To my publisher, Michelle Halket: you absolutely rock! Thank you for your incredible editing expertise and for helping me take Roam to the next level!
To Taylor Hein whose incredibly astute last-minute editing suggestions were spot-on! I’m awed by your insight and grateful for your input.
To Mrs. Helen Miner, retired vocal music teacher at El Reno High School in El Reno, Oklahoma, and 2017 inductee into the Oklahoma African American Educators Inc. Hall of Fame, for inspiring the character of Mrs. Miner. You are one of those teachers who touches the lives of every student. Thank you for loving and inspiring so many of us!
To Linda Curtis, and the Curtis family, who loaned this amazing woman to the Rochester, Minnesota, community for so many years. Thank you for your love and service to the community through your work with the Saturday Noon Meals. Meeting you changed my life, and I’m so blessed to have known you. Rest in peace, dear lady, and know your legacy lives on through those whose lives you touched.
To my mother, Marion Hedrick, and my inlaws, Nancy and Doyle Armstrong, for your endless support and belief in my abilities.
To my “Book Besties”—authors Amanda Linsmeier, Kelly Cain, Jamie McLachlan, and Bianca Schwarz. Thank you for keeping me from losing my mind through this entire process. I’m so grateful for your friendship—and for Amanda’s mad titling skills!
To fellow authors Cara Sue Achterberg, Cathy Lamb, Lorna Landvik and Brandon Hobson for your friendship, mentoring and endless encouragement. I owe you each a debt of gratitude and I’m thankful to call you my friends.
To Dr. Catrina Bitner Bourne and Annamaria Williams Hager, Family Nurse Practitioner, for answering my countless medical questions related to medications and seizures. Any errors are entirely mine. Also to Jim Klepper for your spiritual guidance related to the character Jim Kaspar.
To Mayo High School teachers Pattie Ekman and Amy Monson for your edits on the earliest drafts and for the sensitivity reads related to Josh. I love you both and am so grateful to count you as friends.
To Laura DeVilbiss whose skill with voice acting brought Abby to life for the video trailer.
And finally, to my early readers who provided feedback, suggestions, and critique on the overall story and characters. Among those amazing people are Laura Taylor, Sara Hill Bendickson, Terry Johnsen, Donna Cole, Julie Lingo, and Juliana Lee. I couldn’t have done this without your help!
The inspiration for Roam was borne out of a 2014 feature article about a “soup kitchen” I was assigned to write for Rochester Women magazine. Known as the Saturday Noon Meals, this weekly offering was run almost entirely by the organizer, Linda Curtis, with the assistance of community volunteers and donations. There, the most needy in the community were not only provided a weekly meal, but they were treated as human beings and valued members of the community. To say this experience was life-altering to me is not an exaggeration, and I am incredibly grateful to Linda Curtis and her weekly guests for opening my eyes to the needs of the poverty-stricken in my community.
ROAM BY C.H. ARMSTRONG
DISCUSSION
We learn in the first few chapters that Abby’s friends ditch her after they find out about her mom’s scandal. How do you feel about her friends’ actions? Was there another way they could’ve handled it to stand by Abby without getting burned by the situation themselves? What would you have done?
In the first several chapters, Abby is furious with her mom, blaming her for their living situation. But is blaming her mother fair? Is she too harsh?
When Abby wanted to go to the football game to watch Zach play, Nick gives her some of what little money they have left, saying it was important that she be able to go. Do you think that was a good use of that money? Why or why not?
When Abby finds herself homeless, she guards her secret closely. Was this the right decision? How would you have handled this situation if you were Abby.
When Abby and her family visit the Community Kitchen and meet Mrs. Cummings, they find the camaraderie of the people much different than at the Salvation Army. What thing(s) do you think are responsible for that difference?
Forgiveness is a central part of the characters’ lives. Nick must forgive Claire, Abby must forgive her mother and Trish. In Chapter 7, Nick counsels, “Forgiveness isn’t about the other person, it’s about ourselves.” What do you think he meant?
Nick makes the decision to break the law and ‘squat’ in the basement of the church. Do you think he did the right thing? Why?
Abby’s family is experiencing what they hope is a temporary situation. Are there different types of homelessness that people could endure? If there are, do you think it is important to differentiate between different types of homelessness?
Is homelessness a problem in the town or city where you live? How does it make you feel when think about it?
C.H. ARMSTRONG WRITES ISSUE-DRIVEN YOUNG ADULT AND WOMEN’S FICTION, and freelances part time as a magazine columnist. An assignment to cover the twenty-year anniversary of a local soup kitchen piqued her interest in the homeless community and inspired Roam. She is also the author of The Edge of Nowhere.
charmstrongbooks.com
@C_H_Armstrong
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