by Karen White
Q. Loons play a prominent role in the story—they are in the water, on quilts, and in Rainy Days, being nursed back to health. What does the loon mean in the context of the story? Why is it important?
A. While I was researching this book and trying to find native wildlife to use in the book, I came across the Indian legend of the loon and I was hooked on this amazing and unusual bird. I thought it serendipity when I discovered that loons are found in the northern United States and Canada and migrate south, through North Carolina, for the winter. To have a loon stop in North Carolina and decide to stay instead of flying farther south would make such a wonderful statement in the novel. I like to think that the loon symbolizes the beloved Jude, still present in the lives of those who loved him. The loon is also necessary to remind Caroline about what she used to be as a champion swimmer, and how much she misses the water. The call of the loon brings her back to the past, to happy memories of Jude and the good parts of her childhood, and is a catalyst for her change. Symbolically, the loon is set free at the end of the novel, just as Caroline is freed from her past.
Q. Every character in this story has his or her own way of dealing with grief—Caroline closes off from others; Margaret fusses about; Drew changes his entire way of life. Which coping mechanism do you most identify with?
A. I think I identify a little with all three, but I find myself acting more like Caroline in dealing with grief. Like Caroline, I can make myself believe—at least for a little while—that if I don’t talk about it or acknowledge the “bad thing,” then it doesn’t exist. I think it’s a survival mechanism, perhaps, shielding those who need to be shielded until the psyche is ready to deal with the pain.
Q. Do you quilt? Are you involved in a quilting group?
A. My friends and family find it amusing that my protagonists always have wonderful skills like gardening, cooking, sewing, or—in this case—quilting. Unfortunately, I’m woefully ignorant of all the above. However, I have two friends who make memory quilts, the kind of quilts Caroline makes in Pieces of the Heart. The first one that I saw was to be a gift from a mother to her daughter who was graduating from high school. It was so beautiful and so moving and I knew it was only a matter of time before I had to have one appear in a novel. I was so pleased to be able to use the whole memory quilt idea and process as a major part of this book.
Q. What’s the message of this book, to you? Did you have this message in mind when you began to write the book, or did it emerge over the writing of the book?
A. As I see my parents get older, and as I raise my own children, I find myself looking back at my childhood more and more. I examine my old hurts as a child would pick at a Band-Aid, not always sure I want to see what lies beneath. We often ask ourselves why certain things still sting, even after the passage of so many years. I found it very cathartic, as an author, to write about a parent and adult child bringing the old hurts to the surface to face the light of day, exposing them in new and unexpected ways. I suppose the message of the book would be that it’s never too late to ask for forgiveness—of others or of oneself. Subconsciously, I probably had this in mind when I started the book, and I allowed Caroline and Margaret to take over and say it for me.
Q. Caroline and Margaret’s relationship is one of the most fraught in the book. What is it about the mother-daughter dynamic that makes it so difficult for people?
A. When people ask me to tell them about this book, I always tell them this is the perfect book for any woman who’s ever had a mother. It’s pretty universal. As a daughter, and as the mother of a daughter, I think I have a unique perspective about this relationship—it seems we’re always trying to emphasize how different we are from our mothers, but how much our daughters are like us. It’s like we’re trying to correct the errors of the generation that came before us while passing on only good to the one that comes after us. And we don’t understand why our daughters don’t agree! In Pieces of the Heart, Margaret and Caroline are so much alike in so many good ways, but they don’t recognize it until they must face another crisis together.
Q. What are you working on now?
A. My next book, tentatively titled Learning to Breathe, is set in rural Louisiana and focuses on the youngest of five grown sisters, Brenna O’Bryan. Brenna lives on the surface of her life, never delving too deeply into it for fear of being disappointed. She collects unopened war letters, liking the way they feel, as if she is holding in her hand possibilities of what might be. When she discovers an entire mailbag filled with old letters from a WWII soldier who still lives in her town, she uncovers an ill-fated love story and unravels a secret from her own past. This sets in motion a chain of events that forces her to examine the assumptions that underpin her life.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
1. In this story, water emerges as a motif and plays different roles throughout. Describe those roles. To whom is water important? Why?
2. How does quilting help these characters? What is it about quilting that opens up their lines of communication?
3. At certain points in the novel a character will observe to him-or herself how alike Caroline and her mother are. In what ways is this true? How are they different?
4. Drew is having second thoughts about taking control of Rainy Days. He seems to miss working in a courtroom. How does he resolve his doubts?
5. Caregivers assert that there are five stages of grief—denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance. What stage of grief is each of the main characters in? Give proof to support your ideas.
6. Jude was the favorite son—a golden boy. When he dies, Caroline quits the one thing she is better at than Jude, and stops swimming. Why does she quit? What finally leads her back to the water?
7. We get to know Shelby through Jewel’s eyes as she reads her mother’s diary. What kind of woman was Shelby? What kind of mother?
8. Why does Drew pursue Caroline, even when she makes it clear that she has no interest in his attention?
9. Why does Jewel keep Jude’s quilt a secret?
10. Caroline and Drew find an injured loon and nurse it back to health at Rainy’s shop. What does the bird symbolize to them?
11. Why does Caroline resent her mother so much? What does she learn over the course of her stay at home that makes her change her mind, and how do they resolve their differences?
12. In what ways does Drew feel he’s failed as a father and a husband? How does he try to make up for these past failures?