Leaving Time

Content Warning: This section of the guide contains discussion of mental illness and death.

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. At what point in reading Leaving Time did you begin to suspect the twist that Jenna and Virgil were ghosts, and what impact did this revelation have on your experience of the novel?

2. Leaving Time explores parent-child relationships through a supernatural lens. Does this approach differ from how Jodi Picoult addresses similar themes in works like My Sister’s Keeper or Small Great Things?

3. What effect did the numerous parallels between elephant behavior and human emotions have on your reading experience?

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

1. Alice suggests that elephants can “grieve hard, but then truly, unequivocally, let go” (239). When have you struggled to let go of grief in your own life?

2. In what ways do you relate to Jenna’s determination to find answers about her past?

3. Which memories from your own life would you choose to forget if you could?

4. Which character’s struggle for identity resonated most strongly with you, and why?

5. Does the novel’s suggestion that we maintain connections with loved ones after death align with your own beliefs or experiences?

6. In what ways has your understanding of motherhood been shaped by your personal experiences, and did Alice’s observations about maternal bonds challenge or reinforce these views?

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

1. What perspective does the novel offer on animal conservation and the ethics of keeping intelligent animals in sanctuaries?

2. Through its portrayal of Thomas’s bipolar disorder, what commentary does the novel make about society’s understanding and treatment of mental illness?

3. Serenity’s fall from grace after one failed prediction mirrors our culture’s treatment of experts and celebrities. Where else do we see this pattern in contemporary society?

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

1. What purpose do Alice’s scientific observations about elephant behavior serve in the overall narrative structure?

2. Which narrator did you find most reliable, and why?

3. Picoult’s novel shares thematic elements with works like The Lovely Bones in its exploration of the afterlife through a child’s perspective. How effective did you find this narrative approach compared to other novels that address similar themes?

4. Which symbol—the pebble necklace, elephant origami, or blue scarf—carries the most emotional weight in the story?

5. Did the novel’s strategy of withholding crucial information until its climactic revelation enhance or diminish your emotional connection to the characters?

6. Do you find the rules Picoult establishes for how ghosts and spirits function internally consistent, and what do these rules suggest about the novel’s themes?

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

1. If you could write an additional chapter that takes place after the conclusion of the novel, what would happen to Alice?

2. If you could create a film adaptation of Leaving Time, which actors might you cast in the lead roles?

3. What question would you most like to ask Jodi Picoult about this novel?

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