Book Club Discussion Questions and Guide for The Beauty in Breaking by Michele Harper

1. "If my brother's body could be patched up, then certainly, in its own time, his spirit could mend, too." Talk about the ways in which this passage, young Michele Harper's musing about her brother's presence in the ER stands as the thematic concern of this work. How is it possible for physical healing lead to spiritual/emotional healing?
2. How did Harper's observations of her patients and their struggles teach her about human brokenness and resilience. Take her patients, one-by-one, and talk about their personal struggles and what Harper learned from them.
3. Harper is a Black woman in an overwhelmingly white profession. Talk about the roll that racism plays in Harper's own life and for the patients of color who enter the hospital's ER.
4. Harper realizes that "America bears… many layers of racial wounds, both chronic and acute." What specifically does she mean, and in what way does this realization inspire her?

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