Introduction

“One of my favorite books I have read in years.” --Quiara Alegria Hudes, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and screenwriter of In the Heights

From the beloved author of Dominicana, a GMA Book Club Pick and Women’s Prize Finalist, an electrifying and indelible new novel about a woman who has lost everything but the chance to finally tell her story.

Write this down: Cara Romero wants to work.

Cara Romero thought she would work at the factory of little lamps for the rest of her life. But when, in her mid-50s, she loses her job in the Great Recession, she is forced back into the job market for the first time in decades. Set up with a job counselor, Cara instead begins to narrate the story of her life. Over the course of twelve sessions, Cara recounts her tempestuous love affairs, her alternately biting and loving relationships with her neighbor Lulu and her sister Angela, her struggles with debt, gentrification and loss, and, eventually, what really happened between her and her estranged son, Fernando. As Cara confronts her darkest secrets and regrets, we see a woman buffeted by life but still full of fight.

Structurally inventive and emotionally kaleidoscopic, How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water is Angie Cruz’s most ambitious and moving novel yet, and Cara is a heroine for the ages.

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Discussion Questions

Discuss how Cara identifies with both American and Dominican cultures in the novel. How did author Angie Cruz depict the Dominican American experience?

What role did the interstitial documents play in your understanding of Cara's life and career?

How did they help propel the plot?

Discuss the different family dynamics and relationships Cara held throughout her story. Did you feel connected to some more than others?

How is someone's career tied to their identity?

Talk about this both in terms of the novel itself, and our lives today.

Did Cara's story change your perspective at all?

If you could choose only one word to sum up Cara's journey, what would it be?

Weblinks

»	Publisher's audiobook info
»	Listen to an excerpt

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