It was a Tuesday like any other. And then it wasn’t. A simple encounter at a supermarket changed Carin Fletcher’s and Leann Cane’s lives – literally. Suddenly Carin, a pretty, self-absorbed, underemployed young college graduate, finds her life switched with Leann, an uneducated, perennially poor, obese checkout clerk.
Both women are forced into lives opposite all they’ve ever known. Leann, at first thrilled to look and live like her favorite soap opera stars, discovers that the insecurities and desperation she’s grown up with don’t disappear because she looks like a model now. Fighting off the affections of a boyfriend she never chose and a controlling, plastic mother is hard enough, but she must fight off her own demons and figure out how to survive when her dreams come true.
Carin, suddenly fat, poor, meagerly employed, saddled with a kid, and married to a loser, must face her own – and the world’s – preconceived notions about life on the bottom rung. Carin spends her days avoiding the threats of Leann’s abusive husband, working two jobs to save money for her escape, and wrestling with her role as a mom to a precocious six-year-old. She is surprised to learn that life can be rich even while destitute. She is even more surprised when she falls for a stock boy who repairs juke boxes and drives a hearse in his spare time.
Both women are facing unknowable futures that neither could have imagined. Are they destined to live this way forever? And if so, where will it all lead?
A brilliant, nuanced, and surprising tale about the way the world sees us and the course we are on, I'M NOT HER is a remarkably assured first novel that introduces a profound new storyteller.
Praise for I'm Not Her
Check out number #2 on the Nook Bestseller list on Friday September 25!
Read the reviews on goodreads.
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I'm Not Her was named to Kobo's Page Turners list! It was recently featured as a "fresh new read" in their subscriber newsletter!
A few of my favorite reviews...... |
Book Discussion Guide
Here’s a few questions to get your group started, but much like my writing, feel free to follow a tangent and see where it takes you…..
1. If you had to be Leann in Carin’s body what would you do?
2. If you had to be Carin in Leann’s body what would you do?
3. Why do you think Leann struggled in Carin’s body even though she always dreamed of being thin and beautiful?
4. How did Leann’s and Carin’s relationships with their mothers affect who they became?
5. Do you think Trevor recognized immediately that Carin was not his mother?
6. Do you think our society is becoming more or less judgmental about body size?
7. Who was your favorite character other than Leann and Carin, and why?
8. Who was your least favorite character other than Leann and Carin, and why?
9. If you had to swap places with someone you encounter in your daily life who is an extreme opposite of you (or someone you don’t understand), who would it be? How do you think that would work out for you?
10. If this happened to you, could you convince people that you were really you? Who could you convince? Who could you not convince? Why or why not?
11. How much do our circumstances or appearances make us who we are?
12. Which character in the story did you have the most sympathy for?
13. What do you think happened after the story ended?
14. If I’m Not Her was made into a movie, who would play each part?
I can’t resist sharing how my own book group functions because it’s worked really well for us for nearly ten years.
We meet at a different member’s house each month. The host picks the book and provides the liquid refreshments. The other members bring a snack or dessert to share.
After about an hour (many times longer), we gather to discuss the book. The person sitting either to the left or the right of the hostess starts (this is so the hostess can be last). Each person rates the book on a scale of 1-5 (1 being hated it, 5 being LOVED it) and then explains why. After that they can share anything they want about the book for as long as they want (I know this seems dangerous, but we rarely have anyone talk more than 5-10 minutes, and most are shorter). While the member has the floor, no one is allowed to interrupt, ask a question, or make a comment. This can be a tough rule, but it is important. After the host has explained why they chose the book, their rating, and their thoughts on the book, the floor opens for general discussion.
Depending on who attends each month, the rules can be looser than normal, but we depend on this structure and it works well for us. If you have a successful book group, I’d love to hear how your group works. I’d also be happy to skype in to your book group, or visit with you if you are local or willing to pay my way!
1. If you had to be Leann in Carin’s body what would you do?
2. If you had to be Carin in Leann’s body what would you do?
3. Why do you think Leann struggled in Carin’s body even though she always dreamed of being thin and beautiful?
4. How did Leann’s and Carin’s relationships with their mothers affect who they became?
5. Do you think Trevor recognized immediately that Carin was not his mother?
6. Do you think our society is becoming more or less judgmental about body size?
7. Who was your favorite character other than Leann and Carin, and why?
8. Who was your least favorite character other than Leann and Carin, and why?
9. If you had to swap places with someone you encounter in your daily life who is an extreme opposite of you (or someone you don’t understand), who would it be? How do you think that would work out for you?
10. If this happened to you, could you convince people that you were really you? Who could you convince? Who could you not convince? Why or why not?
11. How much do our circumstances or appearances make us who we are?
12. Which character in the story did you have the most sympathy for?
13. What do you think happened after the story ended?
14. If I’m Not Her was made into a movie, who would play each part?
I can’t resist sharing how my own book group functions because it’s worked really well for us for nearly ten years.
We meet at a different member’s house each month. The host picks the book and provides the liquid refreshments. The other members bring a snack or dessert to share.
After about an hour (many times longer), we gather to discuss the book. The person sitting either to the left or the right of the hostess starts (this is so the hostess can be last). Each person rates the book on a scale of 1-5 (1 being hated it, 5 being LOVED it) and then explains why. After that they can share anything they want about the book for as long as they want (I know this seems dangerous, but we rarely have anyone talk more than 5-10 minutes, and most are shorter). While the member has the floor, no one is allowed to interrupt, ask a question, or make a comment. This can be a tough rule, but it is important. After the host has explained why they chose the book, their rating, and their thoughts on the book, the floor opens for general discussion.
Depending on who attends each month, the rules can be looser than normal, but we depend on this structure and it works well for us. If you have a successful book group, I’d love to hear how your group works. I’d also be happy to skype in to your book group, or visit with you if you are local or willing to pay my way!
