I’m so glad you stopped by our book club meeting. Come in, pour a glass of wine, I drink red, so if you want white, I hope you brought some, and pull up a chair as we discuss My Year of Really Bad Dates, the most gripping memoir of its time.

But seriously, thanks for choosing my debut book for your book club. I appreciate it, and I want to know how the conversation goes, so drop me a line in the contact section of the site and let me know how it goes. If you are a member of the book club that chose my book, you are my target demographic and I wanted to give you something more than “Let’s all go around the room and tell our worst date stories!” Not that I don’t want to hear those…I absolutely do. But you might want to dig a little deeper and I’m happy to get you going.

1. How would you interpret the anecdotes about the author’s family (maiden and married) in the context of personal identity?
2. In what way does the author’s narrative discuss the theme of heritage and its impact on her life?
3. How do the women in the book reflect generational expectations and how do the women treat and relate to each other?
4. Does epigenetic trauma play a role in the author’s life? In yours? How?
5. What are your worst date stories: You know you want to hear ’em!
6. Do you think dating has changed in the last twenty years?
7. After reading the book, is the author a success of failure? How do we as a society judge what success is?
8. How does the author’s definition of success evolve in the narrative?
9. Where does the author insert humor into the narrative during serious moments in the book?
10. Who do you think was the author’s most offensive date and why?
11. What are the different ways of identity and self-acceptance that the author explores?
12. How long should you be out on a bad date?

If you have better questions than these, drop them in a note to me. I’d love to hear them.