Before I start this post, I just want to say that this is my FIFTIETH post on Lunchbox Babies! It is hard to believe that time has flown since I finally decided to jump off the cliff and start this blog.  Fifty posts in the last six months.  Before I started Lunchbox Babies, I told a very dear friend’s mom that if I was able to reach one woman that was walking a road of infertility and loss, then I would be happy.  I have talked, met, and messaged so many more than just one.  There are a lot of us that have been touched by infertility and loss, and I am so thrilled to be building a community of women that can understand and support one another.  So, thanks for following along on this little journey with me.

Now . . . I know that I just posted a book review last week, but this just couldn’t wait for the next big book review.  About 5 or 6 years ago, my mother-in-law suggested that I read Liane Moriarty’s What Alice Forgot. I read it in about a day or two, and instantly fell in love.  Over the last several years, when I am asked my favorite book, this is it.  Always.  It is just SO good.  I have thought about it off and on for years.  It is that powerful of a story.  Last week, while recommending the book to a friend, I decided it was about time that I read it again.  I mean, was it really that great of a book? Or, was I looking back with rose-colored glasses, and recommending a piece of literary junk to people over and over again.  So, I read it over the weekend.  Harlan was a little concerned when he found me in the pantry reading, but it was THAT good.  I had to finish it.  Even if I had to hide with the new puppy, steal a few Frito’s, and finish a few chapters.

I am trying to find a better word that “amazing”, but What Alice Forgot is such an AMAZING book! Alice, is a thirty-nine year old mom with three kids, and is going through a nasty divorce and custody battle.  During a spin class, she passes out and cracks her head on the bike next to her.  When she wakes up, she thinks she is twenty-nine, madly in love with her husband, and pregnant with her first child.  Quite the case of amnesia! She has to deal with learning about the ten years of her life that she is missing.  It is such an interesting concept.

When I read this book years ago, we had had many struggles with infertility and miscarriage, but we had not yet walked the road of sweet Sophie and a few other heartbreaking miscarriages.  Lots of life has happened in the last several years.  This time around, the book spoke to me on a new level.  What would happen if I cracked my head and lost ten years?  I’d be married with a 10 month old, never experiencing any miscarriages. I’d have no idea who Jackson was.  And, I would be slightly concerned that Duke and Tahoe had been replaced by a crazy dog named Tank and a cute puppy named Coal.  This book just makes you THINK!

I will also make a note that Alice’s sister, Elisabeth, struggles with infertility and miscarriages.  I had totally forgotten that part of the story line after all of these years.  I must say, that the way Liane Moriarty writes about Elisabeth’s story is beautiful.  I can only imagine that either her or someone she is close to has walked this heartbreaking road.  She shows the ups, the downs, the tears, and the love.  It.is.beautiful.  Everyone will enjoy this, but those of us that have experienced it, will “get” this portion of the story on another level.

Please do yourself a favor, and order this book ASAP! This is the perfect Christmas gift, perfect “just because” gift, and perfect ANYTHING gift.  I can’t imagine a friend or family member that I have NOT liking this book.  Click here to order the amazing What Alice Forgot.  Then, please let me know what you think! I hope that you love it just as much as I do! XO