Introduction

She could be your sister, best friend, wife, daughter, neighbor. An overwhelmed stay-at-home mom whose husband is too preoccupied with work to spend time with his family. A PR executive scared to death she waited too long to have the baby she has always wanted. When they meet through a Classics Book Club, each thinks the other one's life is so much better than her own. But, is the grass truly greener on the other side of the fence? A vivid portrayal of contemporary marriage and its problems, A Whisper to a Scream speaks to a longing in all of us, a yearning that might start as a vague notion, but eventually grows into an unbearable, vociferous cry. This is the first installment of six novels exploring the lives of The Bibliophiles, a fictional suburban book club.

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Excerpt

Chapter One


At thirty-five years old, Sarah Anderson discovered something quite shocking. She had Attention Deficit Disorder —she didn’t get any. Men saw right through her, noticing the children she toted about, one hanging on her leg and one in her arms, but quickly dispelling her, as if the kids were somehow suspended in mid-air, like receivers on Monday Night Football. She wasn’t sure if she had made this correlation herself or had seen it as a joke on the comedy channel. What did her sleep-deprived brain know anyway? How comforting to know her life could be summed up by a punch line. ... view entire excerpt...

Discussion Questions

1. As a stay-at-home mother of two young children, Sarah has definite concerns about her life. What does her self image say about her frame of mind?

2. Annie feels uncomfortable with John’s extended family because of her failed attempts at having children. Do you think Anne overreacts when she hears her sister-in-law is pregnant with a third child? How is Sarah's reaction some of her in-laws different or similar to Annie's reaction to her own in-laws?

3. What do you think of frequent Tom's late nights at work ? Would you say Tom or John, in the first chapters of the book, appears the most supportive husband and family man?

4. Annie and Sarah both have very busy lives, Annie as vice president of a public relations firm and Sarah as a homemaker. Do you think they are unreasonable to be dissatisfied with the life they each chose? Are their situations typical or atypical for many women? Who do you sympathize with the most?

4. Was a book club a good choice for Sarah to spend some time away from her housework and chores? What other activities could she have chosen? How important are Edwina Hipplewhite and the Classics Book Club to Annie and Sarah at this time?

5. Sarah's mother is supportive of her in every way. How is Annie's mother different in responding to her daughter's need to have a child?

6. Annie and John waited to have successful careers before starting a family. Now John is not sure he even wants a child. Do you think Annie, by considering artificial insemination and in vitro fertilization, is going too far in trying to have children?

7. Even after learning about their diagnosis of "unexplained infertility," why is Annie not open to adoption?

8. Sarah's visit to Tom during his business trip to Boston seems to change things between them. How is this significant?

9. Were you surprised when Annie was asked to take a leave of absence from work? Why or why not?

10. Annie and Sarah both have ethical and religious decisions to consider, Annie regarding fertility treatments that her church frowns on, and Sarah about prolonging or cutting short the life of her mother who is in a vegetative state. What do you think of the decisions that were made?

11. What is the importance of the garden that Sarah and her family planted after the death of Sarah's mother?

12. Anne tells John to leave, after she found out about his affair with Melanie. Did Annie's decision to cut John out of her life for good seem inevitable? If you were to write a sequel to this novel, what would you plan for Annie? Do you find her a sympathetic or unsympathetic character?

13. In the last chapter, the book club discusses Shakespeare's play, As You Like It. Does this add another level of meaning to the ending of the book?

14. How apt is the title of the book, A Whisper to a Scream? How many people or situations in the book could this apply to?

15. What do you think the author's message was in this novel?

Weblinks

»	Author Karen Berner's web site

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