The Half-Life of Everything Reading Guide & Discussion Questions

1. David's family is faced with one of the most difficult diseases in our world today - Alzheimer's. Have you ever had a family member or loved one suffer through the disease? How did your family react?
2. Kate's friends and family react differently to her illness. Many of them visit her very infrequently, almost avoiding her. How do you think you would react if you were one of Kate's friends?
3. After Kate begins to get better, she spends a lot of time focusing on the years she lost. She grieves for them, looking through photo albums and listening to David tell her everything that she missed. She doesn't want to focus on these years, but she can't help it. If you were Kate, how do you think you would react to missing so many years? Would you focus on your past, or live more (or entirely) in the present and future?

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