The Slow Way Back
by Judy Goldman
List Price: $13.00
Pages: 288
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 0060957891
Publisher: HarperCollins
Finding her mother's wedding dress, ten-year-old Thea was
sure she had discovered a treasure -- trying the gown on, she easily envisioned
the beautiful bride her mother must have been. But when her mother discovered
her with the dress, the sight unleashed a shattering rage -- the sting
of her slap across Thea's face lasted a lifetime. Her mother's irrational
anger, coupled with Thea's already strong feelings of disconnection toward
her father and only sister Mickey, caused Thea to feel like an outsider
in her own family. Married to a non-Jewish man, unable to have children
and her parents now dead, Thea acquires eight letters by her grandmother
to her grandmother's sister written in Yiddish in the l930s -- just before
and after Thea's parents wedding. The cache of letters promises to answer
some of Thea's life-long questions, but Mickey urges her not to have the
letters translated. Trusting her own instincts, Thea has the letters deciphered
and indeed begins to unravel the secrets of her own family. In the end,
Thea faces some grave prospects in her life, as well as the multitude
of questions raised by these letters -- questions about marriage, sisters,
and what it means to belong.
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1. What does the title mean to you? What meaning, or meanings, does the title have for Thea?
2. Which of the two sisters did you most identify with -- Thea or Mickey? Why?
3. In what ways were Thea and Mickey dependent on each other?
4. How would you compare the relationship between Thea and Mickey with the relationship between Mollie and Florence? With the relationship between Bella and Celia?
5. Why did Aunt Florence refuse to reveal the details from the past to Thea? Was her behavior a result of loyalty to her sister, Mollie, or betrayal?
6. How was Thea's childhood (growing up Jewish in Rock Hill, South Carolina) similar to yours? How was it different?
7. How do Bella's experiences in her adopted new country compare with stories you've heard about members of your own family who emigrated to the United States?
8. What significance does the yearning to belong have in the story?
9. Were you surprised that Thea had no desire to try to locate her real father?
10. How do you believe Thea's newfound knowledge will change her life?
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