AMAZING GRACE ADAMS

Fran Littlewood has an MA in creative writing from Royal Holloway, University of London. Before her MA, she worked as a journalist, including a stint at the Times. She lives in London with her husband and their three daughters. Amazing Grace Adams is her debut novel.

“I just adored this beautiful debut novel! Funny, moving and at times absolutely heartbreaking, it had me captivated until the very last page. An unforgettable read.” —Liane Moriarty, New York Times bestselling author of Big Little Lies

“From the first hot minute when Grace Adams, stalled in traffic, stuck in her car, simply opens the door and walks away from it all—into her day, the single day that gathers all her days up to this tipping point at the middle, she had me. How life in the middle of our lives breaks us open—and apart—and then open again. I finished her story on a plane above the country, so full, and in tears. ‘Ma’am?’ my seat-mate asked, ‘are you ok?’
‘Oh, yes,’ I answered. And gave him this book.” —Sarah Blake, New York Times bestselling author of The Postmistress and The Guest Book

“Amazing Grace Adams is an exacting and brilliantly structured novel about love, grief, hope lost and then found again. I rooted for Grace from the first sentence.” —Mary Beth Keane, New York Times bestselling author of Ask Again, Yes

“Fran Littlewood has written a magnificent novel. Grace Adams is everywoman – filled with promise, trepidatious in love and eventually, a besotted mother. Amazing Grace Adams is a fully realized story of catastrophe and joy, grief and love, and the hidden chambers of the human heart that carry the best and worst of our experience. A stunning debut.” –Adriana Trigiani, bestselling author of The Good Left Undone

“I can’t remember the last time I read a novel with such unbridled enthusiasm. Amazing Grace Adams is a raw, uproariously hilarious portrait of parenthood, love, and family; it’s also a profound examination of the way language can both save us and fail us when we need it the most. I’d walk across London on the hottest day of the year with Fran Littlewood—hell, I’d walk anywhere with her. I’m begging you: read this book.” —Grant Ginder, author of Let’s Not Do That Again and The People We Hate at the Wedding

“Grace Adams is brilliant and beautiful and a force to be reckoned with. She is also broken in the way that many mothers of teenage daughters are broken. Masterfully balancing the narrative between propulsive and introspective, Fran Littlewood brings all the heartbreak of modern day motherhood to life and still captures the hope that accompanies Grace on this journey. An impressive novel about loving without guardrails and a reminder of the simple power of feeling seen.” —Luisa Smith, Book Passage, CA

1. In popular culture, how do we treat women past the age of thirty? How does this story reclaim aging? How does Grace demand to be seen? 

2. How does being an acclaimed polyglot contribute to Grace’s midlife crisis? How does her early success impact her relationships?  

3. Analyze the cover. What are some instances from the book that embody Grace’s gesture? How do the cover illustration of Grace and how she’s written in the text compare and contrast? 

4. Is Grace’s endeavor a worthwhile pursuit, or a fruitless battle against time, and society? Did you find yourself rooting for her? 

5. What is the significance of the cake? Why do you think it’s Grace’s make-or-break moment? 

6. Analyze Grace’s relationships with her husband and her daughter.

7. This novel is rich with themes of love, hope, joy, and grief. What are some examples of these themes in the text? Is there a scene that includes all four? 

8. Timeline shifts are a vital  part of the story’s structure. Why do you think Fran Littlewood utilized this in her novel? How did it impact your listening experience?