Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. The novel opens with Nancy’s terrifying, fragmented memories of the massacre before jumping back in time. How did this structure affect your reading experience and your expectations for the story as it unfolded?

2. How did you feel about the novel’s use of three distinct female narrators to tell this story? Have you read other historical novels that use a similar multi-perspective approach, such as Barbara Kingsolver’s The Poisonwood Bible?

3. Which of the four protagonists (Katrina, Lucy, Kahpeputz, or Nancy) did you connect with most strongly? Why did her story resonate with you?

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

1. Katrina Huff is forced to discover a deep reserve of strength after her husband’s death and during the siege. Think about a time when a major challenge revealed a capacity for resilience in you that you might not have known you possessed.

2. Lucy Robison’s journey is a deep crisis of faith, forcing her to choose between her conscience and her community’s leaders. Have you ever experienced your own intense crisis of faith, regardless of whether it took place in a religious context or not? How did you navigate this crisis?

3. Kahpeputz uses her marginalized position to observe and survive, and she is often underestimated by those in power. Can you think of a time in your own life when being overlooked or underestimated worked to your advantage?

4. Throughout her ordeal, Katrina repeats the mantra, “We’re safe. We’re together. We’re nearly there” (7). Do you have personal phrases or thoughts you turn to for comfort or strength during difficult times?

5. Vick’s oath of silence causes deep damage to his family long before his confession. Think about a time where you felt it was harder to keep something secret than to confess it to someone else. What made you feel this way?

6. The yucca horse is a symbol of shared innocence and connection between victims. Thinking about your own life, what makes a small object or memento so powerful in holding a memory or connecting you to another person?

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

1. The theme of The Political Weaponization of Trauma is central to the narrative, as Mormon leaders use the memory of past persecution to justify violence. Where do you see similar dynamics at play in historical or current events?

2. The story itself is part of a modern reckoning with a difficult historical truth, much like the work of historian Juanita Brooks. Why do you think it is often so challenging for communities or nations to confront and atone for the darkest chapters of their past?

3. Jon Krakauer’s nonfiction book Under the Banner of Heaven also examines violence rooted in early Mormon history. What insights can a fictional narrative like None Left to Tell provide about the human experience of such events that a factual account might not?

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

1. The narrative alternates between the perspectives of an emigrant (Katrina), a Mormon settler (Lucy), a Bannock woman (Kahpeputz), and a young girl (Nancy). How did seeing the events through these four different lenses shape your understanding and your sympathies?

2. The locoweed plant is initially a cause of death for the cattle, but it comes to represent much more. In what ways does this plant symbolize the poisonous nature of the false narratives that fueled the massacre?

3. While operating within a severely restrictive patriarchal system, the women in the novel find ways to exercise agency. How do characters like Lucy, Kahpeputz, and Inola subvert the expectations and control of the men in their lives?

4. The song “The Parting Glass” is a recurring motif. How does its meaning transform throughout the story, from Peter’s work song to a lullaby of farewell, and what does this reveal about the connection between love, memory, and survival?

5. Is Vick Robison a villain, a victim, or something more complex? What does his character arc reveal about the psychological burden of complicity?

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

1. A memorial is being designed for the victims at Mountain Meadows. Drawing from the novel, what three elements or symbols would you insist on including to honor the dead and convey the truth of what happened?

2. If you were to add one final chapter to the book, set ten years later, whose perspective would you choose to write from? What story would you want to tell about their life after the events of the novel?

3. If you were adapting None Left to Tell for the screen, which scene do you think would be the most powerful, and which would be the most difficult to translate visually from the page?