Reading Group Guide

1. Esther’s husband, John, lets her believe that they’re going on vacation, when in fact he is delivering her for treatment at an isolated clinic. What do you think of this deception and the way Esther is physically constrained at the beginning of her treatment?
2. The treatments for mental illness—including postpartum depression and posttraumatic stress disorder—were not very advanced in the 1950s. How were you affected by the portrayal of mental illness in the book?
3. Rachel interferes in both Esther’s and Leah’s life. Was she right to do so in both cases, or should she, particularly in the case of Leah, have left her alone? When is it okay to interfere in someone else’s life?
4. In contrast to Esther’s cloistered existence on the island, in 2018 marine scientist Rachel is free to roam the world. Rachel’s freedom, however, seems to come at the price of connection or real intimacy. What do you think of the novel’s depiction of the freedoms women enjoy today? Do freedom of movement and career choice always come at the expense of a meaningful personal life for women or is it possible to have both? Is this still different for men than it is for women?
5. Esther and Richard’s love affair begins despite medical ethics deeming that a romantic relationship between doctor and patient is unacceptable. Do you think Richard acted inappropriately in breaching this rule? Why do you think this rule exists?
6. Esther makes the difficult decision to forgo her relationship with Richard and return to her husband and child, knowing that she could not, in those times, have both. Do women today still have to sacrifice one love for another? Is it still far less socially acceptable for a mother to abandon her child than a father?
7. Esther goes on to have another child, and then pursue an unusual career that requires great mental fortitude. What do you think of her resilience and her refusal to let such personal tragedy define the rest of her life?
8. The forbidden relationship between Robbie and George echoes that of Esther and Richard, but has a far more tragic outcome. How have such things changed from the 1950s to now?
9. Esther comes to love her life on Little Embers, finding it a refuge rather than a prison, and Rachel too loves the isolation offered by life on a small island. Would you be happy living in such a remote place?
10. Despite not speaking or writing to each other for nearly sixty years, Richard and Esther never forgot about each other. Do you think love can last that long, without any contact?
11. Rachel is very curious to find the author of the letters. Why do you think she becomes caught up in this love story while denying it for herself?
12. Friendship is also a theme of the novel—Rachel and Leah’s fragile friendship, Rachel and Noah’s, Esther and Robbie’s, and Esther and Richard’s. Do you think the portrayals of friendship here are realistic? Why do you think Jean fails to find any meaningful connection with the other characters?