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Reading Guide
1. Erin says “… once you know something, you can never
not know it. Your life becomes before and
after. The mountains you thought were
important become barely noticeable pebbles, and things you hadn’t even known
existed become the Himalayas of your soul.” Have you ever had an event in your
life that sliced your life into “before” and “after”?
2. Erin faces the difficult choice of deciding whether to get tested for the mutated BRCA gene, which can confer up to an 80% risk of breast cancer. What would you have decided?
3. Erin is afraid to take flying lessons, but seems compelled to do so. Why? What do you think flying represents to her?
4. Erin lost her father at a young age. How do you think this affects how she feels about her mother’s mortality? Her own?
5. People keep telling Erin that she should wait until she is older to find out if she carries the BRCA mutation. Would you have been able to wait? What would you tell your own daughter?
6. Erin knows that if she carries the BRCA gene that she will have the option of having a double mastectomy and her ovaries removed, or to take a “wait and see” approach. What would you decide? Do you think your answer would be different if you had watched your mother or another relative go through cancer as Erin did?
7. Early in the book, Erin says, “I’ve always loved words and the way they make sense, and make you feel, make you understand things, but I just never saw myself as the person writing those words.” What do you think it meant for her to publish the blog and talk about her mother and the choices she faces?
8. Miriam tells Erin the story of Hannah Senesh, the Hungarian teenager who dies in a Nazi prison. Why do you think she tells Erin this story?
9. Erin says, “Courage is not always big and bright and loud; sometimes it’s as silent and small as true words, a smile when you’d rather weep, or getting up every day and living with quiet dignity while all around you life rages.” Can you think of a time in your life that you or someone you know has lived their life with this kind of small courage?
10. Miriam tells Erin that she refuses to live her life in despair. Do you think Erin will be able to do this? Would you?
2. Erin faces the difficult choice of deciding whether to get tested for the mutated BRCA gene, which can confer up to an 80% risk of breast cancer. What would you have decided?
3. Erin is afraid to take flying lessons, but seems compelled to do so. Why? What do you think flying represents to her?
4. Erin lost her father at a young age. How do you think this affects how she feels about her mother’s mortality? Her own?
5. People keep telling Erin that she should wait until she is older to find out if she carries the BRCA mutation. Would you have been able to wait? What would you tell your own daughter?
6. Erin knows that if she carries the BRCA gene that she will have the option of having a double mastectomy and her ovaries removed, or to take a “wait and see” approach. What would you decide? Do you think your answer would be different if you had watched your mother or another relative go through cancer as Erin did?
7. Early in the book, Erin says, “I’ve always loved words and the way they make sense, and make you feel, make you understand things, but I just never saw myself as the person writing those words.” What do you think it meant for her to publish the blog and talk about her mother and the choices she faces?
8. Miriam tells Erin the story of Hannah Senesh, the Hungarian teenager who dies in a Nazi prison. Why do you think she tells Erin this story?
9. Erin says, “Courage is not always big and bright and loud; sometimes it’s as silent and small as true words, a smile when you’d rather weep, or getting up every day and living with quiet dignity while all around you life rages.” Can you think of a time in your life that you or someone you know has lived their life with this kind of small courage?
10. Miriam tells Erin that she refuses to live her life in despair. Do you think Erin will be able to do this? Would you?