Like Mother, Like Mother

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

1. How much do you sympathize with Zelda’s character? Did your sense of sympathy change throughout the novel?

2. Do you feel very affected by your own family’s maternal legacy? If so, how? If not, why not? What is that legacy?

3. Can you relate to the way Lila processes her unresolved trauma? If not, is there another character whose experience resonates with you more?

4. What kind of mother do you think Grace will be? Will she improve upon Lila’s legacy, which improved upon Zelda’s? What details inform your opinion?

5. How have you sought both personal and professional fulfillment in your life? What obstacles have you faced? How did you handle them?

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

1. Are Ruth’s and Grace’s experiences with their husbands indicative of the time period in which we live? If so, how? If not, what are the differences?

2. Frances and Bubbe are both strong women, but Frances finds more personal fulfillment than Bubbe does. Why is Frances able to be more successful than Bubbe? What qualities does she possess that Bubbe does not?

3. The text explores the strength of maternal legacies, especially on daughters. Are paternal legacies as significant? Perhaps to sons? Why or why not?

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

1. How are the characters’ names meaningful? What do they reveal about their characters? Consider names like Ruth and Grace, those of Ruth’s biological family members, and so on.

2. The text does not move chronologically, and all characters are discussed and described in all three parts, so what purpose do these divisions serve?

3. How would the text differ if events were presented in chronological order instead of the way they are now?

4. What minor or secondary character’s story would you most like to see expanded into its own novel? Why this character?

5. There are many references to the Confederate South, including characters’ names and “Tara,” the nickname Lila gives to the Maiers’ home in Bloomfield Hills. In addition, Ruth jokingly says that “the last man in the family was a Confederate Army veteran” (116). What is the potential meaning of these references, and how do they add to the text in potentially negative and positive ways? Consider both.