Book Club Discussion Questions and Guide for Dear Missing Friend by Susan McGuirk

1. Is there a character you would befriend and why?
2. Did letter writing play a comparable role in the book to emails and texts today?
3. What role did books play in the characters' lives? Who were affected by them and in what way?
4. Did the characters have expectations for their lives that were in line with their circumstances? Did they expect too much or settle for too little?
5. Sisterhood is a theme in the book even though most of the women characters do not have sisters. Can the experience be duplicated in a friendship or as an in-law through marriage?
6. How did needing, seeking, and finding employment steer individual lives in the book?
7. Losing family members of all ages was common in the mid-1800s. Did the characters move past loss differently than we do today?
8. When did Cath ask for permission and when did she not?
9. Did Cath have regrets? If given the chance to start over, would she have made different choices?
10. What might Cath have done had she lived past the age of 46?
11. Did the fact that the story was based on real people make a difference?

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