The End of Your Life Book Club

by Will Schwalbe

  10. Will is amazed by his mother’s ability to continue her efforts to fund the library in Afghanistan even while facing a death sentence, until he realizes that “she used her emotions to motivate her and help her concentrate. The emphasis for her was always on doing what needed to be done. I had to learn this lesson while she was still there to teach me.” (this page) Did Will learn? What makes you think so?

  11. Why did Mary Anne become so intent on certain things happening: Obama’s election, David Rohde’s safe return? Will talks about his own “magical thinking” several times in the book—what form do you think Mary Anne’s took?

  12. “We’re all in the end-of-our-life book club, whether we acknowledge it or not; each book we read may well be the last, each conversation the final one.” (this page) How did this realization affect Will’s final days with his mom?

  13. After she dies, Will looks at Mary Anne’s copy of Daily Strength for Daily Needs, next to the bed. He believes this quote from John Ruskin was the last thing his mother ever read: “If you do not wish for His kingdom, don’t pray for it. But if you do, you must do more than pray for it; you must work for it.” (this page) How did Mary Anne work for it throughout her life? Do you think Will found solace in this passage?

  14. Several times in the book, Will talks about eBooks versus their physical counterparts. Why does he prefer one to the other? Does Mary Anne agree? If you read this book on an eReader, how do you think it affected your experience?

  15. Which of the books discussed by Will and Mary Anne have you read? Which do you most want to read?

  SUGGESTED READING

  See the book’s appendix for a complete list of the many titles discussed in The End of Your Life Book Club.

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