When Life Gives You Lululemons

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. Discuss your overall impressions of When Life Gives You Lululemons. Which were your favorite and/or least favorite aspects of the novel, and why?

2. How did your experience reading When Life Gives You Lululemons compare to your experience reading the series’s prequels The Devil Wears Prada and Revenge Wears Prada? Which aspects of this title satisfied or disappointed your expectations from the series, and why?

3. Compare and contrast When Life Gives You Lululemons to other titles of the same genre. For example, what narrative and thematic overlaps do you notice between Weisberger’s title and other works of humorous women’s fiction like Nicola Kraus and Emma McLaughlin’s The Nanny Diaries or Monica Heisey’s Really Good, Actually?

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

1. How did you respond to Emily Charlton’s decision to go to Greenwich, Connecticut? If you were Emily, would you have done the same thing despite your aversion to a place? What would you have done differently?

2. Emily, Miriam Kagan, and Karolina Hartwell have distinct personalities. With which character do you identify most closely? What about your chosen character is most relatable and/or believable, and why?

3. Miriam struggles to orient to life in the suburbs after leaving New York. Have you ever made a similarly jarring geographical move before? How did it impact you emotionally, psychologically, and otherwise? How did your experience compare with Miriam’s?

4. The novel is set in the Connecticut suburbs. Which aspects of the Greenwich culture resonate most closely with your own community? Which aspects are most foreign, and why?

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

1. Consider Weisberger’s representations of female aging. Does she subvert or reinforce cultural stereotypes about women’s bodies, ideals, and social relevance?

2. When Life Gives You Lululemons interrogates the suburban life, particularly the lives of wealthy, suburban women. Compare and contrast Weisberger’s “eat the rich” narrative to other contemporary representations of these concepts, be they literary or cinematic. For example, how does Weiserberger’s social commentary compare to those in the television show White Lotus or Jenny Jackson’s Pineapple Street?

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

1. The novel is written from a third-person point of view. Discuss the formal, narrative, and thematic effects of this choice. How would the novel resonate differently if told from a different perspective?

2. Compare and contrast Emily’s, Miriam’s, and Karolina’s characters. What makes each woman distinct? How does Weisberger develop their individuality?

3. What impact does the novel’s Greenwich, Connecticut, setting have on the narrative mood? Which conflicts and tensions does the setting create? How do the characters react to this place, and why?

4. Identify three symbols in the novel and discuss their resonance. For example, what do the sex toys, Paul’s Maserati, and/or the champagne bottles represent, and how do they relate to the novel’s thematic explorations?

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

1. Imagine you are adapting When Life Gives You Lululemons into a film. Would you cast the same actors who appeared in the 2006 The Devil Wears Prada film? Who would you cast as Miriam and Karolina? Which plot points would you add, omit, or alter to make the adaptation your own?

2. Imagine a different ending to the novel. How would Emily’s life evolve if she did not get pregnant? How would Karolina’s life look if she got back together with Graham? What would happen to Miriam if Paul were cheating on her? Consider the role the women’s friendship would play in their stories, even if their lives transpired differently.