1. When Hannah was a girl, she idolized her father. Which of his traits do you think had the greatest effect on her? Do you see some of Buzz Legare in Hannah as an adult?

2. What do you think really happened to Buzz? How would Hannah’s life have been different if he had been confirmed drowned soon after he went missing?

3. How does Hannah’s obsession over what might have happened to her father shape the person she becomes? Do you think the absence of her father contributed to her “fall” in some way?

4. Some of Hannah’s trouble might be said to be the result of self-sabotage. Could you relate to the way that she pushed her own marriage to the limit?

5. Palmer is ambivalent about taking his relationship to the next level with Tom. How would you compare their situation to Hannah and Jon’s relationship?

6. Do you think Tom is justified in being upset when Palmer balks at the idea of adoption?

7. When Hannah returns home after her fire-escape catastrophe, why is Palmer so reluctant to see her? What do you make of Hannah’s relationship with her mother, Daisy?

8. At first, Hannah has little patience or respect for her stepfather, DeWitt. If you were her, would you feel the same way? How does her opinion of him change?

9. Which of the book’s main characters do you most relate to?

10. Back home, Hannah seeks out her first love, Warren, and she’s surprised that he’s become a minister. What do you make of the paths that each of them has chosen? What might their lives have been like if they had stayed together?

11. Palmer had a fraught relationship with his childhood friend, Shawn. Could things have fallen out differently for them? What do you make of their reunion, decades later?

12. Warren tells Hannah that, despite the trouble in her relationships, “You’re the most faithful person I know.” What do you think of his statement?

13. At one point Palmer rises to the defense of canines when Hannah says, “Men are such... dogs.” Who do you side with? What’s your take on the book’s title?