The Three Lives of Cate Kay

I loved how identity, guilt, and grief were explored. Annie/Cass/Cate’s whole life was built around one terrible accident and one shameful choice. No matter how she changed or who she became that past bubbled back up. She hid every part of herself from the world, but each layer of who she was poured out of her writing so clearly that she was unmistakable. Her emotions, both expressed and repressed, were written poignantly all the little details and anecdotes brought vivid life to the characters.

The choice of what’s addressed in the footnotes gave such subtle, but fascinating depth to the main character — what she allowed herself to focus on and what she couldn’t even years later, her little hang-ups, how she deflects.
In show more general, the author used the framing of the story as a memoir written by the main character to great effect.

My one complaint is that some of the contrivances of Cate and Ryan’s misunderstanding irritated me. Their reactions made sense for the insecurities and trauma these characters were carrying, but the external events that sparked it and kept it going felt unnatural. show less

Anne Marie, Annie, Cass, and Cate Kay. All the names of our main character. We begin with Anne Marie, who feels her life hasn’t really started, that is, until she meets Amanda. She evolves into Annie, determined to reach “cosmic bigness.” This desire burns inside of her, driving most of her thoughts and actions. When a tragic accident happens to Amanda, Annie is faced with immediate panic that spirals into her uprooting her life and bringing on a lifetime of regret.

In this life-altering moment, Annie moves away and becomes Cass. Annie begins to write a worldwide sensation, and in this phase, becomes Cate Kay. She wrote in an effort to remember Amanda slipping reference upon reference into her book, The Very Last. The novel she show more writes shows how Amanda will always play a ghost in Annie’s life, and her inescapable regret of leaving her behind after the accident. Living comes with inevitable regret. Some grapple with more than others, but it is there for everyone. I couldn’t understand why Annie left Amanda in that pool. I was mentally screaming at her to go back, and with every word I read, I was hoping she would. But she didn’t. And while this is all fiction and I don’t understand it, it really isn’t for me to understand. Regret and guilt are personal; I can’t decide how Annie is supposed to live her life any more than I can choose for anyone else.

My main takeaway from this story is that regret is inevitable, it is personal, and it is important to find grace and forgiveness. Annie let her regret consume her, writing a parallel to the worst moment in her book, seemingly unable to forgive herself. She finally finds this forgiveness when she attends a book club discussing one of the character's actions, stating, “I just can’t make a decision about her based on this one action – we’re all so much more, and less, than our best, or worst moment.” Who we are is shaped by our best experiences but also our worst ones. Those moments we wished we had acted differently are essential to growth. To grow into better people, we need to learn from our mistakes, forgive ourselves, but also love who we are, regardless of the regret we must live with. show less

Favorite Quotes:

Sidney is not someone I want as an enemy. Or, really, as a friend. No relationship at all was my preference.

Apparently, he’d wanted to make her an honest woman (eye roll), but then a few months after I was born decided he didn’t want honesty that bad.

“You know what I love about you?” “Do tell,” said the other, solicitously. “It’s like . . . ummm . . . how do I explain this? It’s like you hold me steady, but without holding me still.”

…our relationship always felt like such a tenuous thing. Aside from storytelling, Cass’s greatest gift seemed to be absence— that she could easily vacate her physical body. She was almost always somewhere else, and I had started to take it as a personal show more affront.

I’ve never let myself fully relive this memory before. It’s always been front and center but cordoned off behind yellow caution tape. No doubt my brain’s way of protecting me from feeling as I do right now, which is like a bomb of regret has exploded all over me and no amount of scrubbing could ever remove the stain

She wasn’t above such tactics— no one who succeeds in politics is. We’d both gotten our hands dirty over the years, and likely would again, but also, we donated monthly to six different nonprofits and sat on the board of three others— morality is a delicate ecosystem.

My Review:

Agnst, twists, heartbreak, clever snark, and profoundly insightful musings and observations permeated every page of this keenly and perceptively penned tome. There was a heaping helping of angst and far more than I knew what to do with, as profound insecurity and anxiety are not my jam, but were an integral part of the main character's personal journey. This was my first experience reading Ms. Fagan's clever arrangements of words, which alternated between squeezing my heart and putting a smirk on my face. show less

This was a pretty good read! It leans on the anonymity and lack of instant communication of earlier decades. There are moments where a few phone calls would have resolved a lot, but that’s part of what makes the story work. Each main character and phase of life felt authentic and believable, which kept me invested. The pacing was excellent. I couldn’t put it down because I had to see how things would resolve. While there weren’t any shocking twists or jaw-dropping reveals, the story was heartfelt and compelling. I only wish there had been more consequences for a certain character’s actions. At times it felt repetitive, but in a way that added to the charm, like an inside joke we’re in on. Overall, it was an enjoyable and show more satisfying read. Worth picking up!

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the advanced copy. show less

I picked this book up for several reasons: the publisher's blurb grabbed me, part of the book was set in Charleston SC, and the author now lives in Charleston. The story (told from multiple points of view, with footnotes from the main character thrown in) is a good one: a love story for our times. Each character was clearly drawn, clear enough that I didn't get them confused in the mix of narrators. Charleston didn't stand out as much as I might have hoped, but it was nice to dip in to my home for 50 years for a quick visit again. And I'd pay money to read the trilogy that Cate Kay wrote.

This debut novel gives off definite [a:Taylor Jenkins Reid|6572605|Taylor Jenkins Reid|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1645653842p2/6572605.jpg] vibes; it is bingeworthy and just slightly literary, with a fictional famous woman the focus of the storyline (see [b:The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo|32620332|The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo|Taylor Jenkins Reid|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1664458703l/32620332._SY75_.jpg|46885151], [b:Daisy Jones & The Six|40597810|Daisy Jones & The Six|Taylor Jenkins Reid|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1580255154l/40597810._SY75_.jpg|61127102], etc.). I appreciated the idea of a multi-POV memoir, and the excerpts from the show more MC's post-apocalyptic bestseller were arguably more compelling than the actual novel. And thumbs up for showing that "WLW" can mean more than one thing.

Fagan uses a strange mix of melodrama and detachment so that some of the story's tragedies feel life-changing, while others are almost shrugged off. The ending itself is muted, with longed-for reunions sketched briefly or set completely off page, as if Fagan didn't want the reader to run out of Kleenex. Or maybe it's related to the author's background in sports journalism, where the most essential information is front-loaded. Anyway, as Reese Witherspoon's January 2025 book club pick, this will no doubt be as popular as Cate Kay's fictional smash. Whether Fagan's novel will yield movies, musicals, and theme parks like its counterpart is yet to be determined. show less

Annie Callahan, aka Cass Ford, aka Cate Kay, has lived three distinct lives. Therein lies the point of the title The Three Lives of Cate Kate.

Growing up in Upstate New York, best friends with Amanda, dreaming of Hollywood and an acting career. Those dreams shattered by an untimely and horrific accident.

Annie flees and becomes Cass Ford, living out of her car, having nightmares of what she left behind. She takes a writing class, meets lawyer-to-be, Sidney, and fashions out a draft of a trilogy. One that becomes wildly successful in the name of...

(you guessed it) Cate Kay. Under the tutelage of Sidney, she goes into hiding, never revealing her real name, never giving interviews, never meeting fans. Her books become a movie, then a show more Broadway play.

But, her secrets still haunt her. With a subtle suggestive nudge, she ponders the idea of a authoring a memoir of her life with all the (supposedly) dirty little secrets attached. That is the book the reader reads. And, it is quite the story...with excerpts from those that knew her, know her, and think they know her.

The question is: will she find peace when it all comes out? show less