1. While there are many themes in this book, what do you think this book is most about? Family? Mental illness? Generational differences? Love?

2. What do you think about the title of the book, Cage's Bend? To what does it refer? Does it have a symbolic meaning?

3. Harper, the youngest son, says at a Thanksgiving dinner, "I'm thankful for the women in the family....To my mind the women in our family tower over the men. In fact, in society as a whole, women tower over men" (p. 324). Do you agree with him?

4. Do you think the author, being a man, has a "male" point of view of women? If so, how?

5. The author's description of mental illness in this book is extraordinary and moving. Did Cage's bipolar disorder-and seeing it from both inside his head and from the viewpoints of his family members-change your own ideas about mental illness?

6. Over the course of Cage's illness, his family responds to him in different ways. Eventually they try "tough love." Do they maintain that stance? Do you feel it works? Talk about the process they go through, from their initial reaction to the final response in the book.

7. The author doesn't moralize about recreational drugs in this book, but he does seem to come to a conclusion about drug use. What do you think his position is and why?

8. The book begins with a quote from Carl Jung about the importance of acknowledging our emotions and the danger of ignoring them. "Whenever we give up, leave behind and forget too much, there is always the danger that the things we have neglected will return with added force" (p. xi). Does this happen to any of the characters in the novel?

9. How are the three brothers in the novel alike? How are they different? Can you identify some elements that make siblings alike or different from each other?

10. Another interesting idea in this novel is the question of life after death. Nanny has had a "near death experience" and believes in life after death (p. 208). Cage sees and speaks to the dead Nick while he's incarcerated. Is there a continuation of life "on the other side"? What are your thoughts? Does this belief make a difference in how we live?

11. An examination of the purpose of family is an important theme in this novel. Harper says, "I think that families are put here to help each other through this thing, life, whatever it is" (p. 345). According to the mother, Margaret, "The nuclear family has much to answer for" (p. 364). Do you think families are something to escape from or rely upon? Should we return to an extended family, like the Rutledges do?

12. This book begins and ends with a foot race. Why? Is the race symbolic?

13. What is your prognosis for Cage? In other words, what do you think his future holds?

14. Getting back to the women in this book, the two brothers end the book by finding good women. Do you think a woman frequently "saves" a man and establishes stability for the family? Do you think men are the "weaker sex"?