“We know,” Hannah said, rolling her eyes. “We know everything.”
“And he’s going to ride with us today. Is everyone ready?” Nods all around. “Helmets on, then,” she said as Sebastian looked at her, his expression full of pride. It made her feel warm and shivery at the same time; happy and lucky, like everything she wanted could be hers.
“Okay, then,” she said. “Let’s ride.”
Acknowledgments
I love riding my bike, and I loved writing this story about cycling, traveling, and girls and women finding their way in what feels like an increasingly hostile world.
At Atria, I am grateful to Natalie Hallak, who gave this book such smart and thoughtful attention. Thanks to Lindsay Sagnette, Jade Hui, Esther Paradelo, Elizabeth Hitti, Shelby Pumphrey, Lacee Burr, Paige Lytle, Zakiya Jamal, Katie Rizzo, Alison Hinchcliffe and Rebecca Justiniano, and to Libby McGuire and Jonathan Karp.
Lauren Rubino was a crucial fresh set of eyes as we closed in on the finish line. Shelly Perron did a wonderful job copyediting the manuscript. Any mistakes are my own. As always, James Iacobelli makes the covers look delightful and inviting.
On the audio front, Sarah Lieberman and Elisa Shokoff are thoughtful and creative about finding just the right people to lend their voices to my words.
I am so grateful to Dacia Gawitt and family for sharing Marjorie Gawitt’s story with me and allowing me a glimpse of their beloved Marj—a devoted reader, talented cook, and friend to all. I was honored to use her name in this story.
In Hollywood, I am grateful for the help of Michelle Weiner (no relation) and my brothers, Jake and Joe Weiner (relations). Shout-out to my sister, Molly, who always makes me laugh.
Jasmine Barta keeps my website looking right and my newsletter running smoothly (and if you haven’t seen my website or signed up for my newsletter, you can go to JenniferWeiner.com and fix that right now!).
I am grateful to Celeste Fine, my agent, and to John Maas, Park & Fine’s editorial director and my first reader, whose help in shaping this story and these characters was invaluable. Thanks also to Andrea Mai, Emily Sweet, Elizabeth Pratt, Mahogany Francis, and Theresa Park.
My assistant, Meghan Burnett, is one of my trusted first readers. Not only is she smart and funny and insightful, she’s a tremendous help on the home front, whether we’re figuring out a thorny plot twist or the tree in front of my house that the city’s making us remove.
As always, I am grateful to my daughters, Lucy and Phoebe, who let me spend time in the neighborhood of make-believe—and on my bike. Special thanks to my husband, Bill Syken, who lets me go and is happy to welcome me home.
Speaking of my bike, I am grateful to all the members of the Bicycle Club of Philadelphia, especially club founder Tim Carey, who is a lifelong cyclist and is himself a vivid chronicler of two-wheeled adventures. Tim’s ridden across the country, led trips from Florida to Philadelphia, and knows every inch of Philadelphia and the story (or, at least, a story) of every street and bridge and building (he likes to say that two-thirds of what he tells the riders is true, and one-third’s made up, and it’s our job to figure out which is which). His Facebook ride reports are replete with descriptions of mileage and meals and scenery, along with varied creative spellings of his beloved ramen noodles.
When the pandemic closed down the world in 2020, I started riding again, and was delighted to find that Tim was leading bike rides every day of the week. Riding my bike kept me healthy and sane, and getting back on my bike helped me navigate not only a global pandemic but my own season of losses, both personal and political.
I am grateful to Tim and to the people I met on the BCP rides: Johanna Blackmore, Ginnie Zipf, and especially Dani Ascarelli, her sister, Silvia Ascarelli, and Silvia’s partner, Clive Jenner, with whom I rode from Buffalo to Albany in the summer of 2022.
The Empire State Trail is real, as is Neighborhood Bike Works, here in Philadelphia (NeighborhoodBikeWorks.org)… and, while Abby imagines a version of Girls on the Run for bikes, it turns out, there’s a real organization called Girls in Gear, which, per its website, “helps riders learn about themselves, their bikes, and their community” and has riding clubs in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. You can learn more at GirlsinGear.org.
The trails and organizations in The Breakaway are real. So are the challenges Morgan faces. Since Roe v. Wade was overturned, the barriers women face when they want to end a pregnancy are mounting. Some states have instituted so-called heartbeat laws, banning all abortions after six weeks, well before many women know that they are pregnant. Other states have banned abortion medication, with the possibility of a nationwide ban looming on the horizon. And you don’t have to have a novelist’s imagination to see the impact of these laws. All you have to do is read the news.
My mother marched and protested for abortion rights, and I marched and protested for abortion rights. We won’t go back, we chanted… except we have. I’ve passed along my pins and signs to my daughters, with the hope that, someday, abortion will be safe, legal, and rare, and that every girl and woman will be able to make choices about her reproductive life for herself. Meanwhile, the work goes on.
Susan B. Anthony said it best. Cycling is freedom. And, just like she did, I wish for freedom—every freedom—for girls and women.
The Breakaway: Topics and Questions for Discussion
1. Many of the characters in this book struggle with the concept of choice: Abby is choosing between settling down as a podiatrist’s wife or choosing a man she is inexplicably drawn to; Morgan is grappling with a choice that complicates her relationship with her faith and family; Eileen tells Abby that the reason she sent her to Camp Golden Hills was to make sure she had options—the freedom to choose a life and a partner she wanted. Discuss what guides these characters’ choices. How are they impacted by their own beliefs and experiences versus those of broader society? How does the novel contribute to the larger conversation of women’s choice and freedom in the United States today?
2. A “breakaway” is a cycling term for the moment during a race when one rider separates from the pack and attempts to build a lead toward victory—a strategy with risks but also potential rewards. What is Abby “breaking away” from during the events of this book? How are other characters also “breaking away”?
3. With Mark, Abby has found a relationship that makes her feel comfortable and accepted, with a man she’s known for most of her life. By contrast, a relationship with Sebastian would push her out of her comfort zone. Is being comfortable in a relationship the same thing as settling in a relationship? Is it bad?
4. Sebastian insists he didn’t do anything wrong to the women online because he never misrepresented himself to them. How do dating apps change how we think about relationships? Do they encourage authenticity, or do they reward people who perform what they think would-be partners desire? Who’s at fault—Alyssa, who assumes men will realize that no one just wants hookups forever, or Sebastian, who takes her at her word?
5. Abby’s friend Lizzie (not to mention the Spoke’n Four) represents an alternate path to a life well lived compared to the one Abby saw modeled by her own mother as well as other adults in her life. What appeals to Abby about Lizzie’s path, and what scares her? How do Abby’s values change throughout the course of the book?