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The Half-Life of Everything


A beautifully written and uplifting debut novel.
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Do you sympathize with Kate's embarrassment? If you were Kate, would you focus on mending your relationships with old friends or creating new ones?

Created: 02/06/19

Replies: 11

Posted Feb. 06, 2019 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
davinamw

Join Date: 10/15/10

Posts: 3442

Do you sympathize with Kate's embarrassment? If you were Kate, would you focus on mending your relationships with old friends or creating new ones?

Kate repeatedly explains how embarrassed she feels being around people who knew her when she was sick. Because of this, she seeks out a friendship in Jane, who only knew her after. Do you sympathize with this embarrassment, or do you not understand it? If you were Kate, would you focus on mending your relationships with old friends or creating new ones?


Posted Feb. 17, 2019 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
Maggie

Join Date: 01/01/16

Posts: 434

RE: Do you sympathize with Kate's embarrassment? If you were Kate, would you focus on mending your relationships with old friends or creating new ones?

I was sorry for Kate, that she worried how people had seen her during her illness. I do not think I would feel that way. I know that my friends and family would be so happy that I was again well that the past when I did embarrassing things would not matter. Probably would not even be discussed or perhaps laughed at!


Posted Feb. 17, 2019 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
terriej

Join Date: 07/28/11

Posts: 422

RE: Do you sympathize with Kate's embarrassment? If you were Kate, would you focus on mending your relationships with old friends or creating new ones?

I understand Kate's embarrassment, but her friends were very supportive. I would want to mend old friendships.


Posted Feb. 17, 2019 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
Lois Irene

Join Date: 01/20/16

Posts: 76

RE: Do you sympathize with Kate's embarrassment? If you were Kate, would you focus on mending your relationships with old friends or creating new ones?

I totally related to Kate's embarrassment. How horrifying it would be to think of yourself out of control for such a long period of time!
I think that I would look for new friends, unless the old ones came to me. I thought that the idea of a part time job was a good one that would help her feel that she was making a new start.


Posted Feb. 17, 2019 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
irisf

Join Date: 01/16/12

Posts: 136

RE: Do you sympathize with Kate's embarrassment? If you were Kate, would you focus on mending your relationships with old friends or creating new ones?

I would hope that old friends would understand that any odd behavior was the illness which she couldn’t control. I would also feel that old friends would be eager to help through the transition to normalcy. With all that Kate had to deal with after a five year absence I think if it were me old friends would be more supportive and provide a safe place to land.


Posted Feb. 18, 2019 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
teachlz

Join Date: 07/28/16

Posts: 54

RE: Do you sympathize with Kate's embarrassment? If you were Kate, would you focus on mending your relationships with old friends or creating new ones?

I do have sympathy for Kate's embarrassment. If I were Kate, I would focus on both old friends and making new friends.


Posted Feb. 19, 2019 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
janeh

Join Date: 06/15/11

Posts: 222

RE: Do you sympathize with Kate's embarrassment? If you were Kate, would you focus on mending your relationships with old friends or creating new ones?

I thought Kate coming back at full strength in her personality and understanding was too much over the top. I thought the book would have been much better if the character of Kate's recovery after being "gone" for five years was a little more realistic. I think the moral dilemmas would have been more powerful if made more realistic.


Posted Feb. 19, 2019 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
bridgetc

Join Date: 02/19/19

Posts: 2

RE: Do you sympathize with Kate's embarrassment? If you were Kate, would you focus on mending your relationships with old friends or creating new ones?

I would hope that my friends and family would be supportive. I would have enjoyed the novel more if it focused more on how Kate felt and what might have been different for her when she returned home. Her relationship with her neighbor could have been explored in more depth. I was more interested in that then in how her husband felt.


Posted Feb. 21, 2019 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
Missys

Join Date: 10/24/17

Posts: 46

RE: Do you sympathize with Kate's embarrassment? If you were Kate, would you focus on mending your relationships with old friends or creating new ones?

I completely understand Kate's embarrassment. Even though she is portrayed as not very prideful, I can easily see where pride would make her want to avoid old friends. Who knows how anyone would react in this situation - it's so far fetched, we have no point of reference.


Posted Feb. 22, 2019 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
Peggy H

Join Date: 06/13/11

Posts: 272

RE: Do you sympathize with Kate's embarrassment? If you were Kate, would you focus on mending your relationships with old friends or creating new ones?

Kate knew she what she had faced and thus, I gathered, did notbreattach with old friends, who might have left her anyway. It was great she had her neighbor and sons. The friendship with Jane was good, as Jane could understand what both Kate and her family had gone through. I did wonder if there had been childhood friends to reconnect with.


Posted Feb. 25, 2019 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
marks

Join Date: 02/25/19

Posts: 112

RE: Do you sympathize with Kate's embarrassment? If you were Kate, would you focus on mending your relationships with old friends or creating new ones?

I agree with some of the previous replies in terms of wanting to know more about Kate's feelings as she adjusted to coming home and trying to resume her life. I also thought that the references made about Kate looking at the visitor logs were really interesting. That really made me wonder how I would have reacted in her place. Would I be angry that people stopped visiting on a regular basis (or entirely)? Would those feelings impact the relationship post-illness? Would it be easier or less embarrassing for Kate to rekindle old friendships with the people who didn't see her as much when she wasn't really there?


Posted Mar. 02, 2019 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
janee

Join Date: 01/15/18

Posts: 14

RE: Do you sympathize with Kate's embarrassment? If you were Kate, would you focus on mending your relationships with old friends or creating new ones?

Yes I sympathized with Kate’s feelings when she “woke up”. At this point I was still in the book as a plausible storyline and the writer certainly made her pain visible.


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