Book Club Discussion Questions for The Talking Stick

In order to launch discussions that are more stimulating and specific than would result from asking, “Did you like the book?” or even, “Who was your favorite character, and why?” it’s necessary to reveal some aspects of the storyline.  Please read the complete novel before reviewing this list.

1-Each of the four narrators remembers events from her past while holding the talking stick, which causes her to see her role in those events in a different way.  Have you ever had a similar experience, perhaps changing your opinion of yourself or loved ones?

2-Is it important that the four (cisgender) women are women?  How might the dynamic have changed if a man had been part of the group?

3-Characters in the book not only level criticism at the for-profit rehab industry, but make fun of 12-step programs.  Is that fair, when 12-step programs have helped so many people?

4-Alicia is the one character who claims that the talking stick has no special powers.  Why do you think she’s the holdout?  Did you think that the talking stick channeled some magic, if so, what was its source?

5-Hunter says, “It seems that a lot of us have a large capacity to not know what we don’t want to know. It’s better to know.” But is it always better to know?  When is it better to know, for example, a family secret, but perhaps better not to know?

6-Each woman has her own views about religion and/or spirituality.  Dannika especially is trying to make sense of God.  How does her vision contrast with what seems to be Angelica’s world view?

7-Hunter is perplexed by the popularity of Angelica’s memoir.  What’s popular in contemporary culture that you find puzzling?

8-The theme of mother-daughter relationships suffuses the novel, especially as dramatized by Alicia’s relationship with Summer, and Dannika’s feelings about the deceased “Mosi.”  How has your relationship with your own mother and/or or daughter evolved over the years?

9-People are often drawn to dangerous but charismatic leaders like Angelica.  How do you explain this phenomenon?

10-The setting of any novel (the time as well as the place) gives the reader a context for understanding the characters’ values.  In a Jane Austen novel, for example, no young woman expresses the desire to move to London to open her own business. Marin County has been much written about, and even satirized.  How are the characters of The Talking Stick a part of that milieu?