Book Club Discussion Questions and Guide for If I Fall, If I Die by Michael Christie

1. If I Fall, If I Die begins the first time Will ventures outside the house he shares with his mother, Diane. What are his impressions of The Outside, and did they surprise you in any way?
2. For Diane, the world is divided between comfort and danger, Inside and Outside. Is Will's perception the same? Does it change over time?
3. Grain elevators, abandoned buildings, feral wolves, the rough chop of the bay. What aspect of Thunder Bay was most vivid to you, and why?
4. "Her job was still the same: To build them a world that death could never touch." To what extent are Diane's fears for Will justified? Can you relate to her attempts to control Will's environment in order to keep him safe?
5. Both Will and Diane view Will largely as Diane's protector, despite the fact that he is her child. Does this nurturing quality in Will translate to how he treats the other characters in the novel?
6. Jonah and Will forge an unlikely but enduring friendship. What do you think they learn from each other?
7. "Helmetless and unafraid, Will could dance, spin, slide backwards and do 360s on one foot." What does skateboarding represent for Will, and what do you think it represents for Diane?
8. Will encounters and befriends many characters on the fringes of society, from Jonah to Titus. Do you think he is more open, and less judgmental, because of his isolation from mainstream culture and its ingrained stereotypes?
9. After a terrible tragedy in his past, Titus returns to Thunder Bay searching for redemption. Do you think he finds it?
10. Several characters in the novel, including Diane and Titus, struggle with mental illness. How do they attempt to manage their lives around their fears and limitations? Are their relationships with the people around them affected?
11. How does Will's relationship with his mother grow and change over the course of the novel? Does Will's movie represent a new chapter for the two of them?
12. Will changes his life through, no pun intended, sheer force of will. Does Diane's life change in tandem? What about her identity as a mother, or an artist?
13. Parenting and fear, love and courage—of these, what do you think this novel is most about?

Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of Hogarth Books. Any page references refer to a USA edition of the book, usually the trade paperback version, and may vary in other editions.