Leave Me
Gayle Forman, 2016
Algonquin Books
352 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781616206178
Summary
Every woman who has ever fantasized about driving past her exit on the highway instead of going home to make dinner, and every woman who has ever dreamed of boarding a train to a place where no one needs constant attention—meet Maribeth Klein.
A harried working mother who’s so busy taking care of her husband and twins, she doesn’t even realize she’s had a heart attack.
Surprised to discover that her recuperation seems to be an imposition on those who rely on her, Maribeth does the unthinkable: she packs a bag and leaves.
But, as is often the case, once we get where we’re going we see our lives from a different perspective. Far from the demands of family and career and with the help of liberating new friendships, Maribeth is able to own up to secrets she has been keeping from herself and those she loves.
With bighearted characters—husbands, wives, friends, and lovers—who stumble and trip, grow and forgive, Leave Me is about facing the fears we’re all running from.
Gayle Forman is a dazzling observer of human nature. She has written an irresistible novel that confronts the ambivalence of modern motherhood head on and asks, what happens when a grown woman runs away from home? (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Birth—June 5, 1970
• Where—Los Angeles, California, USA
• Education—N/A
• Awards—British Fantasy Award
• Currently—lives in Brooklyn, New York City, New York
Gayle Forman is a journalist, as well as an award-winning and New York Times bestselling author whose many young adult novels include I Was Here, Just One Day, and If I Stay, which became a motion picture. She made her foray into adult literature with her 2016 novel, Leave Me. Forman lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two daughters.
Forman began her career with Seventeen magazine, writing articles primarily focusing on young people and social concerns. Later she did freelance writing for Details Magazine, Jane Magazine, Glamour, The Nation, Elle and Cosmopolitan.
In 2002, she and her husband Nick traveled around the world, which allowed her to gather ideas and information. She drew on her travel experiences to publish her first book in 2005, a travelogue—You Can't Get There From Here: A Year On The Fringes Of A Shrinking World. Two years later, in 2007, Forman published her first young adult novel Sisters in Sanity, which she based on an article she had written for Seventeen.
All told, Forman has written seven novels for young adult, plus her 2016 novel for adults, Leave Me. (Adapted from Wikipedia. Retrieved 9/14/2016.)
Book Reviews
Gayle Forman is known for her dreamy but hard-hitting young adult novels, including the best-selling If I Stay. With her first foray into grown-up fiction, Leave Me, she doesn’t shy away from the tough questions in this deep-diving and highly entertaining read. It’s hard not to relate to—and root for—Maribeth even as she does the unthinkable: abandons her children.
Family Circle
YA author Forman’s successful foray into adult fiction features...an über-organized mom who is juggling her stressful job, a self-involved husband, and a set of preschool twins.... With humor and pathos, Forman depicts Maribeth’s complicated situation and her thoroughly satisfying arc, leaving readers feeling as though they’ve really accompanied Maribeth on her journey.
Publishers Weekly
Forman is no stranger to complex and emotional stories, having written the best-selling YA novel If I Stay.... While it may leave fans of Forman's previous books wanting more, this novel is sure to be in demand and will especially interest adoptees and their families. —Stephanie Sendaula
Library Journal
(Starred review.) Popular teen author Forman’s adult debut examines just what it means to be a working mother—beholden to everyone, seemingly obligated to forget who you really are. Maribeth’s search for her birth mother and the way she settles into her new—albeit temporary—life away from home will strike a chord with readers, especially those who enjoy Jennifer Weiner and Meg Wolitzer.
Booklist
Award-winning teen author Forman's adult debut nails the frustrations of working motherhood, though the love complications conveniently disappear and the frayed ends of Maribeth's life are retied too easily. An appealing fairy tale for the exhausted and underappreciated.
Kirkus Reviews
Discussion Questions
We'll add publisher questions if and when they're available; in the meantime, use these LitLovers talking points for Leave Me...then take off on your own:
1. How did you feel, initially, about Maribeth's decision to pack up and leave her family, especially the twins. Are her actions credible, or believable, as a character? Did your opinion of her change as you read further into the novel?
2. Describe Maribeth's family constellation: the twins, her husband, and her mother. How do they contribute to Maribeth's decision to leave? If this were your family (ooh, maybe it is!) how would you react?
3. Do Maribeth's actions resonate with you? Are there times you harbor similar desires to escape the stress and demands of daily life—or simply feel that life is overwhelming? In other words, do you ever fantasize about doing what Maribeth does?
4. Discuss the supporting characters who enter Maribeth's new life: Sunita, Todd, Stephen, and Janice. What do you think of each of them and the role each plays in helping Maribeth heal?
5. Talk about Maribeth's journey back to wholeness. What does she come to realize?
6. Are you satisfied with the way the story ends? Would you e prefer a different ending?
(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online or off, with attribution. Thanks.)