The Hazards of Sleeping Alone

by Elise Juska

With her free-spirited daughter away at college and her "hip" ex-husband living across the country, Charlotte has grown used to being alone. For the most part, she prefers it. She relies on familiar manicures, grocery shopping, game shows. But at night, no matter how hard she tries (and in spite of the Dream Machine her daughter Emily sent her) she can't stop her logical mind from running wild -- imagining burglars, strange noises, and all manner of trouble that might befall her fearless daughter.
Having just graduated from Wesleyan with a pierced tongue and an arsenal of opinions, Emily has always been passionate about her beliefs -- from mindfulness to vegetarianism to her new live-in boyfriend. Though Charlotte rarely understands her, she's learned to keep her doubts to herself. But when Emily and the new boyfriend arrive for a weekend visit, secrets are revealed that compel Charlotte to take a stand. Forced to examine her own life choices, she's about to learn she can't control everything. What she can do is open her heart to new possibilities, and to the fact that headstrong Emily might have a thing or two to teach them all.

Genres: Chick Lit, Fiction, Romance, Book Club

391 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Elise Juska's new novel, Reunion, was released by HarperCollins in May 2024 and named one of People Magazine's "Best New Books." Her previous novels include If We Had Known and The Blessings, which was selected for Barnes & Noble's Discover Great New Writers series, featured on Entertainment Weekly's "Must List," and named one of the Philadelphia Inquirer's Best Books of the Year.

Juska's short fiction and nonfiction have appeared in Ploughshares, The Gettysburg Review, The Missouri Review, Electric Literature, The Hudson Review and elsewhere. She was awarded the Alice Hoffman Prize for Fiction from Ploughshares and her work has been cited by the Best American Short Stories and Pushcart Prize anthologies. She teaches creative writing at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia.

Reviews

[eRin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eh. I hated this at first. Charlotte is paranoid, annoying, and lives her life through her daughter. Emily, the aforementioned daughter, is selfish, obnoxious and self-righteous. Both experience welcome character changes that made me hate them a lot less by the end. Still iffy about it.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have no idea why -- I think it was the writing that appealed to me the most -- but I really liked this book. And maybe it struck a little close to home too. I was happy to finally read a mother/daughter book from the mother's perspective. This book might have been a lot less appealing before I had kids of my own -- not sure. All I know is that reading is different for me now.

After reading some reviews of this book it made me think about how we read -- how we approach books, their material and the writing. It seems that people need to wear different kinds of "reading hats" when they approach different kinds of books. You can't read Dickens the same way you read Pynchon. I find that some people don't allow "room" in their heads to branch out and enjoy other types of writing...

[Sonia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book is about a Mother-daughter relationship that mothers can relate to. I enjoyed it.

[Olga · Rating 2 out of 5]

This mother was incredibly frustrating to me. At times very hard to relate to someone who literally had no opinions, pleasures, hobbies, interests other than just making sure her daughter was never upset.

[Annette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somewhat uneven, and slow moving. The story of a woman who has become locked inside her own life, narrowing her choices and her routines in an effort to stay away from the messy emotion of life in general. Charlotte lives in a condo after moving from the home she shared with her daughter after her divorce from Joe.

Joe and her daughter Emily are free wheeling thinkers and bold doers.

I found the characters annoying. Charlotte the mouse, Emily is a brat, and Joe is a jerk. The only genuine and unique person is Charlotte's upstairs neighbor, Bea.

I don't like to pigeon-hole books by genre, but this one is formula chick lit.

[Elysabeth · Rating 1 out of 5]

So, for whatever reason, I couldn't NOT finish this book. And believe me, I tried. It boterhed me that I put it down, so I powered through. I did not like this book whatsoever. It was full of crazy stereotypes (wacky hippies from New Hampshire, trashy waitresses, Seattle dads who are full of themselves), and drew conclusions that weren't even that intelligent.

