.”—Chaosisafriendofmine.com
“Alice’s journey is messy and sad and joyful, much like life itself.”—PopCultureNerd.com
“[A] contemplative and thought provoking book cloaked in the easy style of women’s fiction.”—skrishnasbooks.com
“I know my book club would have a blast discussing Alice and her ‘issues’."—BookingMama.net
Discussion Questions
Did you like the younger Alice best? Or did you relate more to the older Alice?
What would your younger self of ten years ago think of the person you are today?
What would surprise your younger self most about the life you’re currently leading? What would disappoint you?
What would you think of your children? Are they how you imagined they would be? Are you the parent you envisioned? Why or why not?
Alice is shocked by many transformations—her gym-toned body, her clothes, her house. Are you more or less polished than you were a decade ago? And do you think there’s any deeper significance to such change?
Do you think it was realistic that Alice ended up back with Nick? Were you happy with that ending? Do you think they would have ended up together if she hadn’t lost her memory?
In order for Nick to be successful at his job, was it inevitable that he would spend less time with his family and thereby grow apart from Alice?
How did you feel about the sections written from the perspectives of Elisabeth and Frannie? Did they add to your enjoyment of the book, or would you have preferred to have it written entirely from Alice’s point of view?
Do you think it was unavoidable that Elisabeth and Alice had grown apart, because of the tension caused by Elisabeth’s infertility versus Alice’s growing family? Or do you think their rift had more to do with the kind of people both of them had become?
It’s not only Alice who changed over the last decade. Elisabeth changed, too. Do you think she would have been so accepting of the new Alice at the end if she herself didn’t get pregnant?
Out of all the characters in the book, who do you think had changed the most over the past decade and why?
The film rights to the book have been sold to Fox 2000—who do you think would be good in the lead roles?
If you were to write a letter to your future self to be opened in ten years, what would you say?