Lost in the Forest

Lost in the Forest (2005), a work of literary fiction by Sue Miller, follows a woman who must rebuild her life after her husband’s death and keep her daughter from falling into an inappropriate romance with an older man. Nominated for the 2006 Orange Prize for Fiction, reviewers praise its expansive plotting and detailed characterization. Miller is a bestselling American novelist and short story writer who taught English for almost 10 years. She is best known for her novel While I Was Gone, which was a 2000 Oprah’s Book Club top pick.

Lost in the Forest takes place in Northern California. The main characters are Eva Albermarle and her middle daughter, Daisy. Eva runs an independent bookstore in a small town just north of San Francisco. She is happily married to her second husband John, who is a good father to her three children. she loves John more than anything and couldn’t be happier with her life.

Eva has three children—Emily, the eldest, Daisy, and Theo, the youngest. John is Theo’s father, but he treats Emily and Daisy like his own daughters. At just three years old, Theo is significantly younger than his sisters, and they don’t have much in common. Emily often feels more like Theo’s mother than his older sister.



One day, John is out walking with Theo and Eva when he accidentally steps off the curb and falls into the road. A passing car hits him and he crashes into a nearby lamppost. He dies almost instantly. John’s death turns Eva’s world upside-down; she doesn’t know what she will do without him. Theo is too young to comprehend what happened, but Eva is worried the trauma will scar him for life.

Daisy and Emily turn to their father, Mark, for support. Eva divorced Mark after he told her about an affair with a local barmaid. The affair lasted an entire year. Although Eva still loved Mark, she threw him out immediately and filed for a divorce. She moved away with Daisy and Emily, and now they only see Mark a few times a year. Mark loves his daughters, but he is irresponsible and doesn’t want his children getting in the way of his bachelor's life. Now, when they need him more than ever, he doesn’t know how to support them.

Eva often compares Mark to John. John was everything Mark isn’t—shy, awkward, and loving. He cared deeply for Eva, and he always treated the girls as if their opinions mattered. He never did anything without their approval, and the girls knew they could rely on him for everything. Now that John is gone, it’s as though the family’s rock has disappeared. Everyone feels lost and adrift.



With Eva sinking deeper into a depression every day, Emily keeps the family afloat. She resents Eva for making her take on so much extra responsibility while she’s only a young woman herself. She’s so busy looking after Theo and Daisy that she doesn’t have time for her own life, including cheerleading practice and boys.

Meanwhile, Daisy grapples with her own needs. She’s a teenage girl looking for stability. At the same time, she’s dealing with hormones and a growing interest in sex and romance. Emily tries to warn her about sex and how she shouldn’t get mixed up with boys, but Daisy feels she is missing out on something fun. If Emily can enjoy sex, then it’s only fair that she can, too.

With John gone, Eva is looking for a distraction. She confides in Mark, and they start flirting again. Emily hopes her parents get back together so she can be a teenager again. A high school senior, it’s time to start having fun. Sick and tired of playing the parent, she neglects Daisy.



In the meantime, Daisy finds solace in a family friend, a very controlling older man who has always fancied Daisy. Taking advantage of her vulnerability, he teaches her about sex and how to please men. He isn’t interested in her sexual pleasure, only his own. Not wanting her parents to spoiling things, Daisy doesn’t tell anyone about their relationship.

Eventually, moving through her grief, Eva pays attention to her family again. She notices that something is wrong with Daisy. When she finds out about the relationship, she blames herself for not keeping a closer eye on her daughter. Mark says it’s his fault because he’s an absent father. They make Daisy give up the relationship, and they warn the man to stay away from the family forever.

As the family moves on. Mark decides that Daisy needs therapy, and she agrees to attend some sessions. Emily doesn’t apologize for anything and, instead, focuses on rebuilding her popularity at school. Daisy decides to join the school theatre club and to develop new interests. Eva and Mark decide to give their relationship another shot.