Broken
by Travis Thrasher

List Price: $13.00
Pages: 288
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9780446505550
Publisher: FaithWords

Laila had it all --- love, family, wealth, and faith. But when her faith crumbles, her world falls apart and Laila finds herself living an empty, dangerous life as a call girl in Chicago.

When she is threatened, Laila shoots and kills a client in self-defense, sending herself into a spiral of guilt and emptiness. Six months later, she is trying to move on, but she's haunted by the past. She hasn't told anyone about the man she killed, and she's still estranged from her family.

When she is approached by a stranger who says he knows what she did, Laila has no choice but to run. But the stranger stays close behind, and Laila begins having visions of the man she killed. Little does she know she's being hounded by something not of this world, something that knows her deepest, darkest secret. Click here to read an excerpt.

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1. What is the significance of setting in Broken? Do the settings, from New York to Greenville, South Carolina to New Orleans add to the characters' journeys?

2. Laila is being chased by ghosts and demons from her past. Are these in her mind, or are they real? Are they all one thing or are there multiple forces at work here?

3. In writing this novel, Travis Thrasher mentioned that he deliberately held back in revealing characters' backstories or their thoughts. How does this choice in writing affect the pace and the revelations that come later?

4. The journal entries break up the action throughout Broken, revealing a much different side of Laila. How do these impact the story and how do they work interspersed throughout the novel?

5. Did you think Connor Brenan was a ghost or real? When he comes in and reveals himself to Laila at the hotel, did you think he might still be alive?

6. Discuss the differences between the evil that Laila could see (James and Connor) verses the evil she couldn't see.

7. James and Connor aren't the only two men chasing Laila. Kylie and Lex both follow Laila to New Orleans. How likely is it that a family member would do this? How about a business colleague with a crush?

8. What exactly does Laila see at the church in New Orleans?

9. What is the significance of the pictures and the camera that Lex finds?

10. Father and parent figures play a prominent role in this story, even if they're offsite and off-the-page. Talk about Laila's father she's run away from, her deceased mother, her becoming a parent at a young age, and her view of God the father.

11. As the storylines connect at the end of Broken, how do you feel about the outcome of each character journey?

12. When you realize Laila's backstory, does it make sense what she does with her life? Talk about the theme of running away and how it relates to Laila's entire life, both physically and spiritually.

13. Laila isn't the only character who is broken in this story. Many of the characters carry a brokenness with them. Compare this with the decisions they make, good or bad.

14. Does Broken conclude with a happy ending? A bittersweet ending?

15. Do you feel that God chases after us or that instead we run into Him in the unlikeliest of places?

16. If you've read Thrasher's previous supernatural tales, Isolation and Ghostwriter, how does the style of Broken differ?

17. What is the impact of reading Laila's story on your own journey?

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