Below are questions for discussion with your book group. All of these questions can be found in each Julia's Chocolates. I hope they spark interesting chats, thoughtful discussions, insightful comments and observations and, most importantly, no fights. Eat chocolate, have a little wine, listen to that crazy gal next to you, and have fun....and hey! Think about having a Breast Power Psychic Night! You'll never forget it!
1) Of the five main characters – Julia Bennett, Lydia Thornburgh, Lara Keene, Katie Margold and Caroline Harper – to whom do you most relate? Who are you most like? Have you had any of the same problems or issues? Do you like all of the women? Why or why not?
2) The women meet at Aunt Lydia’s house for Breast Power Psychic Night, Getting to Know Your Vagina Psychic Night, and Your Hormones and You: Taking Over, Taking Cover, Taking Charge. How did these evenings help Julia to heal and gain strength and self – esteem? How did they help the other women in the group? Would you feel comfortable having a Psychic Night with a group of girlfriends? Why or why not?
3) What did Julia learn from Aunt Lydia, Lara, Katie and Caroline? How did they each impact her life? How did she impact theirs? What woman has been a role model for you? Have you ever had a group of women friends who changed you? How so?
4) Throughout the book we get glimpses of Julia’s lonely, abusive childhood. How did her childhood effect her adulthood? What decisions did she make that were direct results of that childhood? How did it effect her relationship with men, particularly with Robert? Do you think she will ever totally find healing in regards to her relationship with her mother?
5) In the beginning of the book Julia Bennett hates her breasts. Her hatred is based in her childhood and the men that abused her under her mother’s deliberately turned eye. She calls her breasts Mammoth Melons and wants to have surgery to have them reduced. By the end of the story, has she changed her mind about her breasts? What does our culture and society say about women who have large breasts or women who use surgery to augment them?
6) Discuss the way the author used religion in the book. What part did faith and church play in the book? How did it define characters? Did the author accurately portray Christians?
7) Julia’s Chocolates is filled with women dealing with problems: Abusive men, alcoholic husbands, meth addiction, abused children, financial problems, cancer, joblessness, cheating spouses, struggling marriages, loneliness and hopelessness, etc. And yet, the book has many humorous moments. How has the author balanced and juxtaposed one against the other? Was it effective?
8) Why did the author include Shawn and Carrie Lynn? How do the children help Julia to exorcise her own childhood pains and loneliness?
9) Aunt Lydia constantly proclaims that “men are pricks.” “They drive up in tractors, toss us lingerie that we’re supposed to model for them, making us feel downright cheap with our breasts yanked to our throats, then we’re to tickle their teensies and they drive off!” Does she really think this? Describe Stash and her relationship with him. Why has she chosen not to marry him?
10) At the end of the book, we find that Caroline Harper has rejected all trappings of wealth. Why would she do this? Why do you think she prefers solitude and country living? How has being a psychic affected her life? How has it affected her emotional health? Would being a psychic be illuminating and life – enhancing or a terrible burden? Why?
11) Lara Keene leaves her husband because she needs to find herself. She says, “I can’t live like this. I’m trapped. Every day I feel like I’m acting the part of someone I’m not.” Has Lara chosen to act the part of someone else or was she forced into the part? Can you relate to this statement? Why precisely is Lara unhappy?
9) Lara says that her husband, Jerry, “…loves who he thinks I am, who he wants me
to be! And I’m not that person. I can’t be that person anymore, I just can’t.” Is she right? Did Lara’s husband, Jerry, love Lara for herself? Or did he love her for who he thought her to be? How did their relationship change from the beginning of the book to the end? Do you think they have a future together or will Lara leave again?
12) Katie Margolin stayed with her husband, despite his abuse and his alcoholism.
Why did she stay? How did her husband’s abuse trap her in that situation? Was she right to stay, especially when her husband’s abuse hurt the children, too? Did she stay only for the children or were there other reasons? What was the catalyst to her leaving? Do you respect Katie for staying in her marriage or not?
13) Julia knows from the beginning that Robert will come after her in Oregon and that her physical and emotional health, perhaps her very life, is endangered. She receives blank letters and, finally, a dead cat, sent from Robert to make sure she knows he has found her. And yet, Julia does not leave Golden, Oregon. Why does she stay? Why doesn’t she run again?
14) In many ways, this book is about courage and triumph. How did Julia, Aunt Lydia, Lara, Katie and Caroline show courage? What did they each need to triumph over in their lives? Did they succeed? How did they change from the beginning of the book to the end, or did they? What situation in your life challenged you most? Can you relate that situation to any the characters endured?
15) Where do you see Julia Bennett, Aunt Lydia Thornburgh, Caroline Harper, Lara Keene and Katie Margold in ten years?
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