1. LIKE FAMILY follows the intertwining lives of three couples: Ruth and Wyn; Caroline and Mike; and Tobi and Evie. How are these couples’ lives and struggles similar? How are they different? Did you relate to one couple or character over others? Discuss.

2. In all three central couples in LIKE FAMILY, some characters are torn between primary loyalty to a spouse --- or to a best friend. What did you make of this dilemma? Have you ever found yourself in a similar situation? What do we owe to our romantic partners? To our friends?

3. What role do secrets play in the novel? Who keeps them? Who finds them out? Who wishes they hadn’t been told something at all?

4. How do the characters reckon with different levels of ambition --- in themselves, in their communities, and in their marriages? How has this challenge shown up in your life?

5. How do the characters' past experiences shape their current relationships?

6. How do the adults’ choices affect their children’s lives? Was there any point where you would have made a drastically different choice than one of the characters? If so, what was it --- and how do you think that would have changed the story?

7. Discuss how the theme of motherhood plays out in the novel --- and, to a lesser extent (sorry, Mike and Elliott), fatherhood.

8. The definition of family in this novel is an expansive one. How do you define family in your own life? Who do you consider family, whether or not you share blood?

9. How does the setting of Radclyffe and its many contrasts (moneyed and middle class, urban and rural, etc.) influence the plot?

10. What other themes did you notice in LIKE FAMILY? In what ways do these themes appear in your world?