Monday, June 4, 2012

The Ruby Brooch - Book Club Discussion Questions


I hope you’ve enjoyed reading chapters of The Ruby Brooch. If you’re interested in what happens to Kit once she returns to the past, I hope you’ll jump on over to Amazon and download a copy of the book, or if you’re a Prime Member, you can borrow a copy.

I read a blog post the other day by Katy Lee about creating book club discussion questions, and while I was out running yesterday, I came up with a few.

1.     If you’ve been following Kit’s story then you know she discovered within the opening pages of The Ruby Brooch that she was not who she thought she was. She was very angry and hurt. When do you think a child should be told he/she is adopted?

2.     In the mid-1800s, women had few rights. As stories of free land in the west circulated in the east, men decided to pack up their families and risk a dangerous six-month journey for a chance to own free land in Oregon’s Willamette Valley.  Women often had no say. They packed their belongings, said goodbye to families they would never see again, and headed into the wilderness to birth their babies and follow their husband’s dreams. As a child, I remember my father moving us from Virginia to Kentucky after he accepted a call to preach at a young church in Louisville.  I remember my mom’s sadness. Many years later, my husband accepted a new job in Philadelphia. I cried for weeks over that move. Have you ever had to relocate to follow someone else’s dream?

3.     Our pets are beloved members of our families. Have you ever had to leave a pet behind, knowing it was the best decision for the animal, but it broke your heart?

4.   Have you ever walked through a dark season of life and thought it would never end? Where did your courage to continue come from? What did you rely on to see your way to the end?

5.   Kit’s birth parents and adoptive parents made life decision for her that she found frustrating. Has anyone ever made life decisions for you? Did you resist or go along with the plan? How did it turn out?

If you think of other questions to add to this list, I’d love to hear them. I’d also enjoy reading your responses to these questions.


Happy writing and running, Kathy

2 comments:

Shirl said...

1. I think children should be told they are adopted as soon as they can understand. (7 yrs old)
2. Yes, when I was 12 yrs old, my parents retired we had to move from the Berkshires (my mountains)in Ma. down to south Fla. flat no trees. I was heartbroken. I never got over my homesickness until I moved to Montana.
3. Had to sell my Mustang I was tainning and another riding horse I had when we moved from Missoula up to where we are now. I cried so much.

Unknown said...

Shirl, I agree about telling children as soon as they can understand. They will grow up knowing how special they are because they were "chosen." I can only imagine how difficult it would have been to move to a place that had no trees. Leaving behind your horses had to be the most difficult of all though. Thanks for sharing your stories. Kathy