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Book Club Discussion Guide About the Book Book Club Discussion Guide About the book Love Anthony by Lisa Genova I’m always hearing about how my brain doesn’t work right.... But it doesn’t feel broken to me. Olivia Donatelli’s dream of a “normal” life shattered when her son, Anthony, was diagnosed with autism at age three. Understanding the world from his perspective felt bewildering, nearly impossible. He didn’t speak. He hated to be touched. He almost never made eye contact. And just as Olivia was starting to realize that happiness and autism could coexist, Anthony died. Now she’s alone in a cottage on Nantucket, separated from her husband, desperate to understand the meaning of her son’s short life, when a chance encounter with another woman facing her own loss brings Anthony alive again for Olivia in a most unexpected way. Beth Ellis’s entire life changed with a simple note: “I’m sleeping with Jimmy.” Fourteen years of marriage. Three beautiful daughters. Yet even before her husband’s affair, she had never felt so alone. Heartbroken, she finds the pieces of the vivacious, creative person she used to be packed away in a box in her attic. For the first time in years, she uncaps her pen, takes a deep breath, and begins to write. The young but exuberant voice that emerges onto the page is a balm to the turmoil within her, a new beginning, and an astonishing bridge back to herself. In a piercing story about motherhood, autism, and love, New York Times bestselling author Lisa Genova offers us two unforgettable women on the verge of change and the irrepressible young boy whose unique wisdom helps them both find the courage to move on. Book Club Discussion Guide About the Author Lisa Genova is an American neuroscientist and author of fiction. She graduated valedictorian, summa cum laude from Bates College with a BS degree in biopsychology and received her Ph.D. in neuroscience from Harvard University in 1998. Genova did research at Massachusetts General Hospital East, Yale Medical School, McLean Hospital, and the National Institutes of Health. She also taught neuroanatomy at Harvard Medical School fall 1996. Genova married and gave birth to a daughter in 2000. Four years later she and her husband divorced, and Genova began writing full-time. To hear Genova tell it: When I was 33, I got divorced. I’d been a stay-at-home mom for four years, and I planned to go back to work as a health-care industry strategy consultant. But then I asked myself a question that changed the course of my life: If I could do anything I wanted, what would I do? My answer, which was both exciting and terrifying—write a novel about a woman with Alzheimer’s (Cape Cod Magazine.). In 2007 she self-published her first novel, Still Alice, which went on to became a major best seller and award winning film. Since then, Genova has written three other fictional works about characters dealing with neurological disorders. Book Club Discussion Guide Discussion Questions 1. How much did you know about this condition before starting Love Anthony? Do you know anyone who has autism or an autistic person in their family? 2. What significance does the setting of Nantucket play in this story? Would the story have been different if it had taken place in New York City or Chicago? 3. Beth pulls a box out of her attic, filled with remnants from her old life, and is reminded of the woman she once was. If you were to go through a box from your attic, what items might you find? 4. On the subject of marriage and fidelity, Beth’s friend Courtney muses: “You’re always at the mercy of the people you’re in a relationship with, right?” (p. 171) Do you agree? What do you think of the advice she offers Beth? 5. Do you think the author accurately captured the voice of a young autistic boy in the Anthony chapters? Did these sections enhance Beth’s story for you? What about Olivia’s journal entries? 6. After receiving David’s letter about his impending engagement, Olivia Book Club Discussion Guide ponders the concept of happiness: “He’s right. I forgot about happiness. At first, it wasn’t a priority. Anthony had autism, and every ounce of energy went into saving him. Her happiness was irrelevant.... And then, just when she was starting to realize that happiness and autism could co-exist in the same room, in the same sentence, in her heart, Anthony died, and happiness was no longer a concept she could fathom.” (p. 283) Do you think happiness is a conscious choice? Do you find it telling that Olivia uses the phrase “saving him” in reference to Anthony and his autism? 7. Toward the end of the story, Olivia has an epiphany when she realizes that “There was more to Anthony’s life than his death. And there was more to Anthony than his autism.” (p. 283) What do you think finally enables Olivia to have this realization? Was it a singular event or a process? 8. When Jimmy and Beth share their homework assignments given to them by Dr. Campbell, were you surprised by Beth’s initial reaction? Why is forgiving Jimmy the one thing Beth can’t do? 9. After reading Beth’s novel, Olivia is convinced Anthony is speaking to her through Beth. Skeptical, Beth discusses the idea with the more spiritual Petra, who feels “we’re all connected, even if we don’t know how. Maybe communicating through you gives you the something you need in this lifetime.” (p. 308) Do you agree or disagree with Petra? 10. Through writing her book, Beth realizes “this story was more about Anthony the boy than Anthony the boy with autism.... She was simply writing about Anthony, a boy worthy of happiness and safety, of feeling wanted and loved. Just like her. The more she wrote about Anthony, the more she realized that she was actually writing about herself.” (p. 331) How so? Book Club Discussion Guide 11.Beth ultimately decides the lesson of her book is “Find someone to love and love without condition.” (p.332) Do you think this could also apply as an overall theme for Love Anthony? Can you find any others? 12.Which character did you relate to the most and why? Where do you see these characters in five years? 13.What do you think of Beth’s epilogue? Do you think it provides a satisfying ending to her story? To the novel as a whole? 14.Another recurring theme of Love Anthony is faith—having faith, losing faith, and taking a leap of faith. Can you remember a time in your own life when you took a leap of faith? Book Club Discussion Guide Book Reviews Genova's newest (after Left Neglected) tells the tales of two women struggling with a timely topic, but the device she uses to connect their stories—a bland bit of mysticism—obfuscates otherwise compelling narratives. Olivia's life is in shambles—she spent years coming to terms with her son, Anthony, being diagnosed with autism, only to lose him to a subdural hematoma at age 8. Now her husband's filing for divorce. Meanwhile, Beth is reeling from the discovery that her husband has been cheating on her for months. In an effort to cope, she returns to her former passion—writing—and begins a new book inspired by a dream. That story magically turns out to be Anthony's story, as told by him. Eventually, the women come together, and Olivia reads Beth's story and begins to heal. Though each story is engaging in its own right, the plot device that connects Beth and Olivia makes the book read like self-help. Publishers Weekly Writing with deep empathy and insight, Genova has created an engaging story that fearlessly asks the big questions. Booklist A story about unconditional love, loss and renewal by bestselling author Genova (Left Neglected, 2011, etc.). Nantucket residents Beth Ellis and Olivia Donatelli have both experienced life-shattering events that have left them raw and wounded and questioning everything that they ever believed to be true.... As Olivia turns to photography...Beth picks up a pen and reconnects with a passion she's long forgotten: writing. Ensconced in a comfortable area of the library, Beth writes the story of a young autistic boy with humor and intelligence and exuberance for life, who through her, can voice his thoughts and feelings and allow others to see into his world. And as she shares these words with Olivia, they provide the strength and understanding and purpose that both women need to come to terms with the past and move on with their lives. There's a point in the narrative where one of the characters becomes so engrossed in reading a book that she loses track of time. Readers of Genova's latest excellent offering might very well find the same happening to them. Kirkus Reviews .
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