3
Part I
BEFORE

Kate had read or heard somewhere that normal forgetfulness is misplacing your keys, while Alzheimer's is not knowing what keys are used for. Surely, she thought, there was a middle ground between the two - like when you locate your keys but, for the briefest part of a second, you think, Are these really mine? They look familiar … and yet they don't.

Like anyone who was fifty-one, Kate worried about her memory, though her true specialty was dreading disease. In temperament, she wasn't particularly neurotic, but breast cancer had a hold on her. The disease was so common she had begun to think of it as a normal stage of life, like acne or menopause. And for as long as she could remember, she had paid attention to the risk factors. She had barely adjusted to the trauma of getting her period too young when she learned it was associated with breast cancer. Jewish grandparents from Eastern Europe - also very bad. Delayed childbearing - sensible but also very bad.

"Moist...

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

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 ...

Please be aware that this discussion guide may contain spoilers!

Here are some of the comments posted about The Half-Life of Everything.
You can see the full discussion here.


A Q&A with Deborah Carol Gang
The scenes between David and his friend, Ian, were a challenge because I was writing dialogue between two men whose private conversations are not witnessed by others who could help things along. I liked the challenge of creating Ian with a minimal of... - davinamw

David and Kate are forced to lie to many people with whom they have been close for the greater good of the drug trial. Do you think you would be able to lie to those you care about if you knew that it was the right thing to do?
It actually didn't really seem like much of a lie to me, just withholding a bit of truth, as Rebeccar said. If not telling anyone about the drug study is a condition for participation, then you do what you have to do. I wouldn't have a problem with ... - kdowney25

David is involved with two women at once
Leah, I disagree that no one made a definitive choice. They all three made the choice to be together in an unconventional relationship. It seemed to me that the women were more comfortable with it than David, however. He offered, on more than one ... - kdowney25

Did the friendship between Kate and Jane surprise you? Do you think you could be friends with someone that your significant other was with?
I wasn't at all surprised that Kate and Jane became friends. David thought they would have liked each other, even before the possibility that Kate might return from her illness. - kdowney25

Did you find yourself rooting for David to choose either Kate or Jane? Were you surprised to see their relationship work right through to the end of the book?
Bothnwoman were certainly open to the arrangement and probably for different reasons. I think Kate may have thought it would eventually end for medical reasons and Jane had certainly had an unpleasant marriage. Both women wanted a more perfect “... - Peggy H