The Healing Reading Guide & Discussion Questions

Book Club Discussion Questions

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For supplemental discussion material see our Beyond the Book article, Slave Healers in the Antebellum South and our BookBrowse Review of The Healing.

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

1. How does Polly Shine's approach to medical treatment differ from that of the white doctors who previously treated the Satterfield slaves? What does she mean when she says, "The magic weren't in the food. It was in the seeing"? Does the way a doctor sees his or her patients determine the prescribed treatment? In your experience, how important is the personal connection between doctor and patient?
   

Many popular works that address interracial relationships rely on a formula of a benevolent white savior empowering downtrodden blacks. Can you think of any books or films that employ this trope? What would Polly Shine say about this? How would she react to history books that claim that African Americans were "given" their freedom, or "given" the right to vote?


2. The "magic negro," who, by use of special insight or powers helps the white protagonist, is a supporting archetype in fiction. Can you think of any examples of this stock character in other works? Does Polly Shine perpetuate the stereotype of the magic negro, or dispel it?
   


3. Of what significance are role models in The Healing? How important is it for children to see a reflection of themselves in the powerful and successful people around them?
   

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