Introduction

When Mary Lou Quinlan's beloved mother, Mary Finlayson, dies, her family is bereft--until Mary Lou searches for her mother s ''God Box,'' her private cache of notes to God on behalf of family, friends and strangers. To Mary Lou's amazement, she finds not one but ten boxes stuffed with hundreds of tiny petitions that spanned the last twenty years of her mother's life.

Note by note, Mary Lou unearths a treasure of her mother's wishes and worries and insight. Mary asked God for everything from the right flooring for her daughter's home to a cure for her own blood cancer. Her requests, penned on scraps of paper, were presented without expectation--the ultimate expression of letting go.

Follow Mary Lou's emotional journey as she uncovers her mother's innermost thoughts--nostalgic, surprising and even a bit shocking. As she recalls life with the woman who was her best friend, Mary Lou also discovers her own more empathetic, engaged self--the woman her mother had believed in all along.

Poignantly written and beautifully designed, The God Box is a gift for every mother, every daughter, every person who, regardless of beliefs, trusts in the permanence of love and the power of family.

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Discussion Questions

(1) Mary Lou’s book tells the story of her relationship with her mother. They were so close that some have called it a love story. How did this make you feel about your own relationship with your mother? As a mother to your own children? What was it about Mary that made her unusual?


(2) How would you describe Mary Lou’s family? Do you feel that it was real? Too perfect? Even though they had problems of health and loss, did you wish for more conflict? How did they resolve what came their way?


(3) When Mary placed messages in the God Box, what do you think she was thinking? Why did she keep the boxes over the years, rather than throw away the resolved messages? Do you think she wanted the boxes to be found? Why did she stash them on a shelf out of sight?


(4) Why did Mary Lou wait so long to start her own God Box? Do you think if her dad were still living she would have still been waiting to start? Why didn’t she tap into it sooner, especially when she saw how consistent her mother was about it? And what about Jack? Why didn’t he use the God Box?


(5) Would you consider keeping a God Box for yourself? How would you start? What would you write inside if you started one tonight? Would you share yours or stash it away as Mary did? Would you do it together with your children?

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