LORI
How fitting is it that it is Lori who brings Rose Mary to Thanksgiving dinner? Why do you think she reacts to Brian’s comment at the dinner table the way she does?

ROSEMARY
How do you think Rosemary would react to reading Jeannette’s memoir? Why do you say this?
When Rex asks Jeannette to bring him some vodka and she questions her mom about it, Rose Mary says, “It’s a little late in the game to reform him now. Humor the man.” How does this comment reflect Rose Mary’s general attitude?

JEANNETTE
How does Jeannette, in what she does the year after her father’s death, seem to parallel the motifs of movement and avoidance that her family practiced when she was a child?

REX
Explain the tone of Rex’s favorite question (“Have I ever let you down before?) the last time he asks it to Jeannette? How is it different here from all other references to it in the book?

BRIAN
What do you think is significant with the decisions Brian made to both pursue a career as a police officer and to develop his passion and talent for fixing up houses?