Truly Madly Guilty

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2016

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-11

Chapters 12-24

Chapters 25-44

Chapters 45-61

Chapters 62-75

Chapters 76-89

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Chapters 62-75Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 62-75 Summary

It is the morning after the barbecue, and Clementine is at the hospital. She longs for a moment of relief where she and Sam will reconnect, glad their daughter is okay, but that reconciliation doesn’t happen.

Dakota, wrapped up in her guilt, sees her father smash up the fountain with a crowbar and is terrified by his actions.

Back in the present, Tiffany brings her daughter and Vid to see Ruby, even though she knows Clementine and Sam don’t want to see them. The visit helps them and Clementine move through some of their guilt about the events of that night.

Clementine’s mother, Pam, holds a celebratory dinner for Erika and Oliver because they are the heroes who saved Ruby. However, she invites Erika’s mother, Sylvia, who makes things difficult for everyone. Sylvia is known for “her outlandish comments, her meandering stories, and snarky, sly little digs.” Sylvia instigates, and Sam explodes and has to leave the dinner.

Tiffany runs into the wife of the man from her past and discovers that they’re moving to Dubai. He was the only client from her time as a stripper that she slept with. He gave her AUS$100,000, which bankrolled her property development career. Vid guesses that she slept with him and is relieved that he’s moved away, because if he’d been even the slightest bit disrespectful to his wife, Vid might have resorted to physical violence.

Oliver discovers that Erika has been stealing Clementine’s possessions. He realizes that Erika has been grasping for some piece of Clementine’s life. Although Oliver is disappointed in her and doesn’t really believe that people can change, he believes in Erika. Erika brings some of the things back and tells Clementine that they don’t want her eggs anymore. Erika also confesses that she’s not even sure she wants a baby, but she will do whatever she can to give Oliver what he desperately wants. She also tells Clementine not to be “stupid” and get in the way of her own dreams. Clementine forgives herself for what happened to Ruby and reconnects with herself. She finds pride in pursuing her own dream and playing the music that she loves.

Chapters 62-75 Analysis

At the dinner party, Sylvia incites drama. She is the kind of character who says what everyone doesn’t want to hear, and her words drive Sam to explode. No one is surprised by Sylvia anymore, but they are surprised by Sam’s response. Sam is seeing everyone around him begin to feel better, but he isn’t feeling better after the incident at the barbecue. He doesn’t know how to cope. Sam’s outburst suggests that, like Dakota, his family and friends did not notice his internal anguish.

This section also reveals the dichotomy of Erika’s character. Because Erika fears becoming like Sylvia, Erika has fixated on Clementine and her life. She treats Clementine as both a best friend and an ideal self. Erika idolizes Clementine and tries to imitate her, so she never admitted to stealing Clementine’s things. Erika, unable to cope with her childhood trauma and her mother’s mental health issues, developed her own neurotic behaviors. The imbalance of Clementine and Erika’s friendship led to the conflicts in their relationship. Clementine always felt like she had to give too much, and Erika never felt like she’d have a life like Clementine’s. As a result, she felt like she had to steal little pieces of it. As an adult, Erika has a life she is proud of and a loving husband who has become her true best friend. Once Erika lets go of her jealousy, she will be able to embrace her own happiness.

In this section, Vid and Tiffany are shown to have a very strong relationship. Tiffany, who was never ashamed about the deal she made that got her into the life she wanted, is still relieved that she doesn’t have to face the consequences of it. Even though she lies to Vid, Vid loves his wife enough that he doesn’t even think twice about how she slept with this man, but only about what he would have to do to defend her if the man was disrespectful. Tiffany finally feels relief when her secret bubbles to the surface, and Vid accepts her. This acceptance is akin to Oliver’s response to Erika’s stealing. The novel’s final chapters will see a similar resolution for Clementine and Sam.