Book Club Discussion Questions and Guide for After Life by Gayle Forman

1. At the start of After Life, Amber mysteriously reappears—even though she died seven years ago. Once she returns home, her mother, Gloria, is in shock; her father, Brian, calls her appearance a miracle after not believing in God in the past; and her sister, Missy, attempts to bond with Amber. Why do you think that each character reacts differently to the situation? How do you think you would react to this type of situation?
2. One point of view we see in the novel is that of Amber's ELA teacher, Arnold. For his past twenty eight years as a teacher, Arnold has given students an assignment to write their own obituary, where they envision how they would have lived their future lives. If you were to write about what you want your life to look like in the future, what would it be like?
3. Besides Amber's family, the book also shows the points of view of people who were important in Amber's life when she was in high school. Two of them are Casey, her best friend, and Calvin, her boyfriend. It is revealed that Casey and Calvin had a secret relationship before Amber's passing, resulting in a tough life lesson about the long-term consequences of betrayal. Have you ever been betrayed by a close friend, and if so, how did you cope with it? Did it make you a stronger person? How?
4. Amber's sudden appearance in the lives of people who have been affected by her death shows how everyone copes and reacts differently. Each character deals with their grief in a different way. How do their reactions show how a person can grow and change after a traumatic experience? Explain.
5. Missy shows Amber a box with items that were kept after her passing, such as her clay handprints from kindergarten and a copy of a play she wrote her sophomore year in high school. Surprised by all the items that were kept, she wonders why they were saved. "But maybe what's clutter when you're alive becomes treasure when you are not," she thinks. What would you keep to remember someone? What would you want others to save in a box from your life?
6. Through each character, the book highlights the importance of taking care of one's mental health. Do you feel that speaking to someone about your feelings after a sad situation such as losing someone you love is important? How do you think it would help you and the characters in After Life? Do you feel that the way the book represented mental health struggles worked well? Discuss.
7. After Life is full of symbols representing Amber's story and, at times, moments that seem to foreshadow what happens to Amber. For example, when Amber gets her graduation picture taken, she stops the photographer and says, "It's my last one, I want it to be good." While she means that it is the last one that is being taken from her time in high school, we can see it as foreshadowing. What other moments in the book do you think symbolize what happens to Amber or foreshadow her tragic accident? Give at least two examples.
8. After Life has many surprises, which we see unfold through the past and present actions of Amber and the people around her. How do you feel that the choices the characters made in the past affect their present selves when it comes to their personalities, values, and morals?
9. While the themes of grief and loss in After Life are heavy, the book also focuses on the beauty of life and how we should celebrate it. One of the book's lines toward the end is: "Life. Death. We don't know. We can never know. We can just have faith." How do you think this line represents that there is always hope even through hard times and that we should enjoy the present? Why?

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