Think back to when you were ten years younger, and consider how you would judge your current self. Would you like the person you have become? This is the question Liane Moriarty puts to us in What Alice Forgot. Alice is 29 years old, happily married and newly pregnant. At least, that’s the last thing she can remember…

In reality ten long years have gone by, filled with heartache, children and big changes. On the cusp of her fortieth birthday, Alice hits her head during an advanced gym class (“but I don’t believe in gyms”, she mumbles in a dazed state to the paramedics who arrive on the scene). Her memory of the previous ten years is knocked out of her and she is faced with the disconcerting realisation that she is no longer the person she thinks she is. Her outlook, personality and home life have changed beyond recognition, and as she struggles to regain her sense of self she’s not sure she likes what she sees.

What Alice Forgot is a light read filled with airy characters, but the underlying question it forces the reader to face is a powerful one. Alice at 29 is certain about who she is; a ditzy, disorganised and kind woman who lives for her loving husband. Ten years later and she is a snappy, serial volunteer on the brink of divorce and seems to have alienated all those close to her, including her sister. It’s clear to the reader that both ‘versions’ of Alice have something to learn from the other. I discussed this book with some wise ladies at a local book club, and we shared the advice we would give ourselves ten years ago.

Words of advice to our younger selves

• Don’t bother with a life plan. However much effort and detail you put into planning how to get to where you’d like to be in ten years, life will inevitably take a completely different route.
• Stop trying to please all the other people in your life ahead of yourself. Your decisions and actions will affect you and only you in the long run.
• Don’t give up on that one thing that you love to do. Make a career out of it if you can, even if it seems foolish or difficult.
• Stop concerning yourself with what other people think of you. They care a lot less than you imagine.
• Have fun and don’t be too sensible. Worry less about the future because whatever direction it takes, it will all work out.