I wouldn't read other books by this author and I can't even believe that this book WAS published. I like books that are sometimes a mental vacation (which is what I was hoping for with this...) but this just made me annoyed.

[Natalie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I probably shouldn't have finished this book. The author fails to create sympathy for the main character and her daughter; instead we are presented with two whiny annoying self-serving individuals. Not the worst book I've read, but I wouldn't recommend it.

[Jen Mac · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had thought this would be funny chic lit. "confessions of a shopaholic" for an older crowd, perhaps. I didn't laugh out loud, but it was an easy read with some sweet spots. I liked the main character a lot better as she loosened up and grew into herself.

[Penny G · Rating 2 out of 5]

So this is an excellent example of don't judge a book by its cover. I was expecting tales of a spitfire single girl, but got a neurotic divorcee. I was expecting lighthearted chic-lit, but got depressing middle-aged fiction instead. To top it off the character development was minimal at best.

[Melissa T · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story was just okay.

It's told from the perspective of Charlotte,a lonely, paranoid (so paranoid!) 47 year old woman whose identity is wrapped up in being a mother.

She's a creature of habit, which I can relate to. But so much of the story is filled with her worrying about useless things, like people breaking in, or things happening that she has no control over.

I can relate with the worrying, and with some of the other aspects of her personality, but the story itself is pretty boring. There's not much that happens to make you think, or consider much of anything.

There are some not so subtle hints at trying to deal with racial issues since Charlotte's daughter Emily and her boyfriend Walter are an interracial couple, but these aren't handled very well in my opinion.

There is the hazard of mother daughter relationship, which in this case is the mother never disagreeing with her daughter. Which makes the disagreement over Emily keeping her baby all the more awkward and strange.

Emily's strong personality is a highlight of the book. But it becomes overshadowed by her parent's and boyfriend's opinions, which I felt forced her into keeping a baby she hadn't planned on keeping in the first place.

Charlotte's slight evolution into a more carefree person was nice, but not enough to really make me enjoy this in any significant way.

The book is divided into 4 different "books" but this served no purpose. There wasn't any real separation between one "book" and another, so it felt like a bad attempt to make the book more interesting.

Just a meh read overall.

[Karen Malin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my second time reading this book (I read it about ten years ago), and I loved it just as much as I did the first time. It is written in Charlotte's point of view; Charlotte is a divorced woman who is living alone in a condo for the first time and who keeps her world very tight and contained.It sounds like it's the way she's always lived her life. (She has trouble sleeping because she hears every little creak and snap in the house and worries that someone has broken into the condo. Her daughter buys her a white noise machine, but Charlotte wonders if it will just mask the sound of someone creeping about the house.) Charlotte is very careful with what she says or does so her hippish daughter--now out on her own-- does not think she's too provincial or unhappy. Her world turns upside down when her daughter comes home with a (black-gasp!)boyfriend and the announcement that she's pregnant. Charlotte's world starts opening up slowly. I love the way the ending does not tie everything[tied up in a neat little package--one thinks one knows how things are going to go, but one doesn't know for sure. My daughter enjoyed it just as much as I did.

[Babs Schmerler · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book about a mother-daughter relationship is well done, although the mother, Charlotte’s anxious behavior can drive a reader crazy. Charolette, unlike her daughter, Emily, is incredibly passive, despite being a good mother. Charolette avoids conflict at all costs and allows others to steer her life. In contrast, Emily is assertive, albeit too spontaneous. She becomes involved with Walter, who is black and more like Charolette in terms of beliefs, which creates an interesting triangle between the three. Add to that mix, Charolette’s ex-husband, who is unhappy in his second marriage so drinks to cope as well as Bea, Charolette’s upstairs neighbor, who sets Charolette up with Howard, who is as anxious as Charolette. When Emily becomes pregnant and wants to terminate the pregnancy while Walter wants her to keep the baby, everyone rallies around the young couple. In the process, Charolette and Emily have a real conversation for the first time, which allows both women to see one another as they really are for the first time. While the ending tied up things maybe too neatly, it did speak to how it is possible to allow our connections to dictate unconventional conclusions.

