“Kate,” he said over his shoulder, and lifted his chin to indicate something that was happening outside. They looked at each other quickly, and smirked. Some private pride about one or both of the kids, Francis knew.
And then he saw what he’d never seen before, which was that Peter was fine. And Kate was fine. Lena was fine. And he, Francis Gleeson, was fine. And that all the things that had happened in their lives had not hurt them in any essential way, despite what they may have believed at times. He had not lost anything; he’d only gained. Was the same true for Peter? For Kate? Yes. And yes. Would they be somewhere more magnificent than this were it not for everything that had happened? Would their lives have been fuller and happier? Looking at them now, he didn’t see how it would be possible. For the very first time, he felt that Peter was his blood.
“Hey,” Lena said, coming up behind him and putting her hands on his shoulders. He could feel her looking at the pictures again, so he looked, too.
“You know what I think?” she asked.
“What?” Francis asked.
Lena tightened her grip. She leaned down so that he could feel the warmth of her face against the crook of his neck.
“I think we’ve been luckier than most people.”
He let that swell over him like a wave, and when he bobbed up from the black water, his chest full, his body tired, the sky looked more blue than when he went under.
“What do you think?” she asked, the softness in her voice belying the strength of her hands.
“Yes,” he said. “Yes.”
acknowledgments
I’m deeply grateful to several trusted readers and friends who took time away from their own novels and other obligations to read early pages of Ask Again, Yes in very rough form, and whose questions helped me see these characters more clearly. Many, many thanks to Jeanine Cummins, Mary Gordon, Kelsey Smith, Callie Wright, and most especially to Eleanor Henderson and Brendan Mathews, who read several drafts and kept urging me forward.
To the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation for selecting me. The fellowship bought me additional writing time while I was working on this novel, but more importantly, it gave me confidence when I needed it most.
To Lesley Williamson and the Saltonstall Foundation for twice providing me space and quiet to work with very little notice. I get more done in one week at Saltonstall than in three months of my real life. I wrote the last two chapters of this book in the downstairs studio there.
My deepest thanks to the NYPD officers, both retired and active, who sat with me and answered what were probably very dumb questions without flinching or rolling their eyes. I owe particular thanks to Artie Marini, Austin “Timmy” Muldoon, and especially Matt Donagher. For insight into disciplinary procedures within the NYPD when there’s a mental health concern about a police officer, my thanks to Dr. Sheila Brosnahan. Also, thanks to Dr. Howard Forman for chatting with me about forensic psychiatry when I was just beginning to think about this book, and knew absolutely nothing. Anything I got wrong is entirely on me and not on them.
To Nan Graham for acquiring this novel, and to Kara Watson for her careful edit. I’m so grateful and proud to be at Scribner once again.
To Chris Calhoun, my agent and friend, for insisting I was not yet at my limit.
And above all, thanks to Marty, for teaching me a long time ago that the only secret to love is kindness.
A Scribner Reading Group Guide
Ask Again, Yes
Mary Beth Keane
This reading group guide for Ask Again, Yes includes an introduction and discussion questions. The suggested questions are intended to help your reading group find new and interesting angles and topics for your discussion. We hope that these ideas will enrich your conversation and increase your enjoyment of the book.
Introduction
A profoundly moving story about two neighboring families in a suburban town, Ask Again, Yes is a multigenerational portrait of love marked by loss, loyalty, and grace.
When Kate Gleeson and Peter Stanhope are in eighth grade, a violent event divides their families. The children are forbidden from having any further contact, but Kate and Peter find a way back to each other. Ask Again, Yes reveals how echoes from the past test relationships and how the events of childhood look different when reexamined from the distance of adulthood.
Topics & Questions for Discussion
1. Ask Again, Yes grapples with the idea of learning from the past. What lessons do Kate and Peter learn from their parents’ experiences? What mistakes did they repeat?
2. Do Francis Gleeson and Anne Stanhope—both Irish immigrants—experience things differently than their American-born spouses? Do you think this contributes to tensions within the couples, and between the two families?
