1. In Flesh Wound, Mick Cochrane broaches the painful subject of incest. How do you think he handled it? Did it seem realistic? Was it difficult for you to read about?

2. In the beginning of the book, Phyllis is protective of Hal, helping him escape from the police, not seeming to be angry or accusatory toward him. Explain how she emerges from an almost invisible character to become the protagonist. How and why does her attitude toward Hal change throughout the book? Is Phyllis a likable character?

3.In discussing Ellie's obsession with her furniture restoration class, Cochrane writes: "It was the act of restoration above all that fascinated her: scraping and burning and sanding away layer after layer and discovering finally the wood beneath, smelling it, letting it breathe, after all those coats of paint and stain and shellac and God knows what.... Recently she had heard about dipping things ... she had even dreamed once of being dipped herself, burned pink as a newborn in a frothy cauldron and emerging clean and raw" (p. 28). How does this symbolism relate to Ellie's past and current struggles?

4. Each chapter in the book comes from a different character's point of view. How does this balance out the story? Discuss the different ways each child sees Hal.

5. Maureen claims that Hal never touched her. Do you believe this, and if not, what makes you question it? How does her attitude toward the men in her life make it easy to see why she would forgive Hal or block out the memory of his abuse?

6. At one point in the story, Ellie partially blames her mother, his sidekick, for Hal's abuse. How do Ellie's feelings for her mother change by the end of the book? How does the fire bring Phyllis and Ellie closer together?

7. Does Hal ever acknowledge the damage he's done to his family? How do you think he views himself? Do you ever feel sympathetic toward him, and if so, why?

8. How does Grace's birth change Calvin's feelings toward his father? What makes him lash out at Hal on his front steps?

9. When Phyllis gets her car washed, she imagines her [car's] undercarriage being eaten away, the metal slowly corroding, dark spots forming (p. 103). How is this a foreshadowing of the ending of the book? How do you feel about Phyllis's illness? Does she seem at peace with her life in the end?

10.. How is this a foreshadowing of the ending of the book? How do you feel about Phyllis's illness? Does she seem at peace with her life in the end? 10. What prompts Ellie to slip the note under Hal's door? What makes her finally forgive him and how does her forgiveness free her? How does the note make Hal feel?