Long Way Home(125)
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
This novel includes two stories, which start out happening a few years apart and then converge near the end of the book. Did you find one story line more compelling than the other, or did they both hold your interest? Did you like the way they intertwined?
Peggy’s father and his live-in girlfriend don’t treat her very well. Why do you think that is? Is there anything that might excuse or justify their behavior? Is there anything different you think Peggy should have done in response?
Sam and Gisela meet and fall in love when they are quite young, then they are separated for many years and through many tragedies. Yet their love endures. Does that seem realistic under the circumstances, or is it just a storybook ending?
How does Joe try to address his PTSD? Which parts of his self-treatment are effective, and which are destructive? How does Barbara’s reaction help him? What kind of a future do you envision for the two of them?
Peggy finds satisfaction—and makes some new friends—in her project to remind Jim of all the good things he’s accomplished. Why is that rewarding for her?
The fate of the St. Louis and its passengers is taken from actual historical records. Why did Cuba and the US refuse to let the passengers come ashore? What parallel situations are we seeing in today’s headlines?
Peggy has a hard time feeling loved and accepted. What is it about her background that contributes to this? What helps her overcome this uncertainty and accept first the Barnetts’ love and eventually Paul’s?
Buster, “the famous three-legged dog,” has a significant role to play, both in the stories Jim told about him and in the way he connects with Jim when Peggy and Joe smuggle him in to visit. How have pets or other animals been important in your life?
Gisela and her fellow refugees experienced great kindness from Christians in Belgium. Did this part of the story surprise you?
How did you feel about the doctor’s attempts to “cure” Jim of his battle fatigue (what we now refer to as PTSD)? In what ways has the treatment of mental illness improved since the 1940s? Where is there still room for improvement?
Are there veterans in your family, past or present, who have suffered from PTSD? If you or a loved one has dealt with this kind of trauma, what can you share about your experiences that might help someone who is going through something similar?
The Barnetts place a lot of faith in Jimmy’s doctor, even though—by today’s standards—they probably shouldn’t have. In contrast, today we find many people dismissing expert medical opinions. Where is the middle ground? How should we evaluate the advice of experts when it goes against our instincts?
The theme of home is a recurring one in this book. How do each of the main characters find their “long way home”? What does home mean to you? Have there been times in your life when you struggled to find or make a home for yourself?
Chaplain Bill gives Jim a Bible passage (Romans 8:38-39) to think about. In what ways does it help him? Is there a particular passage from the Bible that has been especially meaningful to you during a difficult time in your life?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lynn Austin has sold more than one and a half million copies of her books worldwide. A former teacher who now writes and speaks full-time, she has won eight Christy Awards for her historical fiction and was one of the first inductees into the Christy Award Hall of Fame. One of her novels, Hidden Places, was made into a Hallmark Channel Original Movie. Lynn and her husband have three grown children and make their home in western Michigan. Visit her online at lynnaustin.org.