Dancing Naked at the Edge of Dawn
by Kris Radish
List Price: $11.00
Pages: 352
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 0553382632
Publisher: Bantam
From the bestselling author of The Elegant Gathering of White Snows comes a poignant, outrageous, refreshingly liberating story about one woman whose life takes an unexpected turn....
Meg Fratano has just witnessed the unthinkable: her husband of twenty-seven years making love to another woman. In her bed. And all Meg wanted to do was watch. Quietly, secretly, watch. Then she realized her life would never be the same.
Meg isn't sure what she wants, but she knows it's not what she had. After almost three decades of marriage and two children, she has finally awakened to how unhappy she is.
Now, with the help of friends old and new, and even her teenage daughter–a former brat who has blossomed into a startlingly wise young woman–Meg just might break through the chains of everyone's expectations for her and find the strength to take the first step on her own path. To strip away a lifetime of inhibitions. To dance naked at the edge of dawn...
top of the page
1. What does Meg discover about the bonds between generations, including the women in her family and also between Tomas and his father? What is the best way to determine whether to continue a legacy or break from tradition?
2. What enabled Aunt Marcia to build such an unconventional and rewarding life for herself? Do you believe that the freedoms enjoyed by her niece's generation are secure?
3. Discuss the various members of Meg's support team–especially Elizabeth, Jane, and Dr. C. Are they an unlikely group? How do their approaches to comfort compare?
4. The men Meg thinks of most often are her son, her husband, and her father. In what ways do they influence her understanding of herself?
5. In the novel's epilogue, the poem by Chesnay Susan Thomas offers a beautiful vision of allowing a true self to emerge. If you were to encounter the infamous dancing dogs, which one would you choose? How would you describe your freedom dance?
6. What common circumstances do the women of The Elegant Gathering of White Snows and Dancing Naked at the Edge of Dawn share? What is the ultimate source of their pain? What ultimately heals them?
7. Compare the settings of the novels. What escapes from suburbia are presented?
8. Would you characterize Kris Radish's storytelling approach as realistic, fanciful, or both?
9. Which character's awakening resonated most with you?
10. If you were to experience the Women Walker Effect or participate in a Reverse Bridal Shower, what burdens would you release? What new directions would you explore? Would you need companions, or do you perceive self-discovery as a solitary process?
top of the page
