What turns you into " The Girl on the Train "

Ever wondered what turned Rachel into The Girl on the Train with a serious drinking problem?

Or what drove The Widow's husband to steal a child?

Or why Miss Marple had to investigate The mirror cracked from side to side?

Or why did Mabel and Jack build The Snow Child? (No, they did not name her Elsa and it was very hard to let it go)

What forced Griet to find solace and company in Entertaining Angels?

And exactly what was it What Alice forgot?

  

  

All these ladies started off as rather normal (a state that most bloggers are not familiar with, but please google "Normality" for a better definition). They were averagely happy: 

• They all had an average career
• They all had an average family
• They all had an average boyfriend/husband
• They were all well on their way to the average 2.5 family

Bam! You fall off the wagon. 

Bam! Your husband turns into a monster. 

Bam! You finally get to commit the murder you've been planning for 20 years. 

Bam! You "live" in a fairy tale.

Bam! You have sex with a Greek god. 

Bam! You get estranged from a loving sister.

Just like that. Just one word and they are not the average 2.5 anymore. And their lives start spinning out of control.

All these women are at a loss. The loss of an embryo, the loss of a miscarriage at however many weeks, the loss of stillborn child, the loss of any child. But mostly they are at a loss of hope and the dream of making their family in the easy way they had always imagined. 

You become a mother the day you dream of becoming a mother.

As readers, we tend to shelve our books on various shelves: Favorite authors; series; genres; publishers and even colors. How many of you shelve your books under "recurring themes"? 

Although the topic of 'infertility' in novels make room for wonderful reading material - how much truth is there in the struggle that the above mentioned women face? Can just one little thing really drive people to alcoholism, anxiety, chat rooms-of-the-you-should-not-go-there kind, divorce and even murder? 

Nope, I am not going to give a speech or a statistical analysis on this one. You remember that infinitely google-able thing I talked about a couple of weeks ago? Infertility is one of those subjects. Infertility

Being the proverbial 'man in the mirror', or in this case - "the girl in the train window's reflection" - I just wondered.

There are numerous novels out there that deal with infertility. The ones listed above, I have read and enjoyed. I've cried with those ladies, laughed with them, ached with them, scolded them - but mostly, I just understood. Some actions truly are just the result of reactions to one small little thing that you are at a loss of. 

Thalk to me! 

Are there any recurring themes you tend to read?

What novel dealing with infertility is your favorite? 

Do you believe Rachel and Company's struggle is real or should they just build a snow child and let it go?