Halfway to You(115)
Sue and Steve, thank you for your continual enthusiasm and support. Apologies for making you wait so long for this book!
Emily, thank you for your friendship and book-buying enablement. Whether over coffee or cocktails, I love discussing books and travel with you. Thanks, also, to Samantha at the Imprint Bookstore in Port Townsend, Washington, for supporting local readers and authors like me.
Mom and Dad, thank you for joining us on that trip to French Polynesia. I am so grateful for your support of my dreams, whether they be swimming with whales or writing books or some other equally epic endeavor.
Not all those who support my writing career are human. Thank you to my cat, Emmie, who, for the past fifteen years, has sat beside me every morning while I write. (He’s sitting beside me now!) Here’s to many more writing mornings with you, buddy.
And to my husband, Joe: my forever adventure partner. Thank you for always letting me have the aisle seat, for finding cold medicine for me in Florence, for taking me to mind-blowing Greek ruins, for swimming with sharks alongside me, and for holding my hand wherever we go. I can’t wait to see what adventures we go on next.
BOOK CLUB DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Halfway to You explores emotional and physical distance in a romantic relationship. What do you think is more important: emotional or proximal closeness?
The characters in Halfway to You struggle with honesty—specifically, being honest and vulnerable with the people they love. Do you find it harder or easier to be honest with the people you love (as compared to acquaintances, strangers, etc.)? Why?
When Ann and Maggie first meet, Ann says that having a feeling about something is the “closest we get to divine intervention.” Can you pinpoint any moments in your life where you made a decision based off a gut feeling? Were you ultimately glad you did?
Tracey and Bob lied to Maggie about her parentage first to protect her feelings and then continued with the lie to keep the peace. Do you think it’s ever okay to lie to someone to protect their feelings?
Do you think Ann, upon receiving her inheritance, had a financial responsibility to her mother? How do you think Ann’s relationship and resolution with her mother would’ve been different had she asked her mother to travel with her on that first trip to Europe?
After Todd’s rejection in Greece, Ann made it a point to never push too hard for personal or intimate details, for fear that he would leave again. Do you think Todd was right to withhold painful details about his past? Do you think Ann could’ve asked for more vulnerability on Todd’s part? Should partners share everything with each other?
Ann started writing as a way to process difficult emotions but later describes her relationship with her craft as “unhealthy . . . cathartic wallowing,” challenging the notion that art can be created only through pain. Do you think pain is required to create great art?
All the characters in the book struggle with letting fear and vulnerability stop them from living, loving, and going after their dreams. Can you think of a moment in your life when you overcame fear and your life improved for the better?
Have you been to any of the destinations in the book? Which one would you most like to visit and why?