Suggested Discussion Questions for Book Clubs
Did the stories resonate with your own life experiences?
Which anecdotes captured your imagination and why?
What surprised you most about the setting, the Mende people, the country?
What were your main take-home messages?
Did the book shift any of your preconceived ideas about poverty or subsistence farming in rural villages?
What were the most provocative ideas in the book?
What would you like to ask the author about the book or about writing the book?
Would you recommend this book to others? If yes, who and why?
Did the stories resonate with your own life experiences?
Which anecdotes captured your imagination and why?
What surprised you most about the setting, the Mende people, the country?
What were your main take-home messages?
Did the book shift any of your preconceived ideas about poverty or subsistence farming in rural villages?
What were the most provocative ideas in the book?
What would you like to ask the author about the book or about writing the book?
Would you recommend this book to others? If yes, who and why?
Examples of Questions Posed by Book Club Members
Meeting with book clubs is a thrilling extension to the memoir writing process. I am thoroughly enjoying listening to the reflections of readers and considering their questions. I'll be updating this segment regularly with examples of thoughtful and/or intriguing questions I've been asked about my memoir by book club members.
Meeting with book clubs is a thrilling extension to the memoir writing process. I am thoroughly enjoying listening to the reflections of readers and considering their questions. I'll be updating this segment regularly with examples of thoughtful and/or intriguing questions I've been asked about my memoir by book club members.
- How did your reflections about your experiences in Sierra Leone change or deepen as you wrote the book?
- Did you experience lament as you wrote the memoir?
- Are you considering writing another memoir about your work in China?
- What did you think and feel about your family's reaction to your decision to work in Sierra Leone?
- Do you still experience the feelings of unease that you described on your return to Canada after working in Sierra Leone?
- What would you add to a second edition of the book?
- How did you get the courage needed to work in Sierra Leone?
- How did you avoid cultural appropriation as you wrote the memoir?
- How did you meld traditional and western beliefs in your public health work?
- How did being a "white outsider" affect your work in Sierra Leone?
- What links do you see between work with indigenous communities in Canada and work in lower-income countries?
- Are you hopeful about the current situation in Sierra Leone?
- Are there additional recommendations you would provide for young adults and students interested in global health work?
- What journals did you keep while you were in Sierra Leone?
Let Me Know If Your Book Club is Discussing the Memoir
Has your book club discussed the memoir Not One, Not Even One? Consider adding the name of the community where your book club meets and your impressions of the book in the text boxes below. I will be compiling and posting this information on this website page as it is received.
