BKMT READING GUIDES
The Sinner's Guide to Confession
by Phyllis Schieber
Published: 2008-07-01
Paperback : 374 pages
Paperback : 374 pages
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2 clubs reading this now
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Barbara, Kaye, and Ellen, longtime friends, are inseparable—but each nurtures her own secret. As a widowed mother, Barbara hides her persona as a writer of erotica. Kaye is having an extramarital affair that reawakens her passion but fills her with conflict. Ellen has lost her husband to a ...
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Introduction
Barbara, Kaye, and Ellen, longtime friends, are inseparable—but each nurtures her own secret. As a widowed mother, Barbara hides her persona as a writer of erotica. Kaye is having an extramarital affair that reawakens her passion but fills her with conflict. Ellen has lost her husband to a younger woman who is now pregnant—a painful blow, since Ellen and her husband were never able to conceive. But she is not childless… Ellen is still haunted by the memory of the baby girl she had at sixteen and was forced to relinquish at birth. Estranged from her family, Ellen realizes that if she is ever to find her lost daughter—now a grown woman herself—she will have to confront her shame and rely on her dearest friends. C
Excerpt
Chapter SixSoon after Bill was out of her life, Ellen discovered a cable station that featured a program aptly called Animal Miracle Stories. It fascinated her though she had no pets of her own. Bill had been allergic to cats, and he disliked dogs. As Ellen became more and more engrossed in the feats of ordinary household pets, she realized that Bill's dislike of animals should have alerted her to his shortcomings. How could anyone resist a beautiful yellow Labrador like Misty? In the middle of one very cold, winter night, Misty woke from her cozy spot at the foot of her owner's bed and realized that something was terribly wrong. The astonishing dramatization showed how after some preliminary sniffing, Misty sensed that her owner was in trouble. Amazingly, Misty dialed 911, alerting the local police to the situation by barking into the phone. Within minutes, an ambulance was on the way, and Misty (obviously, no ordinary Lab) was invited to ride in the ambulance with her grateful owner. Ellen clutched her pillow to her chest and sobbed as she watched Misty receive a medal from her community volunteer ambulance corps. Ellen would not have been any prouder if Misty had been Ellen's dog. ...
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Discussion Questions
Discussion Questions:1. Why do you think this book is titled The Sinner's Guide to Confession? Who are the sinners in this story? Do they find redemption through confession?
2. Why does Ellen keep her past from her friends? Do you think she is right to hide her past?
3. How does writing as Delilah help Barbara to live a more fulfilling life? What does she gain from her secret writing? Do you think she is ashamed to write so unabashedly about sex? Why or why not?
4. Discuss Kaye's affair with Frank. What attracts her to Frank to begin with? Do you empathize with her situation or do you think she should have divorced her husband?
5. Why does Ellen take such joy in tutoring Marisol? What does Marisol represent to Ellen? When Marisol leaves, what does Ellen lose?
6. Ellen has always kept her past and her family hidden from Barbara and Kaye. So why does she ask them to come to her father's funeral with her? What does she gain by telling them the truth?
7. What is the role of marriage in this novel? Did any of the women in the novel have happy marriages? Do you think they love their husbands?
8. Why do you think Bill turns up at Ellen's father's funeral? Do you think they have any chance of reconciliation? In Ellen's place, do you think you would be able to forgive Bill?
9. How is Gertie a pivotal figure throughout the novel? How does she care for her family? What does she represent for Kaye? How do Kaye, Barbara, and Ellen compare as mothers to their children?
10. Why do you think Justine ends her affair? Why does Kaye? What toll does Kaye's affair take on her family?
11. When Kaye goes to Frank to end the affair, she lies and tells him that she was going to accept his proposal. Why does she tell this lie? What purpose does it serve? In what other ways do characters in this novel lie to save face?
12. Discuss the adoption of Ellen's daughter. Do you think Ellen was too passive when her daughter was being taken away? Was there really anything she could have done? Why do you think she waits so long to begin searching for her daughter?
13. Do you think Ellen, Barbara, and Kaye are strong women? Why or why not?
Notes From the Author to the Bookclub
“I have no secrets from anyone.” I have heard people make that statement often enough to know it is a lie. This book was motivated by a sudden and very acute awareness that nothing is ever what it seems to be. For the most part, we know very little about each other. I am less and less surprised by secret lives-mine and others. In my twenties, I learned from my father that he had been married before he was married to my mother. Then, years later, long after my father's death, I discovered that I had a half-brother somewhere in the world. I chose not to explore either discovery, preferring to let my father's secret life remain intact. Still, it was a revelation to learn that there was so much about my dad that I didn't know. It became quite clear to me then that we never really know everything about each other. We assume a lot. It is human nature, perhaps, to keep secrets, to guard ourselves. And yet we often give away pieces of our pasts and ourselves to complete strangers. There are no rules, but there are always consequences. Either way, there are always consequences. I want my readers to think about their secrets, the stories they never share, and the people who may ultimately become their confessors. I think about the most unlikely people I've exchanged secrets with in the most unlikely places. It's strange to befriend someone on a train or plane, or waiting in line, or in a doctor's office. Funny, the secrets we give away, and the secrets we keep. After you read The Sinner's Guide to Confession, I hope to hear many secrets from all of you. Perhaps you will guess some of mine after reading The Sinner's Guide to Confession, or perhaps you will think you have and be wrong.Book Club Recommendations
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