Rattled!: A Memoir by Christine Coppa

From the Publisher

Warm, honest, funny, and empowering, Rattled! is an unforgettable memoir of a life that takes an unexpected turn—and a brave young woman who decides to follow where the road leads. Everything in twenty-six-year-old Christine’s life was going as planned—great friends, a promising job as a magazine assistant, New York City at her feet . . . even a cute guy. Until the fateful day she realizes she’s pregnant by said cute guy, whom she’d only been dating for a few months. The next thing you know, he bails and Christine is left to wonder, What now? Trading Manhattan for the suburbs, skinny jeans for sweatpants, and all-nighters with the girls for 3 a.m. feedings with a restless infant, Christine chooses to live a life that honors what’s important to her—and finds strength she didn’t know she had in the process.

Product Details

• Reading Group Guide

Reading Group Guide

1. When Christine first learns that she’s pregnant, how does A’s reaction differ from her own? How do their feelings change over the next few months? Can you think of a time in your own life when everything changed in a split second, like when Christine saw her baby’s heartbeat and knew her pregnancy was real? How did you feel?

2. Were you surprised by A’s decision to not be involved at all? Given that women have the right to an abortion and Plan B, do you think men should have the right to walk away if they don’t want to be a parent?

3. Has anyone you loved ever been injured in an accident, like Christine’s ex-boyfriend Keith? How did it affect you? Do you think Christine was wrong to leave him?

4. Christine grapples with how to share her pregnancy news with her family and friends. Did her parents’ reaction surprise you? How did Christine’s girlfriends differ in their responses? How did you react when a girlfriend shared something surprising with you?

5. What do you think of Christine’s solo trip to Palm Springs, California? What does her “babymoon” teach her about herself? Have you or would you ever travel solo? Why or why not?

6. Christine remarks that moving to New Jersey seems, at times, “more impossible” than being pregnant. What do you think she misses most about city life? How does her move affect her relationship with her girlfriends? What are the advantages and disadvantages of raising a child in the city?

7. What do you make of Christine’s relationship with her brother Carlo? Do you think he helps or hinders her ability to become independent and ready for herbaby?

8. Christine’s work as a blogger often makes her private life open to the public. Do you think her readers have the right to critique her decisions? Have her readers crossed a line by asking questions about child support, Jack’s father, and her financial situation? Do you think A ever read(s) her blog?

9. How do Christine’s feelings about being a single-parent family change as her pregnancy progresses? How does she overcome concerns about raising her son without a father? Do you think American society still views a nuclear family as ideal?

10. What is the significance of Christine’s return to New York City with her son to celebrate her 27th birthday? How has she changed since the beginning of the book?