1. How is Whittaker and Cassandra’s behavior responsible for Cassandra’s accident? If you do not think it is responsible, then what is?

2. Cassandra thinks God is punishing her for her misbehavior with her fiancé. How does her thinking coordinate with the Bible’s teachings?

3. How could Cassandra have better managed her guilt?

4. At what times in your life have you had physical or emotional scars you believed made you unlovable, perhaps even to the Lord, as does Cassandra? What helped you get through such a time?

5. Which character do you believe behaves in the most reprehensible manner during the story --- Cassandra’s father, Whittaker, the Luddites, someone else? Why do you think so?

6. Can you step into these character’s shoes and see the world from their perspective? Are they still in the wrong? Why or why not?

7. In what way could Whittaker have better handled his objection to Cassandra’s desire to fly in a balloon? What did he do right?

8. In what way could Cassandra have better managed the conflict between her desire to fly and Whittaker’s objections? What did she do right?

9. How did you manage any situation in your life when you longed to perform a feat, take a job, pursue a career, or do something else to which others objected? How did you reconcile it with being a loving wife, mother, child, friend, sibling, etc.?

10. Who do you think is truly responsible for the tragic consequences in this story?