The Family Upstairs

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

1. Throughout the novel, characters make difficult choices to protect themselves or their loved ones. Have you ever been in a situation where you had to choose between two difficult options? How did you handle it?

2. Libby discovers that her identity isn't exactly what she thought it was. Have you ever had an experience that fundamentally changed how you view yourself or your family history? How did you respond?

3. The novel explores the ways in which trauma can affect people long after the traumatic events have ended. How do your own past experiences shape your present actions and relationships?

4. The characters often rationalize their actions based on their circumstances. When do difficult circumstances justify extreme actions? Where would you draw the line?

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

1. How does the novel use the Lamb family's descent from affluence to poverty in order to deliver a critique on issues of wealth, class, and privilege?

2. The story touches on themes such as alternative lifestyles and cults. What does the novel suggest about people’s reasons for being drawn to extreme beliefs or lifestyle changes?

3. How does the novel explore society's expectations about family structures and parental responsibilities?

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

1. Examine the symbolism of the herb garden throughout the novel. How does it represent both healing and harm?

2. Consider the roles that names and identity play in the novel. How do the characters' relationships with their names reflect their sense of self?

3. How does the author use the Chelsea mansion itself as a character? What does the house represent to different people in the novel?

4. Analyze the parallel mother-child relationships in the novel: Lucy and Libby, Lucy and her younger children, and Martina with Henry and Lucy. What common patterns emerge?