I Liked My Life (Fabiaschi)

I Liked My Life 
Abby Fabiaschi, 2017
St. Martin's Press
272 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781250084873


Summary
Maddy is a devoted stay-at-home wife and mother, host of excellent parties, giver of thoughtful gifts, and bestower of a searingly perceptive piece of advice or two. She is the cornerstone of her family, a true matriarch...

...until she commits suicide, leaving her husband Brady and teenage daughter Eve heartbroken and reeling, wondering what happened.

How could the exuberant, exacting woman they loved disappear so abruptly, seemingly without reason, from their lives? How they can possibly continue without her?

As they sift through details of her last days, trying to understand the woman they thought they knew, Brady and Eve are forced to come to terms with unsettling truths.

Maddy, however, isn’t ready to leave her family forever. Watching from beyond, she tries to find the perfect replacement for herself. Along comes Rory: pretty, caring, and spontaneous, with just the right bit of edge...but who also harbors a tragedy of her own.

Will the mystery of Maddy ever come to rest? And can her family make peace with their history and begin to heal? (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
• Birth—ca. 1979-80
• Where—State of Connecticut, USA
• Education—B.A., Babson College
• Currently—lives in West Hartford, Connecticut, and Park City, Utah.


After graduating from The Taft School in 1998 and Babson College in 2002, Abby climbed the corporate ladder in high technology. When her children turned three and four in what felt like one season, she resigned to pursue writing. In March, Abby signed a two-book, hardcover deal with St. Martin’s Press. Her debut upmarket women’s fiction novel, I Liked My Life, will be released January 31, 2017.

Abby is a human rights advocate interested in economic solutions to social/cultural problems. She is Director of the Board for Made By Survivors, an international nonprofit organization with a unique prosperity model that uplifts victims from sex trafficking and extreme abuse. You can learn more about her practice of systematic giving here.

She and her family divide their time between West Hartford, Connecticut and Park City, Utah. When not writing or watching the comedy show that is her children, she enjoys reading across genres, skiing, hiking, and yoga. Oh, and travel. Who doesn’t love vacation? (From the author's webpage.)

Visit the author's webpage.
Follow Abby on Facebook.

Book Reviews
The opening line for Abby Fabiaschi’s novel is a winner — ”I found the perfect wife for my husband” — and the two paragraphs that follow reveal a good deal about Maddy as she spells out the qualities of the woman who should replace her. That beginning sets the tone for I Like My Life. It’s smart, very smart: the prose, humor, and insights are sharply honed yet blunted with just the right amount of compassion.  READ MORE …
Molly Lundquist - LitLovers


I Liked My Life is… impossible-to-put-down.
Associated Press


First-time novelist Abby Fabiaschi unwinds a tale wholly compelling, altogether believable and, at times, so heartbreaking it’s hard to believe she isn’t already an established author. She demonstrates excellent timing and perfect control over the complicated narrative and never allows it to drift toward maudlin. She leaves readers a trail not of breadcrumbs, but gold coins that are irresistible. And the ending, while perhaps a bit neat and tidy, is entirely unexpected. All in all, I Liked My Life is an…impressive debut.
Kim Curtis - AP / Washington Post


An absolutely stunning book! I Liked My Life is a layered tale with meaningful things to say about life, death, grief and moving forward after tragedy…remarkable.
Romance Times Reviews


A heartbreaking and ultimately heartwarming read about life, death, and family (A Best Winter 2017 Book).
PopSugar


As Fabiaschi employs ever more convoluted narrative machinations to hide a big twist at the end, the story loses the emotional impact it needs to maintain a connection with the reader. As such, it’s hard to grieve along with Eve and Brady, and the disparate plot elements don’t fully come together.
Publishers Weekly


(Starred review.) Simultaneously heartbreaking and heartwarming, this hard-to-put-down, engrossing debut will have readers wondering until the very end. It examines life and death, despair and faith, parenthood and marriage, the choices we make, and, most of all, love—making it a perfect choice for book clubs. —Catherine Coyne, Mansfield P.L., MA
Library Journal


(Starred review.) Readers will be enveloped by the emotional impact of Fabiaschi’s writing. Warm and hopeful, this marvelous debut stands next to novels from Catherine McKenzie and Carolyn Parkhurst in taking the reader on the emotional rides that define marriage and family.
Booklist


Fabiaschi's even tone and her characters' bright intelligence inspire empathy and, for the most part, keep the proceedings away from the maudlin. Great pains are initially taken to explore the main theme: tragedy often has no reason, and those experiencing it must contend with the reasonlessness as well as the loss.... An earnest effort from a natural storyteller.
Kirkus Reviews


I Liked My Life nonetheless is an affirmation of love and the ability to survive grief and find joy again. Book clubs in particular will take delight in the wealth of emotion to ponder from this talented new voice.
Shelf Awareness

Discussion Questions
Through Madeline’s past, I Liked My Life explores the day to day of stay-at-home moms. Do you feel Maddy’s experience generally represents the realities of that lifestyle? What, if anything, would have changed if they weren’t as wealthy?

2. Motherhood is a reoccurring theme throughout the book. Was there a relationship you particularly related to—Maddy/her mother; Eve/Maddy; Rory/Linda; Meg/Lucy?

3. Brady had grown up in a religious household but, over time, lost touch with those roots. Have you carried forward childhood religious traditions? Why or why not?

4. Paige and Maddy have been friends for a decade. Did you find their backstory relatable to friendships in your life?

5. Eve finds herself mourning at a tender, uncertain time of life. As part of that process, she no longer feels connected to her group of friends, or even her age group more broadly. How does her inner dialogue compare to where you were at emotionally at 16/17?

6. Eve and Brady have a contentious relationship at the beginning of the novel. What is the turning point where they soften toward each other? Does it happen at the same time for both of them?

7. Brady asserts that Maddy was the “liaison” between he and Eve. Do you feel that’s a common role mothers play between daughters and fathers? How does that compare to your childhood?

8. Do you feel the book would have worked if Maddy had died at the hands of a more common tragedy, like cancer or a car accident? Why or why not?

9. Many themes are touched on in this novel: motherhood, family roles, marriage, mourning. Which most resonated with you?

10. In the end, Brady does not end up with Rory. How did you feel about that?

11. Brady and Eve both grieved very differently. How much do you think one’s age impacts how they mourn? Gender?

12. The story ends with a snippet into Eve’s life at 27. Was she where you would have imagined her?

13. Both Eve and Brady go to a therapist. Do you think that helped? How and when do you see therapy as a positive tool?
(Questions issued by the publisher.)

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