1. In the book Kitty says that the options open to women were to be "a nurse, a teacher or a wife?" Do you agree with that statement? Which would you have picked? Talk about how Jenny's experience wanting to be a doctor was changed by this narrow expectation for women. And how that narrow expectation was further narrowed for a woman of color.
2.Pregnancy and childbirth play a critical role in this story. Talk about the four major pregnancies and how they changed the character's lives.
3.Kitty, Jenny and BettyKay have difficult relationships with their parents. Discuss how those fractured relationships helped form their friendships and guided the decisions they made in their lives.
4.How did the different girls handle the sexism they encountered in the hospital and at school and in their careers? How did the men in their lives - Hugh, Dr. Fischer and Rex and Jenny's father - attempt to control them and how were they able to see themselves free?
5.Abbie and Clara are estranged at the beginning of the book. How did they grow estranged? If Kitty had not shown up at the funeral - do you think they would have continued to grow apart? Why or why not?
6. Which woman in the book do you relate to the most? Who do you relate to the least?
7. Which of the very difficult decisions each of the women made in this book did you find the most difficult? BettyKay's abortion? Kitty choosing not to be in Clara's life? Jenny leaving behind her dream of medical school and choosing to protect her brother by going to war?
Discussion Questions by
Book Club BabbleBook Club Talking Points:
This is a book about being a woman in the 60s when career choices for women were limited. It's also about female friendships, mother-daughter relationships, and the tough decisions women must make.
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