Summer with My Sisters (36 page)

1.
The book begins some time after the major, life-changing events in the lives of four young women, the most recent being the passing of Oliver Higgins. Though each character is still grieving, each has had time to move past the initial brutally painful phase of loss and begin to adjust to the new reality. Talk about some of the ways in which grief affects and even determines choices and behavior. For example, Poppy wonders if the grief she felt after her mother’s death contributed to her making the poor choice of Ian as a friend and lover. Evie/Sophie runs away from her aunt and uncle’s house after her cousin’s careless remarks regarding the father /daughter dance highlight her own sad situation. Daisy tells us that both she and Violet refused grief counseling after the death of their mother. Do you think they should have been made to talk to a counselor? Do you think the experience of counseling after that first death might have better prepared them for the loss of their father? Or do you think that both children and adults alike should be left to find their own way through grief, supported only by love?

2.
Secrecy is an important theme of the book. Evie/Sophie keeps secrets in order to protect herself from being discovered as an underage runaway. Violet keeps the fact of her panic attacks to herself so as not to trouble her sisters. Allie says that everyone keeps secrets about themselves and their past and doesn’t see it as a big deal. (Recall that though she has known Poppy for some time it is only during the course of this story that she reveals the fact that her parents are still alive.) As for Poppy, she keeps to herself the fact of Jon’s kiss because she wants to cherish it all on her own. When is keeping a secret (one’s own) justifiable and when—if ever—is it not? Daisy and Joel are in a different situation. They are asked to keep Evie/Sophie’s past a secret (unaware that they are being told at least a partial lie). How does this prove dangerous or potentially so? Poppy tells Daisy and Joel that in spite of their good intentions they were irresponsible to make such a promise to Evie. Do you agree?

3.
With which Higgins sister did you most identify? For which sister did you feel the most sympathy? Poppy—beautiful and privileged, but racked by self-doubt and worried that she will never live up to the example set by her parents. Daisy—intellectually inclined and at times overly concerned with the welfare of others. Violet—an old soul who passionately believes in the sanctity of all life and of a world beyond what we can see. Do you have a favorite sister and if so, why?

4.
The Higgins sisters share a strong sense of the duties involved with hospitality, something they learned from their parents. Talk about the varying reasons for the sisters welcoming their three very different houseguests—Allie, Ian, and Evie. When is it acceptable to ask a guest to leave one’s home? Certainly, no one would question Poppy’s decision to toss Ian back to Boston! But consider Evie. Poppy tells Jon that though she knows Evie can’t stay at the house on Willow Way forever, she would be very reluctant to ask her to leave before Evie had found good year-round employment and a safe place to live. Think back to the conversation between Poppy and Jon in which they talked about the natural hesitation one would experience before inviting a homeless person—child or adult—into one’s home. Where does concern for one’s self and one’s family at the expense of others less fortunate become selfish or wrong? Does it ever?

5.
A popular adage tells us “home is where the heart is.” While most people would agree that this is true to a great extent, talk about the importance of an actual, physical place that one can call home. When is an actual, physical place alone not enough to create a home? On a related subject, consider the importance of personal possessions and the value we place upon them. Daisy thinks about how much “stuff” she has and how much she takes it for granted. Evie/Sophie tells us that before the accident she never realized how good and comfortable her life was, and that once having had possessions makes it that much more difficult to live without them. While few people would argue that material objects alone bring happiness or stability, talk about how items such as family relics and photographs and jewelry associated with special occasions hold great and tangible meaning.

6.
Joel expresses the opinion that when Evie/Sophie lied to him and to Daisy, she made them somehow complicit in the lies. Both admit to being a bit angry about this, though they also admit to understanding why their friend felt the need to lie repeatedly. Talk about how lies vary—from socially “required” lies to white lies; from intentionally damaging lies to lies meant to protect the liar or the one being lied to. How is telling a lie different from keeping a secret?

7.
The character of Dan Steuben might be said to have “fallen through the cracks.” While
Summer with My Sisters
is a work of fiction and not a detailed study of a social system erected to help people in various stages of need or distress, talk about how a person such as Dan—fairly privileged and successful—might descend to the state of losing all and becoming homeless. How might he have been allowed to become addicted to painkillers? How might friends and colleagues have failed to see or perhaps chosen to ignore warning signs of addiction or depression? On a related note, just after Evie/Sophie runs away from the Higgins home, Violet suggests that no one really
looked at
Evie/Sophie. In a way she might also be referring to her own situation. If Violet’s friends or family had really
looked at
her, do you think they might have detected her inner distress? How difficult is it to discern another person’s true state of mind if they are determined to keep it hidden? Can a “witness” be blamed after the fact if she didn’t know what she was witnessing?

8.
Jon tells Poppy that he doesn’t believe total independence is always a good thing. Talk about independence and interdependence. Is total independence possible, given that we exist in community even when we attempt to turn our backs on it? Daisy notes that if something bad happens to Evie/Sophie while she is on the run, it will negatively affect everyone with whom she had been in close contact. Consider Evie/Sophie’s fear of being too closely known, and thereby losing (at least until she turns eighteen) what autonomy she has achieved. And then consider her terrible loneliness and isolation, and her need to reach out to Daisy. Remember that before Jon, Poppy had never been in love. Might that have something to do with her not being ready for or understanding the need for interdependence?

9.
We are told that Annabelle and Oliver Higgins were formidable people, a power couple of sorts, deeply in love with one another and highly successful in their careers. All three of their daughters feel the urgent need to live up to the standards set by their parents as well as the need to make their parents proud. And all three girls dream of saving—rather, of failing to save and even accidentally killing—Annabelle and Oliver. Do you think there is an unhealthy element to Poppy, Daisy, and Violet’s attachment to Annabelle and Oliver’s memory? Do you think this element, healthy or not, might only have developed after the deaths, as a side effect or an expression of grief? Do you think such an attachment might be outgrown over time?

10.
After the car accident in which her mother was killed and her father badly injured, Evie/Sophie’s mourning took the form of an absolute rejection of her father as innocent of her mother’s death. In other words, Dan Steuben became Evie/Sophie’s enemy, someone for whom she could feel no sympathy whatsoever. Gradually, over the course of the novel, we see Evie/Sophie begin to acknowledge her father’s suffering and to feel the smallest bit of sorrow for him. By the novel’s end, father and daughter are actively rebuilding their once close relationship. Talk about the chances of Dan and Evie/Sophie regaining the emotional closeness they once lost. Can they? Or will the new relationship be just that—entirely new? Do you believe that Evie/Sophie will occasionally be revisited by the anger she felt toward her father for his inability to face life as a parent after the accident? And will Dan ever get entirely past the guilt he feels for failing his daughter?