1. Why did Adie let Buck lead her astray so easily, when she had her dreams all laid out for her? Why did she allow him to continue his exploits with Imelda Jane during her pregnancy? Discuss how she first realizes she’s made a mistake marrying so young.
2. Adie’s older sisters Rebecca and Clarissa were fraternal twins. How were their personalities different? How were they similar?
3. Discuss the ways the death of Annie impacted each member of the family. Why did Adie keep what truly happened to Annie the day she drowned to herself all those years? Discuss the ways her life might have been different had she told. How did losing her sister at such an early age impact Adie?
4. Ruby dragged the girls from church to church, from Pentecostal to Lutheran, and considered the Catholic church along the way. What was she in search of?
5. What role did Willa Mae play in helping Adie come to grips with the issues in her life? Why did Adie not find it strange that Willa Mae would go off on her own to Tybee and leave her mostly alone to fend with baby Grace? Discuss some of the reasons Willa Mae might have chosen to be absent.
6. Adie finds Murphy very appealing, and he’s nothing like Buck. Discuss how this may have helped Adie see Buck in a different light.
7. How did Buck’s baby brother Andy’s death affect his maturation process? What impact did Austin’s beating have on Buck? Why didn’t Verna put Austin in an institution?
8. Buck’s father ran around on his mother for years, but he always came home. Why do you think he ran off with Norma? Was she so different from all the others? Or was he running away from the situation at home?
9. What kept Tempe going in her fifteen-year search for her children? She not only survived many tragedies, she triumphed. Why do you think she was able to enjoy her life, despite her sorrow? Discuss why it’s important that all of us do the same.
10. What were Willa Mae’s fears if she exposed to Murphy the specifics of his birth? The early and middle 1960s were a turbulent and dangerous time for civil rights. How would Murphy’s life have changed had the town found out his true heritage? What about Adie and the children? How would their lives have been impacted by it?
11. Fast-forward ten years. Where do you see Adie and Murphy and the children? By then it would be the mid-1970s. What would the children be up to? Do you think Willa Mae would still be alive and well? Would Murphy and Adie have had children of their own? Would Willa Mae be able to claim them as her very own (grandchildren)? Would Clarissa have conquered her eating disorder? How about Rebecca? Would she be working on another husband?
12. Of all the characters, whose journey touches you the most and why? Which character (warts and all) was your favorite? Least favorite? Why?