Who Do You Love (38 page)

“I love you,” I said, not caring that my face was wet and that I couldn't stop crying, not caring that I'd said it first. “You always had my heart.”

“Rachel,” said Andy, “I will love you forever.” Then he wrapped me in his arms, and I buried my face in the soft spot just beneath his shoulder, until he put his fingers under my chin and tilted my face up to his and kissed me.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

F
irst, I want to acknowledge my agent, Joanna Pulcini, and my editor, Greer Hendricks, with whom I've worked for many years, on many books, and whose fingerprints are on every scene and every sentence of this one. Both of them put in endless hours reading countless drafts and turning
Who Do You Love
into a story they thought readers would want (here's hoping they were right!).

My brilliant, funny, and unflappably patient and kind assistant, Meghan Burnett, worked overtime on this one to make sure that Rachel and Andy could inhabit their respective worlds fully. Thank you, Meghan, for never blinking, no matter what weird thing I told you I needed to know about, for never complaining, no matter what impossible feats I was asking you to perform. You're the best.

I am very grateful to Katherine Compitus, who helped with background about MSW programs in New York City; Chris Chmielewski and Patrick Donnelly, who gave me insight into the runner's life; and Laura Hoagland, for sharing her own story about life with tricuspid atresia. Apologies for the liberties I took with the 2004 Olympics, and for demoting Hicham El Guerrouj, the real gold medalist, to second place.

Sarah Cantin stepped up to bat in the ninth inning and hit it out of the ballpark. Also at Atria, I am grateful for the help and support of Haley Weaver, Kitt Reckord-Mabicka, Suzanne Donahue, Lisa Sciambra, Lisa Keim, Hillary Tisman, Elisa Shokoff, Kathleen Rizzo, and Lisa Silverman. Jin Yu, who does online marketing, might be the only person in the world who loves Twitter as much as I do. Judith Curr, publisher of Atria Books, and Carolyn Reidy, CEO and president of Simon & Schuster, continue to be powerhouses and role models whom I want to be when I grow up. I'm also grateful to Joanna's assistant, Haley Heidemann. Finally, big love to copyeditor extraordinaire Nancy Inglis, who came out of retirement and saved me from myself another dozen times, and to my friend Carol Williams for her thoughtful advice.

At Simon & Schuster UK, I'm grateful to Suzanne Baboneau, Ian Chapman, and Jo Dickinson. Marcy Engelman is a PR miracle worker and a true friend who has never once made me feel bad for being completely obsessed with
The Bachelor
. Thanks to Simone Swink and Patty Neger at
Good Morning America
for
giving me a platform on which to dissect the Most Dramatic Rose Ceremony Ever, and to Trish Hall and Jessica Lustig at the
New York Times
for letting me get back to my opinionating roots and write about Passover traditions, personal grooming, and mean girls in assisted living.

At Engelman & Co., Emily Gambir helps to tell the world about my books. At Greater Talent Network, my lecture agent, Jessica Fee, lets me travel the country and tell my stories. Tamara Staples took my author photograph and Albert Tang and Chin-Yee Lai made this book, and the rest of my backlist, look fresh and enticing.

On the home front, I am, as ever, grateful to Terri Gottlieb for tending to my girls and my garden. Thanks to my mom, Frances Frumin Weiner; her partner, Clair Kaplan; Clair's son, David; and my siblings, Jake, Molly, and Joe Weiner and David Reek. Adam Bonin's love and support go above and beyond. He is a first-rate father and a great friend. Susan Abrams will always be my BFF. Lucy Jane and Phoebe Pearl are the lights of my life. I am proud to be their mother every day.

A very special shout-out to my Berkshires breakfast club—Tom O'Reilly, Tim Swain, Charles Cohen, Pat Donnelly, Emma Hart, Elizabeth Ekeblad, Lesley Carter, and Franklin Mattei. I will always say “hi” to you in the halls.

To Bill Syken, whose father once saw me unexpectedly appear in his house early one morning and grumbled, “You again?” Thank you for being with me through the hard times, for always making me laugh, and for showing me, through your patience and kindness, what love looks like. Me, again. Me, forever.

And to my readers, for coming with me this far.

Atria Reading Group Guide

Who Do You Love

Jennifer Weiner

Topics & Questions for Discussion

1. How did the novel's prologue frame your reading experience? Who did you imagine had broken Rachel's heart, and were you surprised when you ultimately learned who Brenda was?

2. “She hadn't said goodbye to me. She hadn't told me enough about what it was like, when you knew you weren't going to get better. She hadn't told me if it had hurt” (
page 34
). How does Alice influence Rachel, and how does this early loss shape her sense of self in the years to come? You might also discuss the symbolism of the Ouija board in this scene. How does this childhood game take on greater meaning for both Alice and Rachel?

3. Compare Rachel's initial impression to Andy's first memory of Lori, “his beautiful mom with her red-lipsticked mouth and her hair that fell in ripples down her back.” How does Andy's perception of his mother change as he grows older, and what causes this shift? In what ways is Andy driven by how others perceive him, both for better and for worse?

