St. Martin’s GriffinReading Group Guide
1. Initially, Claire thought her parents had been wrong in teaching her that a college education would ensure success, but she eventually saw that her education helped her unexpected business venture. What other things did they teach her that helped her just as much or more? Do you think some lessons your parents taught you are outdated?
2. Have you ever been faced with a life-changing “leap of faith” the way Claire, Brooke, and Lorraine were? If so, did you go for it? Which of the three women had the most to lose? To gain?
3. Claire was the “good daughter,” but Derek was definitely a selfish user. When you love someone, it is very difficult to determine when you cross the line from loving and supporting to enabling. What signs should Claire have seen and heeded? Would you have acted any differently in her circumstances?
4. Brooke’s philosophy early in the book was that you could just as easily fall in love with a rich man as a poor man. Did thinking that make her a bad person? Do you agree with her?
5. Lorraine was the perfect executive wife and mother who finally decided she wanted to have a life for herself. Was there anything she could have done to help Hamilton accept her decision? When is it all right to give in to your husband on some issues and when is it not? Give examples.
6. Three women had a profound effect on the men in the story that in turn influenced their relationships with Claire, Brooke, and Lorraine. Gray by Jana’s betrayal, John by his wife’s death, and Hamilton by his amoral mother. Emotional baggage has sabotaged many relationships. Why do you think Gray and Claire, John and Brooke, and Hamilton and Lorraine survived?
7. Brooke and John thought they were in lust, not love. How can you tell the difference?
8. Should women use withholding sex as a way of teaching their husbands a lesson as Lorraine did? If problems can’t be resolved before going to bed should the discord stop at the bedroom door?
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