Maureen Lang

1. My Sister Dilly is a “sister” book. It’s obvious during the course of the story that Hannah and Dilly do love each other, but they often don’t see things the same way. Do you have sisters? Can you relate to having ups and downs, close times and otherwise, with your sister?

2. While Hannah still prefers city life, she realizes the small town she left behind has a greater sense of community than the big city she misses What are some of the advantages of living in a small town? Disadvantages?

3. Dilly made one terrible mistake that landed her in prison, rather than a series of mistakes that culminated by imprisonment. If you could imagine yourself in her position, how do you think you would deal with the idea of losing your freedom, to be sentenced with a population of people also being punished for their actions?

4. Although some of the actions of the advocates for people with disabilities are taken to extreme in this story, did you as the reader find yourself understanding the reason for such a group to exist?

5. Did you find yourself understanding why Dilly was driven to do what she attempted to do, or do you think a loving mother would never let herself get so depressed that she’d consider such drastic measures?

6. Do you think a balance can be reached between letting a person isolate if they have family challenges, and being available if needed? How would you let someone know you’re really there to help, beyond just another “How-are-you-today-I’m-fine” interchange?

7. How do you feel about persons with disabilities? Are you afraid of them? Uncomfortable around them? Do you think you could do what Hannah thought she should have done, step up and help out in the care of her disabled niece, even though she didn’t think she was capable?

8. Why do you think God has allowed physicians the knowledge and ability to save children’s lives with such profound disabilities, and yet a complete cure is still impossible, allowing life with such severe limitations?

9. Do you think Dilly’s former mother-in-law was right to try keeping Dilly away from Sierra? Do you think she did it out for love for Sierra, or spite against Dilly?

10. Do you think it’s possible for a man and woman to be “just friends” the way Hannah first defined her relationship with Mac? If either one of them would have married someone else, do you think they could have maintained their friendship?

11. Mac was willing to leave the city and live in a small town in the Midwest with Hannah. Do you think their marriage could have worked if Hannah refused to return to California?

12. Farming played a part in this book. Are there things about farming that surprised you? The GPS system? That hog manure pits are deadly? What else do you know about farming that might surprise others?

13. While completely fiction, this book was inspired by true events. How did it feel to be reminded there are real people out there who’ve made the kind of mistakes Dilly made?

1. When Rebecca and Quentin discover Berrie’s letters, Rebecca is more excited about the content than Quentin, whose relatives the letters would reveal. How do you think you would react to finding letters from a long-ago relative? Excited about the history, or only mildly interested, thinking like Quentin that such letters would have little impact on your life today?

2. The Victorian era is full of stories of philanthropic heroes. Beryl Hamilton, if she had really lived, would have been one. Do you think society has changed about how we go about doing good works? Are people more likely to give money than time, not both as Berrie did? What kind of philanthropic work would you do, if you had the time and the money to benefit a cause?

3. Lady Elise, Quentin’s aristocratic mother, is perceived in the beginning to be cold, snobbish, easily dismissive of “servants” like Rebecca. Did you like her any better by the end of the book? Did your opinion of her change?

4. Quentin accuses Rebecca of being an intellectual snob, but by the end of the story he confesses he held her on too high a pedestal. Have you ever elevated someone to a greater height than reality requires? Have you ever placed higher expectations on someone else, or had unreasonable expectations placed upon you?

5. Why do you think Lady Caroline made a point to visit Rebecca?

6. What kind of relationship do you imagine Lady Elise and Rebecca will have in the future, when Rebecca and Quentin are married? Do you think Lady Elise will ever accept Rebecca?

7. When Dana learns she’s pregnant despite having taken precautions against such a thing, she decides not to tell her husband right away. Later, she decides not to return to Ireland with him where she would have to spend her days in only Padgett’s company. Do you think she made the right decisions? For herself? For Padgett? Her husband?

