Lying Awake Reading Guide & Discussion Questions

1. How deliberate and appropriate is the choice of locale of the monastery of Sisters of the Carmel of Saint Joseph in the very heart of Los Angeles rather than in a more pastoral setting?
   
   
2. The nuns follow a way of life established for centuries. In what ways, if any, are they allowed to express their individuality?
   
   
3. Salzman writes "The real penance in cloistered life, most Sisters agreed, was not isolation; it was the impossibility of getting away from people one would not normally have chosen as friends" [p. 21]. What incidents in the book support this statement? How does Salzman "humanize" Sister John and the other nuns--for instance, Sister Bernadette, Sister Anne, and Mother Emmanuel--without undermining his portrait of lives dedicated to serving God?
   
   

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