Book Club Questions

1. Stuart Reynolds was the beloved brother of Katie, but he was certainly immature in some respects. What if any qualities did you like about Stuart?

2. Considering the times, how difficult would it be for Katie to become a doctor? Do you know of anyone who has felt subtle restrictions to pursuing certain professions? Do you think women are still stifled in some careers today?

3. Katie Harris is far from perfect. What are her faults and attributes? Will any of these characteristics help her as she pursues her medical education?

4. Katie suffered mildly from PTSD with the snakes from her childhood experience and from the smell of unwashed bodies as a trigger to revisit her battlefront hospital experiences. Katie tends to ignore her flashbacks and is embarrassed by them. What are some of the ramifications of Katie not seeking help or talking with someone about these problems?

5. Dr. West’s mother Bertha will be against the marriage of her son Liam to Meghan. Did you find yourself disliking Bertha West? Why?

6. Were you surprised that rattlesnakes once populated northeastern Ohio? As much as you may dislike Daryl Plumpton’s methods, do you think he and Hans were clever enough to get away with the murder of Meghan and Tricia if Katie, Liam, and Brett hadn’t caught them?

7. Tricia McDowell is trying hard to make something of herself, so she hides her Irish brogue, reads books on etiquette and uses novels to guide her in living as a lady. Do you think it’s possible to be accepted in Liberty’s social circle with women such as Mrs. Dubois and her group of gossips? Have you ever witnessed the actions of “mean girls”?

8. Hannah is like a mother figure to Katie, since her own mother died when she was quite young. She is old-fashioned in her beliefs and doesn’t want Katie to pursue a medical education. Do you think she is wrong to discourage Katie’s ambitions? Do you think any parent has that right?

9. Cliff Yosterman is a seedy character who could be described as a stalker. Not much was done to stop his stalking Tricia. Do we do enough today to thwart a stalker? What recourse do women or even men today have that Tricia didn’t in 1865? Are restraining orders effective enough to help or even save a person stalked?

10. What did you think of Victor Ross? When children are bullied, they may hold a grudge even into adulthood. Ross was bullied as a child and continues the vicious cycle of bullying as an adult. Have you ever witnessed bullying by one adult to another adult at work or in social situations?

11. There has always been a prejudice against gypsies. In 1865, they were feared and hated because of their reputation as thieves. During WW II, the Nazis killed nearly a million gypsies. Today we call gypsies travelers, Roma or Romnichals (rɒmənɪˌtʃal) when they hail from Great Britain. In the U.S., they often live in trailer parks and apartment and are not as nomadic as in the past. Do they still carry that same stigma today in the U.S.? Or are their lives romanticized? How about in Europe?

Note: https://www.everyculture.com/multi/Du-Ha/Gypsy-Americans.html

12. There were more deaths during the Civil War from illness, such as measles, dysentery and other water-born diseases than from deaths due to warfare. When you think of Civil War medicine, what is the first thing that comes to mind?

13. Florence Nightingale’s methods and her book Notes on Nursing was just beginning to be practiced in the U.S. during the Civil War? Katie mentioned a few of the methods practiced by Nightingale. What contribution to medical care strikes you as her most important impact?

14. Andrew Peyton is Katie’s unrequited love and she often thinks of him. Do you see Caleb Brown as stepping into Katie’s life? If circumstances allowed it, which man do you think is a better match for Katie?

15. Who is your favorite secondary character in this story? Meghan, Hannah, Tricia, or Caleb? Why?