2. Anne's son Evan is imperfect because he has club feet, but all children are imperfect in some way. Discuss how your own mother dealt with your imperfections. Discuss how you, as a mother, deal with your children's imperfections. In what ways is your experience similar to, or different from, what Anne goes through?

3. Anne is ambivalent about the support group she attends, often needing it yet also distaining it. Compare that to your own experience of support groups, whatever they might be.

4. Anne's husband Elie is not always perfectly supportivehelping out in some areas of domestic life and child care, not helping out in others; sometimes sympathizing with Anne's emotional turmoil, often becoming exasperated with her. In what ways do you find him typical of husbands, and in what ways is he very different? Do you like him?

5. Anne is attracted to another man in her support groupDeclan Gray. Why is she drawn to him? Do you find the author's depiction of this relationship realistic? Does it change how you feel about Anne?

6. Becoming a mother creates a need in Anne to know more about her own origins. Whether or not you are a mother, have you ever felt a sudden need to know more about your family background? Were there secrets in your family's past that you wanted to uncover?

7. Anne's mother keeps secret from her daughter the full truth about where they originally came from and the circumstances under which they left the small town of Harmony. Did you find her revelation shocking? Do you admire her for leaving and starting a new life for herself? Would you have made the same choice?

8. As many parents do, Jean makes a tremendous sacrifice for her daughter. Do you think Jean considers her sacrifice worthwhile? Is Anne grateful enough? What is a child's obligation toward the parent who gives up so much for them?