[ShyAnn64 · Rating 3 out of 5]

With her free-spirited daughter away at college and her "hip" ex-husband living across the country, Charlotte has grown used to being alone. For the most part, she prefers it. She relies on familiar routines: manicures, grocery shopping, game shows. But at night, no matter how hard she tries (and in spite of the Dream Machine her daughter Emily sent her) she can't stop her logical mind from running wild -- imagining burglars, strange noises, and all manner of trouble that might befall her fearless daughter.
Having just graduated from Wesleyan with a pierced tongue and an arsenal of opinions, Emily has always been passionate about her beliefs -- from mindfulness to vegetarianism to her new live-in boyfriend. Though Charlotte rarely understands her, she's learned to keep her doubts to herself. But when Emily and the new boyfriend arrive for a weekend visit, secrets are revealed that compel Charlotte to take a stand. Forced to examine her own life choices, she's about to learn she can't control everything. What she can do is open her heart to new possibilities, and to the fact that headstrong Emily might have a thing or two to teach them all.

[Diana Mack · Rating 3 out of 5]

Charlotte is divorced. Her ex, Joe, lives across the country with his hip, beautiful wife. Her daughter, Emily, is vegan, practices mindfullness and pregnant.
Charlotte is a strange one. Only in her forties and descriptions of her have her at 65 at the earliest. She doesn't know how to have thoughts, opinions. Very sad. She has to face reality when her daughter and ex describe her as she really is.
So this is definitely chick lit , which normally I love. I appreciated Emily. Her relationship with Walter, the father of her baby, looks to be a winner but Emily is unsure. I just couldn't handle Charlotte. I dont know how she made it this far in life. I don't know what she does all...day...long. Quite honestly, she ruined the story for me. This being chick lit it has a happy ending but I had a hard time believing the change in her happened so quickly.
There are some fun side characters. As a whole...eh.

[Laura Markley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely love this author. Although I detested the main character and her daughter, somehow, she keeps you turning pages and wanting to know more down to the very last page. Both novels I have read of hers are definitely hard to put down, but this one gets me. She has written a book so well that even with main characters I can’t stand, she has me intrigued and wanting to keep turning pages and know more about them. I can’t wait to find more of her novels. I highly recommend her, for those book worms like myself who appreciate a good author and the way they write.

[Dora Martin-Eash · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was surprised I liked this book as much as I did. Maybe it was the fact I found myself identifying with both mother and daughter. Either way it was a sweet story and for what I needed for a light summer read

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Main character way to sad & pathetic in the beginning Redeemed somewhat by the end But not her overindulged immature daughter & ex huspand.

[Yvonne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, but didn't get to the out of the title until chapter 9.

[Jackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I probably relate to Charlotte quite a bit, and that’s likely why I was put off by her at first. Also, who on earth uses “Wal” as a nickname?! Anyway.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Jenni Arnold · Rating 4 out of 5]

You know I couldn't resist reading another "Chick Lit" book, right? This time we enter the life of Charlotte, a mother of a recent college graduate daughter and her *gasp* BLACK boyfriend. Her ex husband lives across the country with his younger hip classy wife.

Having been alone for a few years now, Charlotte starts to fall into a routine similar to that of a retired librarian. Boring, plain. Her life is as "beige" as the walls in her generic condo. She never has an opinion, she never takes a stand. She always avoids confrontation, and based on what others say about her "She lacks passion."

First of all, I really enjoy any type of Chick lit I can get my hands on. This one was no different, but I kept finding myself getting bored with this character. I actually skimmed through a few pages, because the author got quite wordy with explaining a couple simple situations. I even said out loud once while reading this book that Charlotte needs to "GET A LIFE, WOMAN!"

(Spoiler of some sort)...

