9. Marta’s choice not to move to Jenner by the Sea with Hildie and Trip seems to finally make the gap between mother and daughter so wide it can’t be crossed. Why does Hildie think Marta doesn’t want to move in with them? What does Marta really want? Why are they unable to discuss it rationally?
10. In chapter 30, when Dawn and Carolyn go to visit Marta for a week, Marta says that “making things easier on your children is sometimes the worst thing you can do.” Do you agree or disagree? How do you see this illustrated in the story? in your own life?
11. How does Marta change over the course of the two books? What changes her the most? In what ways is she still the same?
12. When Dawn confesses to her mother that she slept with Jason, Carolyn’s response is gracious and nonjudgmental. How do Carolyn’s own experiences play into her response to Dawn? How would you respond to such a confession from your son or daughter? How would you like to respond?
13. How does Dawn’s experience of the church after she sleeps with Jason differ from Carolyn’s experience after returning from Haight-Ashbury? Why is it different? How does Paster Daniel’s gracious response affect Dawn’s future and her walk with Christ? Have you ever been in a position to counsel someone who has made a mistake they think cannot be forgiven? What did (or would) you say?
14. Near the end of the story, Dawn makes an important decision that affects the life of her unborn child. How might her struggle with miscarriage and infertility have affected her decision? What would you have done in Dawn’s place? Discuss her choice not to talk about it with either her husband or her family. Was that the right way to handle it? Why or why not? How do you think Jason felt when he learned what had happened?
15. In chapter 55, Dawn reads this excerpt from Marta’s journaclass="underline" “We try to do a little better than the previous generation and find out in the end we’ve made the same mistakes without intending.” How do you see this illustrated in the story? How have you seen negative behaviors easily turn into a habit in your own life, as Hildie mentions in chapter 56?
16. When the three generations (Hildemara, Carolyn, and May Flower Dawn) finally sit down to talk, they discuss many of their “family secrets.” Discuss the revelations and the effect of finally getting them out into the open. Are you satisfied with what they talk about and how it goes? In what way do you wish it had been handled differently? Are the responses realistic and/ or what you expected?
17. At one point, Marta tells Dawn that people either weigh you down or give you wings. How do some of the characters in this saga give people wings? What can you do in your own relationships to give those you love wings instead of weighing them down?
18. While Scripture makes it clear that children are not held responsible for their parents’ sins (see Ezekiel 18:20), it’s also true that destructive patterns tend to continue in families and have a negative impact on successive generations (see Exodus 20:5). Over the span of these two novels, what relationship patterns are repeated between mothers and daughters? between grandmothers and granddaughters? In what ways are the patterns finally broken? Is the resolution realistic? What relationship patterns-either negative or positive-have occurred in your family? If the patterns are negative, what have you done or what could you do to break them?
19. Are there secrets in your family-either from generations past or from the present? To whom would you like to talk about these secrets? What kind of response do you think you would get? What response would you hope for?
20. This novel contains many relationships, conversations, rifts, and moments of reconciliation. Take a few minutes to list some of your favorite scenes and tell why you were especially touched or challenged by them.
About the Author
New York Times best-selling author Francine Rivers began her literary career at the University of Nevada, Reno, where she graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in English and journalism. From 1976 to 1985, she had a successful writing career in the general market, and her books were highly acclaimed by readers and reviewers. Although raised in a religious home, Francine did not truly encounter Christ until later in life, when she was already a wife, a mother of three, and an established romance novelist.
Shortly after becoming a born-again Christian in 1986, Francine wrote Redeeming Love as her statement of faith. First published by Bantam Books, and then rereleased by Multnomah Publishers in the mid-1990s, this retelling of the biblical story of Gomer and Hosea, set during the time of the California Gold Rush, is now considered by many to be a classic work of Christian fiction. Redeeming Love continues to be one of CBA’s top-selling titles, and it has held a spot on the Christian best-seller list for nearly a decade.
Since Redeeming Love, Francine has published numerous novels with Christian themes-all best sellers-and she has continued to win both industry acclaim and reader loyalty around the globe. Her Christian novels have been awarded or nominated for numerous honors, including the RITA Award, the Christy Award, the ECPA Gold Medallion, and the Holt Medallion in Honor of Outstanding Literary Talent. In 1997, after winning her third RITA Award for inspirational fiction, Francine was inducted into the Romance Writers of America Hall of Fame. Francine’s novels have been translated into more than twenty different languages, and she enjoys best-seller status in many foreign countries, including Germany, the Netherlands, and South Africa.
Francine and her husband, Rick, live in northern California and enjoy time spent with their three grown children and taking every opportunity to spoil their grandchildren. Francine uses her writing to draw closer to the Lord, and she desires that through her work she might worship and praise Jesus for all He has done and is doing in her life.
Visit her Web site at www.francinerivers.com.
