Family Myths
Augustus Trilogy
Book 3
Book Club Discussion Questions
- Major themes in this book include:
- Family secrets and lies
- Ghosts as available to help
- Regrets and anxiety they cause
- Daughters and fathers
- Living on regrets seems to be part of human nature but, is this good or bad? Do the characters grow through their dwelling on regrets?
- Does fundamental human nature change over time?
- John appears to be much the same as he was in book one, Family Lies. Do you agree? If so, why do you think this is?
- Were you surprised that John came home after the war?
- What impact did his return have on other family members? Good and/or bad?
- The struggle with appreciating the family you have is often troublesome. Why do so many struggle with this?
- Do you believe daughters have a special relationship with fathers? Explain?
- What are the main reasons Serena couldn’t commit to Logan?
- Do you believe Logan would have taken her back into his life if he thought she was pregnant with his child?
- What are your thoughts about Brian and how he left after the night with Serena?
- How do you think Serena handled being an unwed pregnant woman?
- Serena looks at the women in her office and wonders how many of them are living lies. Do you wonder the same?
- Why does Serena stay with Joey Coppola after the first few ‘red flags’?
- Alan was clearly smitten with Serena. Why do you think the relationship never evolved past boss and employee?
- Is keeping secrets hard? Is it ever ‘worth it’?
- When the Augustus family secrets are finally revealed to one another, each person reacts in their own way. What ultimately caused John to admit his errors?
- Why does Minette go along with the lies for so long?
- Why does the ghost (Valerie) speak less to Michael in this book than in Family Matters?
- Do you believe in ghosts?
- Have you ever seen a ghost?
- Share your favorite part of this trilogy?
- The 1960s, 70s and early 80s were a tremulous time in the United States and in much of the world. Elizabeth was born too early to be a true hippy and too late to be a true beatnik. Does she feel caught between these two movements?
- Elizabeth feels like an outsider in the Augustus family. But, if John had been honest, with the children, from the beginning, would there have been a different outcome?
- Do you think of Elizabeth as a survivor? Why or why not?
- Is Michael’s love for and protection of Elizabeth healthy? What impacts did you notice on his life and relationships?
- If you were to choose a life-long friend from the books, who would you choose and why?
- Forgiveness between characters is handled differently throughout the stories. Who truly forgave one another?
- Does anyone in the Augustus family have integrity? Who and why?
- Who is an excellent example of a Modern-Day Augustus family?
Contact Tamara by email to arrange a visit with your book club or to invite her to other reader or writer events. She will attend live meetings in the greater Phoenix, AZ or San Diego, CA areas. Other meetings are by ZOOM or expenses paid.