QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

1. The characters in Prairie Courtship all have a dream they are following—their own or someone else’s. Have you ever followed a dream?
2. In 1841, Emma’s dream to be a doctor was all but impossible for a woman to attain. Do you believe it was God’s intervention in her life that placed her in a position that overcame the era’s overriding prejudice against female doctors to make Emma’s dream come true?
3. What are the circumstances that led to Emma’s being in that place where her dream could come true? Do you believe all that happened was a coincidence? Why or why not?
4. Emma looked on the circumstances that caused her to join the wagon train as God’s refusal of her prayers. Do you think that was true?
5. Do you think God can turn the unhappy circumstances of life into good for His children? Did he do that for Emma and those who traveled with her? How?
6. Zach was a strict wagon master, insisting on traveling sometimes when they should have stayed in one place. Was he right to be so strict with the emigrants? Why or why not?
7. We know very little about Zach’s past, except that he was in the army. Do you think he had a family? A sweetheart? What type of past do you think he had that led him to this point in his life?
8. Emma had a double burden of caring for her sister, Anne, and plying medical knowledge for the emigrants. How did she handle the stress?
9. At first, it seems as though Zach didn’t like Emma. When did this change? Can you cite the first instance where their relationship changed?
10. Did you ever think that the men on the wagon train would accept Emma as a real doctor? Why or why not?
11. Zach expresses the need to travel and not be tied down in one place. How does this change for him once he meets Emma?
12. Emma’s sister, Anne, never overcomes her grief over her lost family. Do you think it was a good idea for Anne to go to the mission without Emma? Why or why not?
13. Did it surprise you that Zach decides to become an orchard farmer? Why or why not?