3. Ask Again, Yes is set over the course of four decades. How do attitudes toward mental health and addiction change over that time? How do these changes affect the characters? For example, how do Brian and George Stanhope differ in their attitudes toward drinking?
4. Francis marvels at how many pieces had to come together for a woman like Lena to exist and for him to have met her (page 7). What role do you think fate plays in this novel? Do the characters have free will to make their own choices? Why or why not?
5. When Kate learns about the episode at Food King, she momentarily thinks that it couldn’t have been as dramatic as Peter was making it out to be. Then she realizes that it was, in fact, the opposite, “that it was such a big deal that the adults had been careful not to talk about it in front of the kids” (page 85). What role does keeping secrets—from children, parents, partners—play throughout the novel? Do you think certain events could have been avoided if the characters had been more open with each other?
6. The idea of inherited traits and characteristics appears frequently in the novel. Trauma is another thing that is passed down from generation to generation. Do Kate and Peter address the legacy of trauma they’ve inherited from their parents?
7. Redemption is an important theme throughout Ask Again, Yes. Discuss the many ways in which the characters forgive each other.
8. The novel is divided into four parts. Discuss the significance of each of the part titles—“Gillam,” “Queens,” “Two by Two,” and “Muster.” Why do you think Mary Beth Keane chose to structure the story this way?
9. At the end of the book, Francis thinks, “It was always the same. People didn’t change” (page 385). Do you think he really believes this?
10. What does the book’s title, Ask Again, Yes, mean to you?
11. This novel is specific to these two families, yet it also feels universal in its themes. Do you see echoes of your family’s history in the Gleesons or the Stanhopes?
More from the Author
Fever
about the author
© NINA SUBIN
MARY BETH KEANE attended Barnard College and the University of Virginia, where she received an MFA. She has been named one of the National Book Foundation’s “5 under 35” and was awarded a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship for fiction writing. She currently lives in Pearl River, New York, with her husband and their two sons. She is also the author of The Walking People and Fever.
MaryBethKeane.com
SimonandSchuster.com
Authors.SimonandSchuster.com/Mary-Beth-Keane
@ScribnerBooks
Also by Mary Beth Keane
The Walking People
Fever
We hope you enjoyed reading this Simon & Schuster ebook.
Get a FREE ebook when you join our mailing list. Plus, get updates on new releases, deals, recommended reads, and more from Simon & Schuster. Click below to sign up and see terms and conditions.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP
Already a subscriber? Provide your email again so we can register this ebook and send you more of what you like to read. You will continue to receive exclusive offers in your inbox.
Scribner
An Imprint of S
imon & Schuster, Inc.
1230 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020
www.SimonandSchuster.com
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2019 by Mary Beth Keane
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information, address Scribner Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.
First Scribner hardcover edition May 2019
SCRIBNER and design are registered trademarks of The Gale Group, Inc., used under license by Simon & Schuster, Inc., the publisher of this work.
For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Simon & Schuster Special Sales at 1-866-506-1949 or [email protected].
The Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau can bring authors to your live event. For more information or to book an event, contact the Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau at 1-866-248-3049 or visit our website at www.simonspeakers.com.
Interior design by Alison Cnockaert
Jacket design by David Litman
Jacket photograph by JG Photography/Alamy Stock Photo
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Keane, Mary Beth, author.
Title: Ask again, yes : a novel / Mary Beth Keane.
Description: First Scribner hardcover edition. | New York : Scribner, 2019. |
Identifiers: LCCN 2018037021 (print) | LCCN 2018039019 (ebook) | ISBN 9781982107000 (eBook) | ISBN 9781982106980 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781982106997 (paperback)
Classification: LCC PS3611.E165 (ebook) | LCC PS3611.E165 A92 2019 (print) | DDC 813/.6—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018037021
ISBN 978-1-9821-0698-0
ISBN 978-1-9821-0700-0 (ebook)
Ask Again, Yes Page 38