leona
Another who loved the book. I thought the character of Rachel was especially well-drawn. One was almost sucked into her hopelessness (which became quite understandable towards the end of the book). I wondered if anyone close to you had been through similar struggles with alcohol which maybe helped you shape her so well
granh1
If I had one question to ask the author, it would be how much of the book is from experience, how much from research and how much from imagination.
lucyinthesky
You described the feelings of marital betrayal in Rachel's story so acutely, and also the loss of a child for Megan, that I wondered whether you have been affected personally by either of these difficult events? What was the inspiration for their stories?
I have known people who have struggled with alcohol – perhaps not in quite the same way, or to quite the same degree, as Rachel does, but I have witnessed the effect that addiction can have on people’s self-esteem, on their judgement and on their perception of the world around them.
The other issues discussed in the book – betrayal, infertility – are, sadly, common enough. Again, I’m not writing about specific experiences which have affected me, but about those which I’ve witnessed or read about, or heard about from friends.
None of the people in the book are real: there might be elements of their characters which I have stolen from people I know, there might be aspects of me in some of them, but they are largely works of the imagination.