Reads: What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty

 

When summer rolls around each year, my reading tastes shift a bit.  I indulge in stories that are lighter, easy reads – ones that are perfect for kicking back in a chair and wiggling your toes in the sand while someone brings you a fruity adult beverage in half a pineapple with a tiny umbrella..

Erm, sorry.. got a little carried away there.

What Alice Forgot is perfect for light summertime reading.  It’s fast-paced, captivating, and will keep you turning those pages with one hand while you sip that fruity drink with the other.

What if you woke up in a strange place, unable to remember how you got there?  That’s how Alice went to the gym for a routine spin class, bumped her head at age 39, and woke up at age 29.  She conveniently misplaced an entire decade of her life in a matter of a few seconds.  Unable to remember her kids and the state of her marriage, Alice fights to insert herself into a person she no longer knows, and faces the question of whether she really wants to remember all that has transpired during the missing years.

This story really got me thinking about the power of memories.  Sure, I’ve had things happen to me that at the time I wish I could forget, but now, I’m not so sure.  Would I even be the same person if those things” never happened”?  Would I have made the same choices and wandered down the same life paths if I didn’t have the chance to hurt, learn, and grow from difficult situations?  Maybe, maybe not.  As tempting it would be to erase all of the bad feelings that fuse themselves to those memories, I’m not so sure I’d take that opportunity if it was presented to me.  Liane Moriarty has woven a beautiful-written tale that will keep you thinking long after you’ve turned the last page.  So far, this has been my favorite summer read, and I definitely recommend picking it up if you get a chance.

This book was sent to me for review as part of the BlogHer Book Club.  All opinions are, as always, my own.  Join the discussion over at BlogHer.com to chat about this book, and more!