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Chapters (52)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. 1
  4. 2
  5. 3
  6. 4
  7. 5
  8. 6
  9. 7
  10. 8
  11. 9
  12. 10
  13. 11
  14. 12
  15. 13
  16. 14
  17. 15
  18. 16
  19. 17
  20. 18
  21. 19
  22. 20
  23. 21
  24. 22
  25. 23
  26. 24
  27. 25
  28. 26
  29. 27
  30. 28
  31. 29
  32. 30
  33. 31
  34. 32
  35. 33
  36. 34
  37. 35
  38. 36
  39. 37
  40. 38
  41. 39
  42. 40
  43. 41
  44. Acknowledgments
  45. P.S. Insights, Interviews & More . . .*
  46. About the Author
  47. About the Book
  48. Reading Group Guide
  49. Read On
  50. Praise for Careful What You Wish For
  51. Also by Hallie Ephron
  52. About the Publisher
  1. There are three couples in the story: Emily and Frank, Ruth and “Murph,” and Quinn and Wally. How is “stuff” a dynamic in each of their marriages?
  2. Why do you think Frank was susceptible to Quinn’s advances?
  3. What role do you think Frank played in Wally’s murder and the cover-up after it? Do you think Frank got what he deserved in the end?
  4. Emily says she liked teaching elementary school but was ready to quit. Do you think she’s going to like her new career as a professional organizer? Why or why not?
  5. Emily’s mother, Lila, is a retired librarian. What skills does she have that enable her to help Emily as a professional organizer? What personality traits does she have that might prove problematic?
  6. Author Hallie Ephron has said that her plot was inspired by Patricia Highsmith’s Strangers on a Train. In the novel, two men meet on a train and strike up a conversation; each complains about his marriage and confesses that he wishes he could get rid of his wife. One of them suggests that maybe they should “exchange” murders so that neither will be caught. Can you see how Ephron twisted that setup in Careful What You Wish For?
  7. Ephron says another inspiration was her own marriage—or “mixed” marriage, as she calls it—to a man who can’t pass up a yard sale without stopping. Like Frank, Hallie’s husband has filled their attic, basement, and garage with his finds. Are you in a mixed marriage or living arrangement with someone whose relationship with stuff is different from yours? How have you managed to navigate your differences?
  8. A theme in the novel is trust and betrayal. How does this theme play out in the story?
  9. What do you think the title Careful What You Wish For refers to?
  10. What do you think of Marie Kondo’s advice in her book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: “The best way to choose what to keep and what to throw away is to take each item in one’s hand and ask, ‘Does this spark joy?’ If it does, keep it. If not, dispose of it.” By the end of the book, how do you think Emily interprets that advice? image

Read On

An Excerpt from You’ll Never Know, Dear

1

Elisabeth Strenger peeled three boiled eggs under running water, dropped them into a chipped Blue Willow china bowl, and began to mash them with a fork. She took a quick puff on her cigarette, blew smoke out through the back window, and tapped ashes into the drain.

“Don’t forget a titch of lemon.” The fluty voice that sailed in from the front porch through the open living room windows belonged to Lis’s mother, Sorrel Woodham. Everyone, including Lis, called her Miss Sorrel.