Discussion Questions for Dropped Threads

1. Which stories stood out for you and why?

2. Which stories were most disturbing or most surprising and why?

3. Considering that the first volume of this book was on the best seller list of the Globe and Mail for 85 weeks, what do you think accounts for the interest from readers? What do books of this nature offer women?

4. Choose your favourite piece in Dropped Threads and prepare a one-minute testimonial to share with your book club on why this piece touched you.

Discussion Questions for Dropped Threads 2

Is there a balance between joy and sadness in Dropped Threads 2?

1. The following is a quotation from Carol Shields' novel Unless: "Unless you're lucky, unless you're healthy, fertile, unless you're loved and fed, unless you're offered what others are offered, you go down in the darkness, down to despair." Do the stories in Dropped Threads 2 confirm or contradict this statement?

2. Can you compare and contrast two stories from the collection on similar themes?

3. Carol Shields has often spoken of redeeming the lives of ordinary people by recording them in her works; "especially that group of women who came between the two great women's movements." Can you compare the experiences of women who grew up in the fifties or before, and those of women who grew up later?

4. Dropped Threads 2 endeavours to look beyond the experiences of middle-class women to a broad cross-section of women with fewer privileges or less freedom in other cultures. What do you think this adds to the collection?

5. Ann Dowsett Johnston in "The Boy Can't Sleep" says she would like to pass on advice to her son about "the mating dance of men and women." What would you tell him?

6. How does this volume compare with the first book? While it is on the same theme, there are some differences. What stands out for you, the reader?

7. What does Adrienne Clarkson's Foreword add to the book? What is her main message to women readers?

8. Do the four divisions help "organize" the book for readers? Can you see how the stories fit under the individual banners of End Notes, Variations, Glimpses, and Nourishment?

9. What are some aspects of the surprises and silences in women's lives that haven't been touched on in either volume of Dropped Threads? What topic would you suggest in reply to the question, "What do women generally not talk about or pass on to others"?

Discussion Questions for Dropped Threads 3

1. In her foreword, Marjorie Anderson describes these stories as “fresh glimpses” of “what might otherwise lie just beyond our own small circles of sight.” How does reading about the diverse experiences of other women affect you? Does it make you look at events in your own life in a different way?

2. A number of the pieces in this collection tell of the writers’ secret thoughts and hidden experiences. Why do you think the authors chose this collection as the right place to tell their stories? Would you ever write about difficult events in your life, or very private thoughts, and be able to publish your work for everyone to read?

3. While some of the contributors write about painful or life-altering events, others write about the simple joys that make life worth living — whether a camaraderie with coworkers or a connection to nature or the love for a pet. Compare these approaches, perhaps by finding stories that come to similar conclusions yet are remarkably different in topic or tone.

4. In “Notes on a Counterrevolution,” Patricia Pearson writes about the difficulty of being honest with her nieces about her own youthful transgressions. What do you think about the “Don’t make the same mistakes I did” approach? Are we forced to be more honest with kids these days than in the past? Why or why not?

5. Tracey Ann Coveart, in “I Am a Mother,” writes about the feelings of inadequacy that plagued her marriage and her social life, due to her decision to be a full-time mom at an age when her friends were all focused on their careers. Compare the stories in this book that look at motherhood, and discuss the different ways women choose to – or are forced to – balance their lives.

6. In “Polonia,” Margaret Atwood writes about the compulsion to give advice to strangers, due to something she terms a “mother-robin hormone.” Compare the different approaches to advice-giving in this collection. Do you think this is an urge particular to women? Why or why not? Does the wisdom one achieves with age make it more or less likely a compulsion?

7. Which of the pieces in this collection affected you the most, or stayed with you the longest? Did you find yourself connecting more to the stories that mirrored your own experiences, or ones that showed perspectives very different from your own? Were there any pieces you just couldn’t relate to or didn’t like?

8. Have you ever tried to write about difficult aspects of your own life? Is it easier or harder to open up about your own experiences on the page than it is to talk candidly with family or friends?

9. Some of the contributors to Dropped Threads 3 are well-known writers, or have achieved a level of fame for other reasons, like Silken Laumann and Chantal Kreviazuk. Others are less known or are being published for the first time. Did you find yourself approaching the stories differently, based on whether or not you recognized an author’s name? Were you ever surprised by what you read as a result?

10. Dropped Threads 3 is broken into four “parts,” with the pieces grouped according to general themes. How do these groupings enhance the connections you make between stories that may be very unlike each other?