Book Club Discussion Questions and Guide for Days of Sun and Shadow by India Hayford

1. What do you think Owl represents in the book?
2. Why did Delpha reject Emilie instead of cherishing her as the only surviving child of the family?
3. What do you think about the phenomenon commonly called the Sight? Have you ever met anyone who possessed it to any degree?
4. Why didn't Emilie run for help when her mother drowned?
5. What drove Emilie to work in the stables as a child despite social disapproval and her mother's insistence that she give up horses for embroidery?
6. What social conventions did Emilie defy throughout her life?
7. What were some of the milestones in Emilie's journey to independence?
8. Compare Emilie's marriages. How much control did she have over either?
9. Given the stereotype of Arkansas being backward and redneck, were you surprised to learn that many well-educated, cultured people settled in the state?
10. How do the rising tensions about slavery impact the relationship between the McCains and Cathcarts?
11. What role did traumatic loss play in Emilie's relationships with Keller and Walker? Do you think she'd have taken up with either man without that catalyst?
12. How did Star's return help Emilie recover from the traumatic events surrounding Rose's birth?
13. Discuss Emilie's decision to exchange babies. Was it a good de¬cision? Would she have made it had she not been caught by post¬partum depression?
14. Why did Emilie choose Miranda over Walker?
15. Consider the relationship between Emilie and Caleb. Did his revelation startle you? Why or why not?
16. Will Caleb ever follow Emilie to Texas?
17. Were any of the killings in the book justified? Why or why not?
18. Have you read India Hayford's earlier novel, The Song of the Blue Bottle Tree? If so, how do the two compare?
19. To what audience would you recommend Days of Sun and Shadow? Is there another book or author you feel has a similar theme or style?
20. Overall, what did you think of Days of Sun and Shadow? (No spoilers in this topic, please.)

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