Something New (43 page)

You also might hear laughter. Because we are getting to know each other again, and learning to make each other laugh like we used to. And while I can’t predict the future of our relationship, I can tell you that for the first time in a long time, I have hope. I love Jonah and he loves me and we are both willing to try to rediscover the reasons that we’re together. These days, an old Carly Simon song frequently
comes to mind.
Don’t look at your man in the same old way, take a new picture
, she sings. I am trying to follow that advice.
Something New
might be exciting and invigorating and rejuvenating, but you can take it from a recently-turned-forty-three-year-old woman: finding something new in
Something Old
can be even better.

1.  Ellen describes herself as bored, and her life as a “suburban cliché.” Is Ellen is going through a midlife crisis, or does her discomfort stem from something deeper?

2.  Ellen says, “At some point between being a good wife and a good mother and always doing the right thing, I have lost me.” Does Ellen resent being defined as a wife and mother? How does she want to be defined, and how does she see herself? Do you think she is happy with her life?

3.  Jill and Ellen are best friends, although very different. Describe the dynamic of their relationship and why it works. Do you think they would be friends if they weren’t related?

4.  Ellen struggles at first to find a topic to write about in her blog. If you were starting a blog, what would you write about?

5.  Describe Ellen’s tone as a narrator. How does her self-deprecating humor shape her story?

6.  Along those same lines, why do you think Ellen’s blog was so successful with the women who read
Ladies Living Well Journal
?

7.  Ben teaches Ellen, “If you stop trying new things, you might as well just stop.” Do you agree with this statement? Is it important to try new things all the time?

8.  Explain why Mia’s cautionary tale of her own affair influences Ellen to continue to pursue her affair with Ben. Shouldn’t this revelation have had the opposite effect?

9.  The reader is privy to Ellen’s constant inner conflict. Why do you think Ellen keeps going back to Ben, even when her inner dialogue tells her not to? Overall, why does Ellen stray?

10.  Discuss the theme of reinvention. Is it possible to reinvent yourself? Why or why not?

11.  When Ellen finds the love note in Jonah’s drawer, does this give her a free pass to cheat on him, in her mind? Describe her emotions surrounding the note, up until the end of the story when she confronts Jonah.

12.  Do you believe Ellen’s affair with Ben saved her marriage to Jonah? Why or why not?

13.  Is Ellen a likable character? Does her ability to laugh at herself make you sympathize with her, or does it just hide her unlikable qualities?

14.  Ellen’s final blog describes the lesson she learned from the blog contest and the affair: to love herself. Why is this an important lesson for her?

15.  What do you think the future holds for Ellen and her family? Can Ellen and Ben truly remain “just friends”? Was the author’s ending realistic to you?

16.  Is Ellen’s “something new” the blog, or the affair, or both? How do those two things influence the other?