What Alice Forgot

jenrn1216 · October 2017

Hello all! I went on vacation last week and brought "What Alice Forgot" by one of my favorite authors, Liane Moriarty. Going into it, I had no idea it even touched on IF. After reading it, it has definitely made me think about things a little differently. While I've just recently started my IF journey, I honestly don't know how far I'll go. But, I do know that I'm not going to stress about it like I have been! I think it's a great read and can apply to anyone, even those not dealing with IF.

Curious if anyone else out here has read it and what you thought!

laurad75 · October 2017

I read it earlier this year (it's was the summer of Lianne Moriarty) and I too was pleasantly surprised with the IF story line. I think she did a really nice job with the topic. A few months later I was in a small book store and bought another Moriarty book. The store owner asked if I read What Alice Forgot and I told her about how I connected with that part of the story and she shared that she too suffered from IF.

artemis618 · October 2017

I’ve not yet read it, but I’m now one of 53 borrowers waiting on 31 e-copies at the library!

morganelizabeth123 · October 2017

I read it and I loved it! I usually do not like how woman who are ttc are portrayed in movies and tv, and I found this character to be so much better than what I usually see.

funkykey · October 2017

I hadn't read it, but I went ahead and read it yesterday morning after seeing this post.

There were definitely one or two sentences about IF that seemed a little off - at one point she said something about 7 failed IVF cycles, and then at another point she talked about there being 7 embryos - and I thought: "I need more specifics. How many embryos did she get per retrieval cycle?" But a regular reader (without as much IVF exposure) might not have even noticed.

I thought she dealt with the emotional side of it really well, and I actually wept through some of her descriptions. All of the bits about the woman suffering through IF being like a zombie walking really resonated with me - like not wanting to listen to music, not wanting to feel anything, wanting to be distracted to take your mind off of anything other than the pain of it.

Anyway, I really liked it! Thank you for the recommendation!

emmasemm · October 2017

I just read it on the flight back last night and definitely the best written IF storyline I've read. To be honest if I hadn't seen your recommendations before @jenrn1216 @laurad75 @morganelizabeth123 I probably would have stopped the book when I came to the storyline - but I'm really glad I read it. Also had me in tears in parts (on the plane, but who cares!) but left me feeling good in the end.
@funkykey I was also hoping for a few more details on protocols and number of enmbies per cycle, but eventually made peace that it's a mainstream book and not this forum lol

I had the idea to maybe gift it to my mother and sister for Xmas... as a soft way into the IF/IVF topic if I ever need one...

laurad75 · October 2017

I'm now reading Little Fires Everywhere and wouldn't you know it halfway through the book and an IF storyline shows up that I didn't see coming. Ugh. We really can't escape it.

FuzzyDust · October 2017

Read it after seeing this thread - thank you for the recommendation!! I like how it gives a perspective from both ways - those struggling with IF, and those who don’t, and don’t know how to help and how to talk about their own babies.

jenrn1216 · October 2017

I'm so glad everyone liked it as much as I did!!! ❤❤

adirat · October 2017

Thanks for the recommendation! I also put it on reserve at the library.

@laurad75 Yeah, that absolutely ruined Little Fires Everywhere for me. I just couldn't deal with it.

I would love to hear if there are other popular novels to stay away from because of their poor/inaccurate treatment of IF or loss... I remember hating a couple novels I read this summer because of how inaccurate and hurtful their infertility plotlines were, namely Wreckage by Emily Bleecker and Mothers & Other Strangers by Gina Sorell.

laurad75 · October 2017

@adirat I'm almost done with Little Fires and enjoying the book otherwise so I'm going to press on and finish it but I'm looking forward to moving on. I have The Woman in Cabin 10 on deck so I might read that next.

What Alice Forgot

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