Book Highlights - 'What Alice forgot' by Liane Moriarty

What Alice forgot by Liane Moriarty

Synopsis

When Alice Love wakes up on the floor of her gym, the last thing she expects is to be told she's a 39-year-old mother of three in the middle of a divorce, particularly since Alice thinks she's 29-years-old, happily married and pregnant with her first child. It appears that Alice has had a large bump on the head and has lost the last ten years of her life. As Alice comes to terms with the fact she's not who she thinks she is, she realises she doesn't like the woman she has become. Can Alice recapture the spirit of her 29-year-old self and more importantly, can Alice recover her memories of the last 10 years of her life?

My highlights

Elisabeth once said – very definitely and severely – that the right man didn’t complete you, you have to find happiness yourself, and Alice nodded agreeably, while thinking to herself, ‘Oh, but yes he does.’

Any troubles in their relationship could always be fixed with a few hours in separate rooms, a hug in the hallway, the quiet sliding of a chocolate bar under an elbow or even just a gentle, meaningful poke in the ribs that meant, ‘Let’s stop fighting now.’

Actually, I don’t think he has any self-consciousness whatsoever. He is a man without vanity. He’s just not a talker. He has no small-talk ability whatsoever.

We talked once about doing something with the partners, but it never eventuated.

Had each argument, each betrayal and nasty word built up into an ugly rock-hard layer covering what was once so tender and true? Well, if it had they would just chip away at it until it was gone.

Now it seemed like she could twist the lens on her life and see it from two entirely different perspectives. The perspective of her younger self. Her younger, sillier, innocent self. And her older, wiser, more cynical and sensible self.

There is nothing more patronizing for an Infertile than to hear a new mother complaining, as if that will make you feel better for not having your own baby. It’s like telling a blind person, ‘Oh sure, you get to see mountains and sunsets, but there are also rubbish dumps and pollution! Terrible!’