An Anonymous Girl

Author: Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen        

Recommendation: Great read if you enjoy a psychological thriller

This novel sucks you in within the first chapter and it does not disappoint! A modern, psychological thriller, this book focuses on the ethics of fidelity – but there is so much more woven into the pages of this book. The split-view narrative is addicting and This, perhaps, may not be a book that changes your life, but it is one that may make you reflect on your past – as it did for me.

There are various themes I can cover from this book – the #MeToo Movement, mental health – but since I have already done those, I will focus on fidelity. In the novel, a young woman enters a study and the psychiatrist chooses her to continue the study outside of a clinical setting and in the real world. You learn that the purpose of the psychiatrist’s study is personal – she is grooming the young female participant to seduce her husband to prove, once and for all, whether he his previous infidelity was a slip, or whether it is part of his character. If you have ever been a woman (or man) scorned, you can begin reading the novel relating to the psychiatrist, Dr. Shields. With money at her disposal, she is able to orchestrate certain situations to test her subject – her husband – while insuring the loyalty of her participant, Jess.

How common is infidelity? Well, depends if you are a man or a woman. Men are more likely to cheat than their female counterparts, with 20% men and 13% women reporting they have cheated on their spouse. This gap only widens as adults get older. Cheating is also closely related to divorce. Of those marriages where a spouse cheated, 40% end in divorce, while only 17% of marriages end in divorce with couples who have not dealt with infidelity (https://ifstudies.org/blog/who-cheats-more-the-demographics-of-cheating-in-america).

Can a marriage last after infidelity? The answers are as unique as the couples themselves. In the novel, Dr. Shields is testing her husband, Thomas, to see if he is unfaithful again, even though they are separated. Most would agree this is not a healthy way to overcome infidelity in a relationship. But with time and counseling, couples can overcome such a transgression. Dr. Scott Haltzman, author of “The Secrets of Surviving Infidelity,” states that while 4 in 10 marriages deal with infidelity, less than half end in divorce (https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=195533059).

One thing to consider is that, as with any research, people are not always willing to be honest about their marital transgressions. So the statistics that researchers have gathered may not be accurate. The takeaway, especially in light of this book, is that everyone deals with cheating differently and it may mean different things for your relationship. But the strong message in this book, and generally good advice, is that you need to rely on yourself first, no matter what is thrown at you.