1. Were Leah and Sadie responsible for bringing most of their problems upon themselves?

2. Does God call us to Leah's kind of ultra-patient lifestyle, or was her meek and tenacious approach to life overdone? Was she a doormat? How does such an attitude mesh with our modern-day empowered-woman mentality?

3. Were Leah and Sadie wrong or appropriate in keeping the secret of Jake from the People? Considering the circumstances, and their puritanical lifestyle, what would you have done?

4. What can we incorporate into our own lives from the Amish culture?

5. Are there any negative aspects to the Plain lifestyle that we should be wary of?

6. Does the Old Order belief system represent mind control or does it provide a necessary protective environment from the wiles of the world?

7. Should Dr. Schwartz have been prosecuted?

8. Does God reward faithfulness (in the daily and sometimes mundane responsibilities of life) with "true love," such as Leah's surprise return of Jonas Mast?

9. The book ends with Leah not confronting Henry Schwartz concerning his parentage. Is it fair for her to keep yet another secret, this time from her biological father? Is there a time when keeping secrets is appropriate? Why or why not?

10. Western Christians speak little of suffering. Some churches teach of the happy, contented, prosperous, you-can-have-it-if-you-want-it life. Is suffering an outmoded concept in our modern high-tech society?