What Alice Forgot, by Liane Morarity

 

Characters

Alice Nick Children:  Madison (Sultana) (5th grade), Tom (4th grade), Olivia (Kindergarten)   Elisabeth – sister Ben – husband   Barb Jones – Alice and Elisabeth’s mother Roger – husband - Nick’s father   Gina (deceased) and Mike – former neighbors and best friends of Alice and Nick   Sophie – Alice’s best friend 10 years ago   Dominick – Alice’s boyfriend, school principal   Jane Turner – lawyer   Kate Harper – mother at school   Frannie Jeffrey – honorary grandmother Phil Peyton – deceased fiancé Mr. Moustache – Xavier   Dr. Jeremy Hodges – Elisabeth’s therapist

 

For discussion:
NOTE: All page numbers refer to the paperback edition.


1. As you were reading, who did you think Gina was?  What different scenarios did you imagine?


2. Did you like the technique of revealing the characters and story line through Elisabeth's homework journal to Dr. Hodges and Frannie's letters to Phil?  Why did you think this was effective or not?


3. Do you think Nick would be able to reconcile with Alice if she never got her memory back but he still remembered everything?


4. On page 359, when Alice felt her memory returning she thought, "She just couldn't decide if she should resist or encourage it."  What did you think she should do?


5. On page 386 Alice wondered if she had not visited Elisabeth much because she, Alice, "was so busy.  Busy, busy, busy."  Can you relate?  Also, when Elisabeth had her family she was becoming busy.  Can we resist always being busy?  How?


6. What would you be surprised about if you were in the same position as Alice and forgot the past 10 years of your life and then had to figure out what was happening?


7. How have you changed over the past 10 years that your 10-year-younger self would find surprising?  Not surprising?


8. This was a fun, enjoyable book, but it also dealt with serious life issues.  Did it make you think about some of these issues on a different or deeper level?  Some of the issues I thought it addresses were:

• Dealing with death (Barb when first husband died, Frannie after fiancé's death)
• Infertility
• Infidelity
• Forgiveness
• Miscarriages
• Hope (Elisabeth and insemination results)
• Being busy/mindfulness
• Divorce and children
• How we treat each other
• Sisterhood/friendship
• Parenthood/raising children
• Teenagers

*****
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