Thank you! What a fantastic review. For those of you who haven't read the novel, TENDING TO GRACE received the American Library Association's Schneider Family Book Award for its empathetic portrayal of a young girl who stutters. It is a novel that centers around the redemptive power of love.
I live in Rhode Island and wasn't able to attend, but one of the members, Karen Vetrone, herself a writer, kindly sent me highlights of the discussion. These were moments the women thought were important to the book:
- The unfolding of Agatha and of Cornelia.
- The examples of the broken healing the broken.
-The amazing insight on the part of Agatha exemplified by her building the tee pee.
-The wonderful similes and metaphors, and the breathtaking descriptions of natural beauty.
- The almost visible melting of the stone inside Cornelia ...and of Agatha.
-How her name was so difficult for Cornelia to say… literally and emotionally.
-The wonderful nickname for the librarian.
-The amazing growth in Cornelia and her movement from rage to forgiveness of her mother.
-The clear painful description of the effects of abandonment. The damaged hearts in Agatha and Cornelia.
-The strength of the young girl Bo, and her ability to respond to Cornelia.
The women made sure food was as important to their sharing as it was in the book. One member brought in sassafras that she found growing in her back yard which used to be a horse pasture. Karen made lemon pound cake and orange cake, inspired by the story.
One woman brought cookies and a note which read, “Dear Karen, …I want to especially thank you for recommending the book. I hope I can tend to the graces in my own life and in my own self. I believe it is through our brokenness and the brokenness of others that we reach true compassion.”
Karen was also kind enough to share the questions she prepared for the discussion. Here they are:
Questions for Discussion of Tending to Grace
1. “We enjoy most the people who touch our hearts.” Who in this book touched your heart?
2. There are many types of relationships in the book. Some are healthy, others are not. Which did you find most interesting? Why?
3. Stuttering is the most obvious example of a disability in this book. What others
did you observe?
4. What is the role of friendship and how does it play out?
5. Discuss the title… does it have other than the obvious meaning?
6. How is Cornelia "caught in that lonely place between what I want
to say and what I can’t?”
7. Why does Cornelia miss and resent her mother? Is her mother believable? Why or why not? Why does her mother not make everything “all better” for Cornelia at the end?
8. Why won't Agatha speak for Cornelia?
9. What is the significance of cleaning for Cornelia? How does she see herself as a “fixer?”
10. What role does the tee pee play in the novel? Why does Cornelia need to be alone when things are really bad?
11. What is the importance of the cocoon and butterfly images in the novel?
12. What other metaphors and/or similes did you find especially meaningful?
13. What is Agatha hiding and how does this impact the novel?
14 “An experience of God is difficult to express in words, but our lives become the expression of that experience.” Is this reflected in the novel?
15. Why are books and reading and literacy important to both Cornelia and Agatha?
16. What books were important to you as a young adult?
17. Would you have liked this book?
