What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty

Whew -- this book, in some ways, took a lot out of me!  The basic premise -- Alice Love, after a blow to the head, loses all memories of the last 10 years.  This means she wakes up believing she is 29 years old, newly pregnant, and so in love with her husband.  The reality?  She is 39, has three children, and is in the midst of divorce. 

My divorce, after 10 years of marriage, has only been final a few months.  Thus my own life experiences gave this book some depth and power it might not have had for a different reader.

A quote from the end of the book:

It was good to remember that for every horrible memory from her marriage, there was also a happy one.  She wanted to see it clearly, to understand that it wasn't all black, or all white.  It was a million colors.  And yes, ultimately it hadn't worked out, but that was okay.  Just  because a marriage ended didn't mean that it hadn't been happy at times.  (page 401)

Today let joy slow the clock

"Today my friends, we each have one day less, every one of us.  And joy is the only thing that slows the clock."

~from The Scarlet Ruse by John D. MacDonald, quoted in Tolstoy and the Purple Chair by Nina Sankovitch