8. When Simon first arrives at Escott Manor School for the Infirm, he is aghast. If you were in his position, what do you think would have shocked you most about that scene? Sights, sounds, smells? How would you have reacted if you were Simon, having found your sister Katie at last?

9. Berrie was an outspoken, strong-minded woman living in an age when women were expected to be demure, saintly, subservient. She was raised in an aristocratic home but was willing to do the lowliest task to meet the demands of the school. If her character were transported to today’s culture, can you think of a celebrity whom she would be most like?

10. Mr. Truebody is a stickler who thinks himself more important than he really is. Have you ever known someone like him? Worked for someone like him? What is the most God-honoring and effective tactic you’ve learned when dealing with someone like him?

11. Over the years, terms for mental retardation have evolved in order to ease or avoid the connotations that become associated with such terms. In Victorian times, words like “idiot,” “imbecile,” and “lunatic” were legal terms. Today it seems politically correct to use words like “cognitively challenged.” Why do you think certain words become so offensive to the general population, so offensive that as a whole we begin creating new phrases to describe the same condition?

12. The theme of servanthood is prominent in this story. Are there times or situations in your life when you chafe against being a servant to others? When you welcome it?

1. Characters in The Oak Leaves reacted differently to the knowledge that Ben’s delays involved a genetic factor. Talie’s reaction was to withdraw, keeping the information to herself as long as possible. Luke was more pragmatic, but at one point he finally realized this was something he couldn’t “fix.” Dana’s reaction was to push everyone away, including Aidan. How do you think you would react if you learned you were a carrier for a genetic disorder?

2. Some of Luke’s dialogue suggests that Talie interferes in her sister’s life. Talie saw herself as a concerned older (and wiser) sister. In what way do you think Talie acted in the best interest of Dana, and in what way did she end up hurting her?

3. Do you think things would have turned out differently for Dana and Aidan if Talie had told Dana sooner that she is probably a carrier for a genetic disorder?

4. In the playgroup Talie attends, one of the other young moms bluntly asks Talie if she wants to know what’s wrong with Ben. Why do you think her questions to Talie were so hurtful, even if she didn’t intend them to be?

5. During the course of the story, Talie decides not to have an amniocentesis to determine if her new baby has Fragile X Syndrome, because there is a slight risk to the baby. Do you think it would have been better for her to have the test, or did she and Luke make the best decision for them?

6. Have you ever known a family who received a serious diagnosis on one of their children? How has their faith been impacted? Would your faith be impacted if you had this happen to you?

7. Toward the end of the book, Talie’s mother offers to bring her friend for a “pastoral” visit in the hope that talking with someone else who’s suffered would help. Talie rebuffs the offer. How would you have reacted?

8. Talie and Luke pray together for God to help them in their unbelief. Have you ever been through something that made you doubt God? Or His goodness? How did you make it through that time?

9. Though Talie’s father is dead, it was from him she inherited her Fragile X carrier status. Do you think if he’d been alive it would have changed their relationship? Do you think it would have brought them closer or torn them apart?

10. Peter Hamilton’s mother, Lady Hamilton, did her best to keep Peter and Cosima apart once she learned of Cosima’s “curse.” Would you have acted differently if you were in her (historical) shoes? What if this happened today? How would you react if your child planned to marry someone who carried a genetic disorder? How would you feel about marrying someone who carried a genetic disorder?

11. Cosima thought of Peter as an optimist. Do you think if he’d been a pessimist he might have changed his mind about wanting to marry Cosima once he learned about her family background?

12. Reginald Hale professed faith in a God that seemed to love Peter Hamilton more than He could love someone like Reginald. What do you think of Reginald’s views about God?

13. Dowager Merit proved herself to be legalistic but in the end fair-minded toward Cosima. How do you think she would have handled it if the genetic disorder had come from her side of the family?

14. One of the verses in Cosima’s journal is from 2 Corinthians 12:9: “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” (KJV) Have you ever seen Christ’s power turn your own weakness to a strength? Something that benefits not only you, but Christ’s kingdom here on earth?