Another Piece of My Heart (Green)

Another Piece of My Heart
Jane Green, 2012
St. Martin's Press
400 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780312591823 


Summary
Jane Green’s most emotional and powerful novel yet: a story that explores the complications of a woman marrying into a ready-made family, and the true meaning of motherhood.

Andi has spent much of her adult life looking for the perfect man, and at thirty-seven, she's finally found him. Ethan—divorced with two daughters, Emily and Sophia—is a devoted father and even better husband. Always hoping one day she would be a mother, Andi embraces the girls like they were her own. But in Emily’s eyes, Andi is an obstacle to her father’s love, and Emily will do whatever it takes to break her down. When the dynamics between the two escalate, they threaten everything Andi believes about love, family, and motherhood—leaving both women standing at a crossroad in their lives…and in their hearts.

Another Piece of My Heart is a novel that illuminates the nuances and truths about relationships and is Jane Green at her absolute best. (From the publisher.)

Read an excerpt.

Author Bio
• Birth—May 31, 1968
• Where—London, England, UK
• Education—University of Wales
• Currently—lives in Westport, Connecticut, USA


Jane Green is the pen name of Jane Green Warburg, an English author of women's novels. Together with Helen Fielding she is considered a founder of the genre known as chick lit.

Green was born in London, England. She attended the University of Wales, Aberystwyth and worked as a journalist throughout her twenties, writing women's features for the Daily Express, Daily Mail, Cosmopolitan and others. At 27 she published her first book, Straight Talking, which went straight on to the Bestseller lists, and launched her career as "the queen of chick lit".

Frequent themes in her most recent books, include cooking, class wars, children, infidelity, and female friendships. She says she does not write about her life, but is inspired by the themes of her life.

She is the author of more than 15 novels, several (The Beach House, Second Chance, and Dune Road) having been listed on the New York Times bestseller list. Her other novels Another Piece of My Heart (2012), Family Pictures (2013), and Tempting Fate (2014) received wide acclaim.

In addition to novels, she has taught at writers conferences, and writes for various publications including the Sunday Times, Parade magazine, Wowowow.com, and Huffington Post.

Green now lives in Connecticut with her second husband, Ian Warburg, six children, two dogs and three cats. Actively philanthropic, her foremost charities are The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp (Paul Newman's camp for children with life-threatening illnesses), Bethel Recovery Center, and various breast cancer charities. She is also a supporter of the Westport Public Library, and the Westport Country Playhouse. (Adapted from Wikipedia. Retrieved 4/20/2014.)

Book Reviews
In New York Times bestseller Green’s latest (after Promises to Keep), Andi faces the difficult decision of remaining in a marriage that is being ripped apart by husband Ethan’s rebellious teen daughter, Emily. Though the wedding happened five years ago, Emily hasn’t accepted her father’s remarrying and repeatedly starts fights at home that have brought Andi to the breaking point. Emily’s rage is further fueled by drinking, drugs, and reckless casual sex, so her pregnancy comes less as a surprise than as the final straw for this floundering family. Andi’s love for Ethan and his younger daughter, Sophia, coupled with her desire for a big family and her identity as a mother, have kept Andi in the marriage, but each day Emily tears away another piece of Andi’s heart. Andi can’t break through her own upbringing and generational ties to understand what’s behind Emily’s backlashes and bad choices. Though Andi and Emily are both highly self-involved, making it difficult to like either of them, Green finds honesty in their alternating voices.
Publishers Weekly


In her latest, Green (Promises To Keep; Dune Road) takes a clear-eyed look at our idealized notions of love, family, and motherhood. Marriage-minded Andi, at the age of 37, finally meets the man of her dreams. Ethan is divorced with two daughters, but Andi is thrilled to become part of Emily and Sophia's lives. Through her own immaturities and insecurities, Emily works hard to drive a wedge between her stepmother and father, causing resentments within the family. Matters intensify when the teenaged Emily becomes pregnant, and Andi realizes that the chances of having her own child are dwindling as Ethan's desire wanes. How can Andi put her own wishes and dreams aside while enduring Emily's vitriol? Verdict: Green is at her finest with this compelling novel. Deeper, more complicated, and more ambitious than her previous books, it will keep readers on edge as they wait to see how these tense family dynamics play out.  —Anne M. Miskewitch, Chicago P.L.
Library Journal


Green (Promises to Keep, 2010, etc.) ramps up the emotional stakes by presenting both Andi and Emily's points of view, even as her prose is a bit on the dull and repetitive side. Topical family melodrama.
Kirkus Reviews

Discussion Questions
1. Jane Green’s novel, Another Piece of My Heart, opens with an anonymous quote: “Happiness is not having what you want, but wanting what you have.” What exactly does this mean? How does it apply to Andi? To Emily? To other characters in the book? Would you say the quote applies to your life? How?

2. As the novel so vividly portrays, being part of a blended family can be extremely challenging. What are some of the mistakes Andi and Ethan make? What should they have done differently? What are some of the challenges that you and your own family have faced together?

3. From the beginning, Ethan’s younger daughter, Sophia, is very accepting of Andi, while his adolescent daughter, Emily, is resentful and rude. When it comes to dealing with big issues like divorce and second marriages, do you think it’s harder for younger children or for teenagers? How is it different, and why?

4. After five years of living together as a family, Andi still feels uncomfortable confronting or disciplining Emily—mostly because Ethan is a defensive dad. Do you think most parents are overprotective and blind to their children’s faults? Do you believe “it takes a village” to raise a child—or it’s none of your business? Have you ever given and/or received child-rearing advice? How did it go?

5. The author describes the relationship between Andi and Emily as “a pendulum swinging from love to hate.” Have you experienced anything like that in your own family? Is it normal or acceptable for teenagers to “hate” their parents or stepparents? Should you simply wait for the child to “grow out of it” or try to deal actively with the problem? How?

6. Andi’s neighbors tell her that “Ethan feels constantly guilty” about his divorce and its impact on his children—which is why he lets Emily get away with so much bad behavior. Emily, in turn, seems to take advantage of his guilt. Have you ever felt guilty over something that affects your family? Have you ever felt manipulated by a loved one?

7. Andi notices some dramatic differences between the home she grew up in and the family she married into—especially when it comes to setting “boundaries” with children. Do you think parenting has changed in recent years? Are parents more lenient today? Are children more spoiled? Would you raise a child the same way you were raised, or would you do it differently?

8. After Ethan tells Andi that he doesn’t want to adopt a child, he feels her pull away from him, as if “a switch has been flicked” in their relationship. Is he justified in his feelings on the subject of adoption, or is he being selfish? Is Andi justified in her feelings? What sort of things can change the way you feel about a loved one?

9. Nearly halfway through the book, the author begins to write some of the chapters from Emily’s first-person point of view. Why? How does each character’s point of view play a role in the story? Which character’s point of view do you relate to the most? Which character do you relate to the least?

10. Andi, Brooke, and Emily represent three types of mothers. How are they different? How are they alike? Does Emily have the right to call herself Cal’s “mother” after leaving him with Andi for three years? Do you think Andi has a legal right to have full custody? And, at some point in the future, do you think Emily should be able to get her child back?

11. What does it mean to be a “real mother”?
(Questions issued by publisher.)

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