Book Club Discussion

What was life like for Addie’s Mother?
Does the role of women differ much between Addie’s day and today?
What do you find most surprising about the role of women then? Now?
Which woman had the greatest influence on Addie—her mother, Great Aunt Adaline or Grandma Beedle?
What did you think about the men in Addie’s life: her father, her grandfathers, her brother?
In being away as much as he was, did her father support or abandon his family?
How was the family impacted by the economic climate of the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl?
How did the tightknit community help each other?
Why did Addie want to leave for nursing school? Why do you think her mother initially discouraged her?
How is the economic meltdown today similar or different for people in small towns? Big cities?
Has the book increased your interest in the subject matter? In what aspects?