She Wouldn't Change a Thing

by Sarah Adlakha

Overview

Sliding Doors meets Life After Life in Sarah Adlakha's story about a wife and mother who is given the chance to start over at the risk of losing everything she loves.

A second chance is the last thing she wants.

When thirty-nine year old Maria Forssmann wakes up in her seventeen-year-old body, she doesn’t know how she got there. All she does know is she has to get back: to her home in Bienville, Mississippi, to her job as a successful psychiatrist and, most importantly, to her husband, daughters, and unborn son.

But she also knows that, in only a few weeks, a devastating tragedy will strike her husband, a tragedy that will lead to their meeting each other.

Can she change time and still keep what it’s given her?

Exploring the responsibilities love lays on us, the complicated burdens of motherhood, and the rippling impact of our choices, She Wouldn't Change a Thing is a dazzling debut from a bright new voice.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250774552
Publisher:	Tom Doherty Associates
Publication date:	08/10/2021
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	56,085
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Sarah Adlakha is a native of Chicago and a practicing psychiatrist who now lives along the Gulf Coast of Mississippi with her husband and their three daughters. She Wouldn't Change a Thing is her first novel.

Reading Group Guide

1. Protecting children is at the heart of Maria’s story. What portraits of motherhood emerge throughout her journey?

2. Re-read the book’s epigraph by the French theologian Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. How would communities change if humans saw themselves as spiritual beings?

3. In the novel’s opening scenes, we watch Maria struggle to manage a harried life, yet she rejects Will’s suggestions that she work less or hire someone to help around the house, even though they could afford it. Have you ever found yourself in a similar state? How did you manage it? How does Maria’s perception of time evolve over the course of the novel?

4. Imagine that you woke up as your 17-year-old self. What would be the best and worst thing about returning to those days?

5. What were your initial theories about Rachel? Which aspects of the truth surprised you the most?

6. In her session with Maria in chapter two, Sylvia reflects on her guilt and says, “It’s important to always do the right thing, even if you have to suffer the consequences.” What does She Wouldn’t Change a Thing ultimately say about destiny versus decision making, and the process of discerning our purpose?

7. Compare Maria and Will’s relationship to Jenny and Hank’s. What do the novel’s partnerships show us about love, sacrifice, and true compatibility?

8. What is the effect of the fact that Maria was a teenager in the 1980s? What are the limitations and the benefits of the pre-digital age?

9. What’s your interpretation of the novel’s title?

10. In chapter 31, Maria considers all of her options, without any guarantees that she can relive her previous life. Her fourth option is to save Beth but lose her family. What would you have chosen? If you knew you could revisit a previous chapter in your family history and save someone’s life, whose life would you want to save? What price would you be willing to pay in order to save them?

11. As you read the last paragraph of the epilogue, how did you react? What does that scene illustrate about the cycles of life across generations?

12. One of the challenges faced by the time-traveling characters is how to convince people to believe their warnings. How would you have responded to predictions from someone like Sylvia? Do you believe in guardian angels or premonitions?

Editorial Reviews

Adlakha’s debut is a truly compelling read, making the reader consider what they would do if offered a second chance, how they might deal with an impossible choice, and what is most important in life. The characters are relatable, the story is gripping, and the blend of domestic fiction with a hint of science fiction is just plain great.” —Booklist (starred review)

“For me, a mind-bending story only works if its characters are real and relatable. Sarah Adlakha gets it exactly right in She Wouldn’t Change a Thing. Her protagonist, faced with impossible, life altering choices, will keep the reader awake at night wondering ‘what would I do?’” —Diane Chamberlain, New York Times bestselling author of Big Lies in a Small Town

“A thrilling, breathtaking, heartbreaking story. In this dazzling debut novel, Sarah Adlahka has crafted a world where the magical not only seems possible, but probable, and where the complicated, complex characters, and the often untenable decisions they're forced to make, will haunt you long after the last sentence.” —Rita Woods, author of Remembrance

“Book clubs rejoice! She Wouldn't Change a Thing is your next selection. It begins as devastatingly realistic, and evolves into simply… devastating. Haunting, thought-provoking, and endlessly discussable, this touching and evocative book will linger long after you close the final page. What would you do with a second chance at your life? Are you sure? Read this – and then decide.” —Hank Phillippi Ryan, USA Today bestselling author of Her Perfect Life

“With searing precision and eerie intensity, Adlakha delivers a dazzling, braided narrative of the inevitability of our choices and the sacrifices we make for love. She Wouldn’t Change a Thing is a story that will break your heart into smithereens, infuse your spirit with hope, and stay with you long after you’ve turned the final page.” —Emily Colin, New York Times bestselling author of The Memory Thief

“She Wouldn’t Change a Thing is a complex, intelligent, psychological thriller whose unexpected twists and turns gripped me from start to finish. With skillful storytelling, Sarah dives into the life of a mother who is forced to decide between her family and her morality, leaving the reader wondering if everything would be different with a single choice. A captivating debut that makes us question our very reality.” —Serena Burdick, bestselling author of The Girls with No Names

“Adlakha takes the classic ‘what if?’ tale and grounds it in a premise that is so outrageous, yet so solidly believable, I blew through it in 24 hours, because I had to know what happened next. A powerful and rare treatise on fate, love, morality and spirituality that will make you question everything—including yourself. This book absolutely blew my mind.” —Colleen Oakley, USA Today bestselling author of The Invisible Husband of Frick Island

From the Publisher