Introduction

A delicious, sharp novel about a woman who jets off to France after her perfect marriage collapses, putting the broken pieces of herself back together while rediscovering her own joie de vivre—a lust for life, art, and steamy sex. 

“Artful, feminist, and emotionally gripping. The Unbreakables is a remarkable tribute to a woman’s strength in the face of heartbreak and adversity.” — Helen Hoang, author of The Kiss Quotient

The worst birthday ever might just be the gift of a lifetime…

It’s Sophie Bloom’s forty-second birthday, and she’s ready for a night of celebration with Gabe, her longtime, devoted husband, and her two besties and their spouses. Dinner is served with a side of delicious gossip, including which North Grove residents were caught with their pants down on Ashley Madison after the secret on-line dating site for married and committed couples was hacked. Thirty-two million cheaters worldwide have been exposed…including Sophie’s “perfect” husband. To add insult to injury, she learns Gabe is the top cheater in their town. 

Humiliated and directionless, Sophie jumps into the unknown and flees to France to meet up with her teenage daughter who is studying abroad and nursing her own heartbreak. After a brief visit to Paris, Sophie heads out to the artist enclave of Saint-Paul-de-Vence. There, for the first time in a long time, Sophie acknowledges her own desires—not her husband’s, not her daughter’s—and rediscovers her essence with painful honesty and humor, reawakening both her sensuality and ambitions as a sculptor. 

As she sheds her past and travels the obstacle-filled off beaten path, Sophie Bloom is determined to blossom. Allowing her true self to emerge in the postcard beauty of Provence, Sophie must decide what is broken forever...and what it means to be truly unbreakable.

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Excerpt

CHAPTER ONE

GABE, MY HUSBAND, STILL INCREDIBLY SEXY AT FORTY-TWO, APPROACHES ME from behind in our walk-in closet, wraps his muscular arms tightly around my waist and kisses my neck hungrily.
Truth be told, I heard his approaching footsteps thirty seconds earlier stomping across our hardwood floor from the shower, pretended as though I didn’t, and let him think he pulled one over on me. ... view entire excerpt...

Discussion Questions

1. Is infidelity in marriage fixable? Is it forgivable? In Sophie Bloom’s case, do you think she had any other choice but to flee?

2. Can young love be sustained in the long-haul of marriage? Both Sophie and Gabe’s and Nathalie and Luc’s marriages evolve into a “just press play” relationship, they love and care for each other, but passions have died. Once that flame is extinguished, do you think it can ever truly be reignited?

3. What does “girl code” mean to you? Why do you think is it so important to women?

4. Sophie and her teen daughter Ava have a strong bond and when they are both betrayed, Sophie drops her own pain to be there for her daughter. If you have children, how do you balance being a woman and being a mother?

5. Sophie and Ava each have their own forbidden relationship. In what ways do these relationships contribute to their personal growth?

6. They say that at the end of a relationship, we go through the Five Stages of Grief, but Sophie instead opts for “Denial 101”. Do you think a person can skip over grief? Or must one go through the requisite stages to come out the other side?

7. Luc remains faithful to a disloyal, albeit sick, wife but emotional infidelity can be more harmful than physical infidelity. Do your feelings about Sophie change as she begins to develop deep feelings for Luc, Nathalie’s husband?

8. When Gabe realizes how much he has lost after betraying Sophie, he wants her back. But for the first time in her life, she decides to put herself first—over her husband’s needs and her daughter’s desires. Why do you think it’s difficult for women and mothers to put themselves first?

9. Part of Ava’s journey is discovering the importance of her mother’s own needs and recognizing that their bond is no longer give/take but give and take. For daughters looking to their mothers: are you able to see her desires as a woman, or only her role as “Mom”?

10. Sophie tells her daughter: “Love is messy...I don’t think I ever really understood that until now. But no matter what, even if life hurts like hell, sometimes you just have to pick yourself up and build again.” Describe the ways in which Sophie Bloom has reinvented herself. In what ways does Ava follow (or not follow) in her mother’s footsteps?

11. The theme of “closure” threads throughout the novel. In what ways does Sophie give closure to each of her relationships, while opening the door to her passions?

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