2. Kat finds it easier to talk about her treatment decision to Malcolm, a stranger, than she does to her own daughter. Is this believable? Have you or would you ever confess something to a stranger? Why is it sometimes simpler to discuss difficult topics with someone you don’t know?
3. Kat hides from the scars on her body, but Malcolm’s example starts her on a path toward potential acceptance. What about yourself do you have difficulty accepting? Do you know someone else who has been successful in dealing with the same issue?
4. Nirav seeks Malcolm out when they first meet, telling him “we are the same” despite enormous outward differences. In what ways are Kat, Malcolm, and Nirav on similar paths? In what ways are they different?
5. Kat takes comfort from her petrified wood pendant, and Nirav treasures the bowl that reminds him of his mother. Do you have a talisman that holds special meaning for you? What is the story behind that connection?
6. Scott is forced to take risks he had never imagined in order to save his daughter. How does Malcolm’s opinion of him change during the story? How does Scott’s view of himself change? How can pressure cause us to change?
7. Kat makes an enormous effort to save the dogs despite the risks and complications that result. Do you have animals in your life? Would you have made the same choices?
8. “I finally decided to embrace what life handed me, even though it wasn’t what I was seeking.” What does this quote mean to Malcolm? To Kat? Does this resonate with anything in your own life?
9. Were you satisfied with the ending? What do you think the future holds for Kat and Malcolm?
10. If you could change something about this book, what would you change and why? If you could ask the author a question, what would you ask?
AUTHOR BIO
Rebecca Hodge is an author of fiction, a veterinarian, and a clinical research scientist who lives and writes in North Carolina. Fiction writing is the space where her creative side comes out to play, and her writing centers on characters who discover that life is not a spectator sport. She has three grown sons, two crazy dogs, and one patient husband. When not busy writing, she loves hiking, travel, and (of course) curling up with a good book.
This is a work of fiction. All of the names, characters, organizations, places and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to real or actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2020 by Rebecca Hodge
All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Crooked Lane Books, an imprint of The Quick Brown Fox & Company LLC.
Crooked Lane Books and its logo are trademarks of The Quick Brown Fox & Company LLC.
Library of Congress Catalog-in-Publication data available upon request.
ISBN (hardcover): 978-1-64385-292-8
ISBN (ebook): 978-1-64385-313-0
Cover design by Mimi Bark
Book design by Jennifer Canzone
Printed in the United States.
www.crookedlanebooks.com
Crooked Lane Books
34 West 27th St., 10th Floor
New York, NY 10001
First Edition: February 2020
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