4. While Andy is growing up, he sometimes worries that his mother “just [doesn't] like him very much”
(
page 40
). How do you feel the dynamics between Andy and Lori affect the other relationships in Andy's life? Ultimately, how did you feel Lori's parenting style positively served Andy—and in what ways did it hurt him?

5. Turn to
page 69
, where Nana and Rachel are discussing Mrs. Blum's outburst during the bat mitzvah service. What do you think it means to be “a woman of valor,” and why do you think Nana reminds Rachel of this, and the line from Proverbs, at this particular moment? How does Rachel live up to this ideal and in what ways does she fall short over the course of the novel?

6. How did you initially perceive Bethie Botts? As a teenager, do you think you would have acted differently toward her than Rachel and Marissa did on the youth retreat? How did Andy's treatment of Bethie in the scene on
page 130
affect your perspective on each of the characters involved—including Andy himself—and who did you feel for most deeply here? What did you make of Rachel and Bethie's (now Elizabeth) interaction at their high school reunion? Was there a Bethie in your life—and if so, what would you say to them now?

7. Rachel and Andy's relationship evolves in starts and stops. What are the external factors that work against them? Compare and contrast how the expectations of others affect how Andy and Rachel see each other, as well as their own expectations of what a happily coupled life should look like. Consider the roles that both time and timing play in their relationship. How does timing pull them apart while time brings them back together?

8. 9/11 is a turning point in the novel, and of course, was a pivotal moment for the world. Like Andy and Rachel, is there someone you would feel compelled to reach out to during a similar kind of crisis? Why do you think most of us have that person in our past whose memory we can't quite let go of, who we yearn to reach out to when disaster strikes, whether it's personal or global? Where does that yearning come from—and under normal conditions, what stands in the way of acting on it?

9. Did you feel that Jay and Maisie were better matches for Rachel and Andy? Why or why not? What does the novel seem to say about the roles that compatibility, stability, and desire play in lasting relationships—and how does the notion of “opposites attract” play into this?

10. Mr. Sills proves to be a formative mentor for Andy, but in what ways does he fail him? How do you feel his last words of advice affect Andy's choices later in the novel?

11. How does the novel illustrate the ways that we love differently at each stage of our lives? How do Andy and Rachel love each other—and those around them—differently over the course of the novel? Does their connection change or is it at its core still the same?

12. A recurring theme in
Who Do You Love
is brokenness; the most obvious example is Rachel's “broken heart.” Where else do we see how both Rachel and Andy are broken? Despite coming from very different backgrounds, each character is also struggling with self-identity throughout the novel. Compare and contrast the ways in which Andy and Rachel work to fix their brokenness by carving out their own identities—Andy's focus and drive to achieve a singular goal, as opposed to Rachel's sometimes messy and circuitous road toward career and family. Where do these two very different paths leave them, and are they still broken at the end of the novel? Ultimately, do you think they help each other heal, or do they heal themselves?

Enhance Your Book Club

1. Andy starts running as a way to deal with his anger. Try going on a group run, or some other form of exercise, and see if you find similar stress relief. Follow up by discussing how exercise has functioned in your life, or other methods you use to deal with difficult emotions.

2. Visit Jennifer Weiner's website at to learn more about her and her books, and follow her on Twitter
@jenniferweiner
. Fans of
The Bachelor
and
The Bachelorette
: Be sure to tune in to her live tweets of the show on Monday nights and join the conversation!

3. Many of Jennifer Weiner's novels feature destinations throughout Philadelphia, the city she calls home. Perhaps plan a trip through
www.visitphilly.com
to see some of the locations from this book—Rittenhouse Square and the Reading Terminal Market—and from her other book as well.

Photography by Tamara Staples

Jennifer Weiner is the #1
New York Times
bestselling author of twelve books, including
Good in Bed, In Her Shoes,
which was made into a major motion picture, and
All Fall Down.
A graduate of Princeton University, she lives with her family in Philadelphia. Visit her online at JenniferWeiner.com.

PERMISSIONS

Epigraph
from “Isis” by Bob Dylan copyright
©
1975 by Ram's Horn Music; renewed 2003 by Ram's Horn Music. All rights
reserved
. International copyright secured. Reprinted by permission.

Excerpt on pp.
104
–5 from
The Bridges of Madison County
by Robert James Waller. Copyright
©
1992 by Robert James Waller. Used by permission of Grand Central Publishing. All rights reserved.

Excerpt on pp.
227
–28 from “Please Come to Boston.” Words and music by Dave Loggins. Copyright
©
1973, 1974 Universal Music Corp. and
Universal
—Polygram International
Publishing
, Inc. Copyright renewed. All rights controlled and administered by Universal Music Corp. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Reprinted by permission of Hal Leonard Corporation.

Excerpt on pp.
227
–28 from “Please Come to Boston.” Words & music by Dave Loggins.
©
Copyright 1974 PolyGram International Publishing
Incorporated
/Universal Music Corporation. Universal/MCA Music Limited. All rights reserved. International copyright secured. Used by permission of Music Sales Limited.

Excerpt on p.
363
from “Hello, Young Lovers.” Copyright
©
1951 by Richard Rodgers and Oscar
Hammerstein
II. Copyright renewed. Williamson Music (ASCAP), an Imagem Company owner of publication and allied rights throughout the world. International copyright secured. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

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