Discussion Questions

  1. Angie was raised in an Old Order Mennonite family. Old Order Mennonite beliefs and lifestyles are similar to those of the Amish. What do you know about these groups of people? If you wanted to learn more, how would you go about it?
  2. Old Order religions safeguard their cultures by limiting exposure to the modern world. If you were suddenly thrust into an Old Order community and had to live by its standards, what would you miss about modern life? How would your life become harder? How might it become better?
  3. Their Christian faith is the center of Old Order communities. Are you a spiritual person? If so, how do your beliefs or participation in a faith community impact your daily life in what you do and how you look at the world?
  4. As you learned about Angie and how she grew up, did you notice inconsistencies with how she was treated and what the family claimed to believe? Have you ever been involved in a situation like this on either end? Was it resolved in any way?
  5. The influence of Angie’s upbringing becomes noticeable as she interacts with Ty and Scottie. How did having a disabled brother when she was young help her relate to Scottie? How does this and her inclination to be helpful aid or hinder her relationship with Ty?
  6. Do you think Angie’s marriage to Earl influenced her relationship with Ty? Why or why not. When Ty starts dating Erin, do you think he realizes Angie’s feelings for him?
  7. In the hospital, Ty reacts with anger toward Angie. Was he justified? Why did he behave that way? What did you think when he asked to spend the night with her and she agreed?
  8. If a friend presented you with a list of things to do to improve your life and then took off, how would that make you feel? Would you work the plan like Angie did or ignore it? How did Angie benefit from Ty’s suggestions. Were they good ideas? What else might Angie have done?
  9. How do Marion and Jared add to Angie’s life? What do you think they each gained from their friendship with her?
  10. The secrets about her life that Angie uncovers shake her world and everything she believed about herself. How did what she learned affect Anna and Samuel? How might their lives have continued if the secrets remained buried?
  11. When Angie fled to Buffalo in hopes of finding Ty, what did she want from him? How did his relationship with Lacy affect Angie? Why did she want to pursue a sexual relationship with Ty? Had it gone the way she wanted, what effects might it had on their futures?
  12. What are your feelings about how Angie dealt with Samuel? Is that something you could have done in similar circumstances? How might her life have been different if she had chosen another direction?