The Next Chapter: "Almost Life" by Kiran Millwood Hargrave
“It is the condition of the heartbroken to believe no one has felt as they have, ever in the history of the world. It’s an affront to feel otherwise….The sooner you accept that for every lover there is someone suffering, the sooner you’ll heal.” - Kiran Millwood Hargrave
There's something quite precious about first love.
For some, it's tender and sweet. For others, it's charged with an undeniable, self-destructive chemistry. But whatever shape it took, it leaves the same thing behind: a person you think about when a certain song comes on.
Maybe you were nineteen. Maybe it was a summer that didn't last. Maybe nothing even happened - it was simply a moment where something could have, and then the moment passed, and life carried on being perfectly good in a different direction.
And still. Twenty years later, a song plays, and there it is.
We all have one. The road not taken, the choice unmade, the version of ourselves that exists in a life we didn't pick. The almost life…
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In our next gathering of The Next Chapter Book Club, we're stepping into Almost Life by Kiran Millwood Hargrave - a sweeping, sensual love story that begins on the steps of the Sacré-Cœur in the Paris of 1978, where two young women, Erica and Laure, meet one sultry summer and set something in motion that will shadow the next thirty years of their lives.
Together we'll follow them across decades and continents and choices: the lives they built, the ones they let go of, the pull they could never quite outrun. We'll talk about first loves and the strange permanence of them, about the paths that branch away from us, and about whether the people who change us are ever really behind us.
So bring your softest heart, and maybe the name you've never quite stopped thinking about.
And as the last of the August sun sets down to close the summer, we’ll ask ourselves: does the road not taken ever really close? Or does it just run quietly alongside the one you chose, the whole way
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📍Anne&Max | Domstraat 4, 3512 JB, Utrecht
August 30th, 2026
13:00-15:00 (2 hours)
Price: €14.99 (access to the meet up, drink + pastry of your choice**)
**vegan and gluten-free options included
What to bring: a curious mind and an open heart (physical/electronic copy of a book is a plus ;))
Cancellation Policy:
To ensure the smoothest experience for everybody, the meet ups have limited capacity.
If you are unable to attend, you are entitled to a 70% refund if cancellation happens no later than 48 hours before the event.
If cancellation happens after the set time, the ticket becomes non-refundable.
About the club:
The Next Chapter is not your typical book club.
We are an intimate Utrecht-based literary circle for curious and ambitious women who enjoy great books - but crave the conversations that keep going long after the final page.
Through carefully selected reads, thoughtful discussions, and immersive themed gatherings, we create an inspiring space for women to exchange ideas, challenge perspectives, and connect through stories that leave you seeing your own life slightly differently.
Think books worth staying up for.
Conversations with real depth.
And a room full of brilliant women who light each other up.
Because at the heart of it all lies the belief: ordinary life holds more magic than it lets on.
And the right book, in the right room, is how you find it.
Does it resonate with you?
If so, let’s start with your own Next Chapter.