Even the part where she FINALLY after FIFTEEN YEARS goes on a date and finds a man she really seems to like, the author has written it in Charlotte's eyes, and you almost are to the point where Charlotte seems like MENTALLY there is something wrong with her. She is paranoid, she over-analyzes everything, and she's just an all-around worrywart.

Get some anti-depressants, Charlotte. Seriously. Please.

The book ended pretty much like I thought it would. The whole book and every situation in it ended pretty much like I thought it would. Predictable. No twists and turns. Other than the one time where there was an inkling of possibly a spark between her and her ex-husband, this book was nothing more than predictable.

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

For some reason, this book really got to me. At first, the character of Charlotte was frustrating. She was wishy-washy, weak, sad, and overly dependent on routines. She clearly didn't like to be out of her comfort zone, and yet she had this strong, opinionated daughter who constantly pushed her out of that comfort zone. It took a while for the character and the story to come together, but as it did, I started to see the beauty of it. It's a book with a relatively simple plot--barely even a plot at all, really--that shows that big changes can come from small events. It was interesting to see how the external forces acted on Charlotte, drawing her out of her shell and forcing her to actually become an active participant in her own life, instead of living through her daughter's. It's a simple concept, and somehow really beautiful.

Stylistically, I can add that the present tense writing works really well here. It brings a level of urgency and immediacy to the story, making Charlotte seem all the more real. I think it works better here than in the author's previous work, Getting Over Jack Wagner (which I loved), due to all the flashbacks in that book, not to mention the inexplicable change to past tense in the last two chapters.

[Marnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved Elise Juska's "Getting Over Jack Wagner" so I thought I might like this one too. It was ok, but it wasnt as good. The subject is very interesting: Charlotte's daughter Emily is very different from her: Emily is a very liberal new age type & lives in an "alternative living arrangement" with her black boyfriend & another couple. She comes home to visit Charlotte, who is divorced, & she's pregnant with a biracial baby. She wants to get an abortion but Charlotte doesnt want her to. The boyfriend wants to marry Emily & keep the baby but Emily doesnt want to get married.Like I said the subject interested me, but the story is very long & includes lots of description thaT really wasnt necessary, it could have been told in half as many pages & been just as good. I'm not going to tell what happens at the end, if you want to find out read the book.

[Charity · Rating 3 out of 5]

Charlotte Warren is trying to adjust to living alone in a new condo. Fifteen years after her divorce, Charlotte's daughter urges her to finally 'get a life', but Charlotte wonders if she can. This selection is more hen-lit than chick-lit and has a lot of substance. A wonderful and charming read about letting go of the past and moving on to the unknown.

[Tara · Rating 3 out of 5]

5/26/12 - Went to a few yardsales with mom & Kristina today. Got this one & some others.

6/19/15 finally finished this, this evening! so glad to finish off another of my "in-progress" books!!!

this book was ok. I didn't find it "captivating" (obviously, look how long it took me to finish, lol), but it was OK. depends on your interests & reading preference, too, of course.

[Christy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A woman divorces her ultra-hip husband and urges her hippie daughter to reconsider her pending abortion. Reads more as a character study of the mother, who does show a decent degree of development throughout the story. Good book, but not one I'd probably read twice.

[M · Rating 3 out of 5]

A different chick-lit book. Written from the point of view of the mom. I didn't really know what was going to happen. I liked it, though I can see the criticisms of stereotypical characters ( although I think that's sort of the point).

[Rachel Gioia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes I liked this book, at others times I couldn't wait to finish it. It was an ok read, kind of preictable at times, sometimes ridculous. I don't know that I would NOT recommend it, but I wouldn't go out of my way TO recommend it. I am wondering what the author's other novels are like...

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

The main character struggles with "the hazards of sleeping alone" long after her daughter and ex-husband move out and move on. The daughter returns at one point, bringing new family members onto the scene. As the ratings suggest, this is a good book but not a great one.

[Cecile · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dec 2007