Same As It Ever Was: A Novel

Same as It Ever Was (2024) is a novel by Claire Lombardo that traces the life of a woman named Julia Ames from childhood through marriage and motherhood in contemporary Chicago and the surrounding suburbs. Through shifting timelines, the novel explores Julia’s internal conflicts as she faces changes in her life and seeks to reconcile her personal identity with motherhood and marriage. Author Claire Lombardo is from the Chicago suburb of Oak Park. Her previous novel, the New York Times bestseller The Most Fun We Ever Had (2019), was also a novel about a Chicagoland family.

This guide references the 2024 hardcover edition published by Weidenfeld and Nicolson.

Plot Summary

Julia, a mother whose children are grown, reflects on her life. She grew up in Chicago with her acerbic mother, Anita, who has an alcohol addiction and worked as a cashier. When Julia was eight, her father, Lawrence, abandoned the family, and she never saw him again, although he moved only a short distance away. Julia was a bright student, earning a scholarship to attend a private high school associated with the University of Chicago. There, she felt alienated from the wealthy, comfortable students, who she believed judged her for her working-class background and absent father. As a senior in high school, Julia learned that her mother hid her father’s death from her for four years. Anita’s then-boyfriend took advantage of Julia in this vulnerable moment, and they had an affair. When Anita found out about it, she blamed Julia. After graduation, Julia attended Kansas State University to get away from her mother, whom she saw rarely afterward.

Julia left school without finishing and moved back to the Chicago area, where she worked part-time as a library assistant, a bartender, and a barista. She met Mark by chance when he offered her quarters for her parking meter. He’s a scientific researcher at the university. They began dating and, after a few years, married. Julia soon got pregnant, and they were excited about the birth of their first child, Ben. Julia decided to stay at home with her son rather than return to work at the library because she wanted to be more attentive than her mother had been.

By the time Ben was three, Julia was struggling with the demands of being a stay-at-home mother, and her relationship with Mark had stagnated. One particularly difficult day, Julia was crying at the botanical gardens when she met Helen Russo, a volunteer 20 years her senior. Helen was supportive of Julia, and they became friends. When Helen left for Florida for the winter, Julia had an affair with Helen’s 24-year-old son Nathaniel. Julia nearly left town with Nathaniel but had a change of heart and instead called her husband. Mark was deeply hurt by her affair. Two years later, Julia asked Mark to have another child in an attempt to reinvigorate their relationship. He agreed, and Julia soon gave birth to their daughter, Alma.

In the novel’s present, 20 years later, Julia runs into Helen at the grocery store while getting supplies for Mark’s 60th birthday. This prompts her to reflect on the choices she has made. A few weeks after the birthday party, Ben tells her and Mark that his girlfriend, Sunny, is pregnant, and they’re getting married. Julia is shocked but eventually becomes supportive. She tries to support Sunny (whose family is critical of her decisions) because she sees something of herself as a young woman in Sunny. Meanwhile, Julia’s daughter, Alma, is preparing to leave for Herzog College, and Julia faces the prospect of an “empty nest.”

At Ben’s request, Julia invites Anita, her mother, to Ben and Sunny’s wedding. Anita initially declines the invitation but a few weeks before the wedding agrees to come. Anita arrives with her new husband, Marshall, whom Julia knows nothing about. She learns from Marshall that Anita has close relationships with his daughters. Julia and Anita make some steps toward reconciliation.

The morning of the wedding, Julia stops by the florist to pick up the flowers for the wedding. Before returning home, she stops by Helen Russo’s house and gives her some flowers, and they agree to spend more time together. Then, Julia attends her son’s wedding. That night, at the reception, Julia, Mark, Ben, and Alma dance together. It’s a moment Julia never forgets.

Two years after the wedding, Mark dies suddenly of an aortic aneurism. Julia misses him for the rest of her life.