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Note: the following discussion guide contains spoilers, as well as references to critical plot points and the conclusion of The Whispers by Ashley Audrain.
Ashley Audrain, a Canadian writer, made her debut with The Push in 2021. Following its success, her second book, The Whispers, hit shelves in 2023.
This novel is a gripping psychological thriller exploring motherhood sacrifices, marital dynamics, female rivalry, friendship, and the fallout of intentional ignorance.
The Whispers by Ashley Audrain
Inspired by a podcast chat between Gayle King and Oprah, the story revolves around characters masking doubts to project perfect lives, echoing the theme of intuition as whispers.
In this guide we will go through the complete summary and ending explanation for The Whispers by Ashley Audrain.
Have a wonderful book club discussion! ✨
The Whispers Summary
The story kicks off with an unnamed man returning home after cheating, a mysterious incident involving his lover’s child.
The narrative unfolds after a jolting event where Whitney’s son, Xavier, falls from a third-story window. Doctor Rebecca puts him in a coma in the emergency room to reduce brain swelling. The main action unfolds in the hospital, where Whitney grapples with guilt and shame as a wife and mother.
Flashbacks, especially to a party nine months ago, unveil tensions between Whitney and Xavier. The party incident, witnessed by neighbors like Blair and Aiden, and Rebecca and Ben, adds layers to the intertwined lives.
The party incident complicates the relationship between Blair, a stay-at-home mom engulfed by her daughter’s needs, and Whitney, a business-savvy mom seemingly having it all. Blair, feeling insignificant and envious of Whitney’s seemingly perfect marriage, sneaks into Whitney’s house, uncovering coffee spills in Xavier’s room and Aiden’s key in Whitney’s drawer.
Suspecting an affair, Blair still visits Whitney at the hospital but is rebuffed due to Whitney’s struggles with motherhood. Whitney, overwhelmed with fear that Xavier will recall the incident, nearly attempts suffocation in his hospital bed.
Meanwhile, Rebecca grapples with her fifth pregnancy after four miscarriages, feeling like a failure. Dealing with guilt and inadequacy, Rebecca had lied to conceive against Ben’s wish to stop trying. She builds a unique connection with Mara, an older Portuguese American woman in the neighborhood, facing her own trials with a miserable marriage and a deceased son. When Mara’s husband collapses, she delays calling paramedics, harboring a sense of responsibility for her son’s death.
Blair suspects Whitney’s involvement in Xavier’s accident, especially after her daughter Chloe admits to bullying Xavier on the day of the incident. Feeling guilty, Chloe urges Blair to take a card and gift to Xavier in the hospital. During the visit, Blair witnesses a moment between Ben and Whitney, hinting at an affair.
When she tries to expose this to Jacob, Chloe’s father, he focuses on protecting his wife, warning Blair about the knowledge he holds regarding Chloe’s actions. Despite the warning, Blair spreads rumors about Whitney’s responsibility for Xavier’s accident on online message boards.
As Rebecca grapples with a miscarriage, Mara, the neighborhood observer, hints at Ben’s infidelity. This revelation prompts Rebecca to confront Ben, leading to the painful truth about his betrayal. Despite Ben’s declarations of love, Rebecca throws him out.
A revealing flashback exposes that it was Ben, not Aiden, involved with Whitney. On the night of Xavier’s fall, Ben and Whitney were interrupted by Xavier witnessing their intimate encounter. Earlier that evening, Xavier and Whitney had a heated argument, leading to Xavier expressing a desire to disown her as his mother. Whitney, in response, mentioned leaving him. When Xavier shouted, they fled, and his leaning out of the window caused the fall.
Upon Xavier’s awakening, Whitney avoids him for two weeks. When he finally speaks, he hints at revealing everything, leaving Whitney anxious. Blair, despite evidence of Aiden’s affair (not with Whitney), returns to him. Mara regrets meddling in her neighbors’ lives, realizing it was a distraction from her unhappy marriage. Rebecca, though wounded, is free from her unfaithful husband, suggesting a chance for a fresh start and perhaps a different path to motherhood.
The Whispers Ending Explained
So, what happens at the end of The Whispers?
In the final chapters of The Whispers, Rebecca emerges stronger after confronting Ben. Despite enduring a fifth miscarriage, she embraces solitude, finding the strength to move forward. Mara’s wisdom holds true – when Rebecca needed resilience, she discovered it within herself and glimpsed a promising path ahead.
Conversely, Blair chooses to move ahead with Aiden, convincing herself that her suspicions were baseless. Her intuition, however, was accurate; Aiden has been unfaithful, just not with Whitney. Blair’s fixation on power struggles with Whitney blinds her to the possibility of another woman.
Having learned in her youth that enduring a husband’s lies is part of being a “good woman,” Blair opts for the familiar, accepting Aiden’s humiliating infidelity for the sake of feeling secure.
Whitney understands Blair’s inclination to endure, a factor in her silence about Aiden’s actions. Despite thinking she could let go of control, Whitney proves otherwise. Attempting to manipulate the narrative, she is aided by her husband’s willful ignorance.
Similar to Blair, he avoids confronting uncomfortable truths, building a façade of ignorance. Whitney, in piling lies upon lies, unknowingly sets the stage for her downfall. Her son senses the impending truth, foreseeing a moment where Jacob can no longer feign ignorance and Whitney’s secrets unravel. The impending revelation threatens to shatter the illusion of control that Whitney desperately clings to.
In the novel’s conclusion, Mara demonstrates heightened self-awareness, questioning her role in her neighbors’ lives and pondering if her interference went too far. However, this self-awareness doesn’t pave the way for a happy ending. Despite her realization, Mara remains isolated, burdened by memories of her son Marcus and feeling responsible for Xavier’s fall.
Rebecca, perhaps due to her childless status, achieves a genuine self-control absent in Blair and Whitney. For Mara, motherhood leads to a tragic choice favoring her son over her marriage. Even Rebecca, driven by the consuming desire for a child, resorts to deception.
The text hints at Whitney’s insight when she likens motherhood to a “voluntary death.” It manifests as Blair losing her identity, Whitney compromising her morality, and genuine intimacy perishing in all marriages depicted, including those of Mara and Rebecca. The toll of motherhood is a prevailing theme, suggesting its transformative impact on individuals and relationships.
How did you like the ending of the novel? Happy reading! ❤️