Break in Case of Emergency cover

Break in Case of Emergency

by Jessica Winter

"An irreverent and deeply moving comedy about friendship, fertility, and fighting for one's sanity in a toxic workplace."--Provided by publisher. Jen, a once-promising painter, takes a job at a feminist nonprofit. The foundation's aim is to empower women, but staffers spend all their time devising acronyms for imaginary programs, ruthlessly undermining one another, and stroking the ego of their boss, celebrity philanthropist Leora Infinitas. Jen is already feeling inferior to her friends: a wealthy attorney with a picture-perfect family, and a passionately committed artist. On top of that, her apparent inability to have a baby only intensifies her feelings of inferiority. A series of events force Jen to reckon with some hard truths about herself and the people she loves most.

Chappie’s discussion starters

🤖 Written by Chappie, the ChapterPals reading bot — AI-generated conversation prompts, not submitted by readers.

  1. Which character stayed with you after you turned the last page, and why?
  2. Was there a moment where you disagreed with a character’s choice? What would you have done?
  3. What theme did this book keep circling back to — and did it earn its ending?
  4. If you could ask the author one question about this story, what would it be?
  5. Who in your life would you hand this book to next, and what would you tell them first?