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About the Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus Discussion category
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1
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29
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June 23, 2025
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Harriet Sloane is an inveterate magazine reader. How do magazines and media shape our culture? And what did Harriet mean when she first told Elizabeth to "recommit"? (p. 147). Is there some dream of yours that you wish you would recommit to?
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4
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17
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June 23, 2025
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Madeline decides that faith isn't based on religion. What role does religion play in the book? Why do Elizabeth, Calvin, and Wakely believe that personal responsibility — faith in one's self — is more important than believing in something greater?
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3
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22
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June 23, 2025
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At Hastings, Calvin wants to help Elizabeth because “life isn’t fair,” while she feels that accepting favors is cheating (p. 26). What’s your opinion of this interchange? Should she have accepted his help? What would you have done?
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10
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45
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June 23, 2025
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How do you think Elizabeth’s beauty helped or hurt her? Do you feel men are ever similarly judged by their looks? Has this changed since the time period in which the book is set, in your opinion?
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5
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34
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June 23, 2025
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Wakely tells Elizabeth he’s not sure “normal” exists. “Does science recognize normal?”, he asks. “How would you define normal?” (p. 353). What do you think? Is there such a thing as “normal”?
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5
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20
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June 23, 2025
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Why do you believe Mrs. Mudford was so hostile to both Madeline and Amanda?
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7
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40
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June 23, 2025
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As a child, Elizabeth had no formal education, and yet she was able to self-educate, thanks to her library card. With the advent of technology, do you think libraries are still important to society? If so, why?
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11
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89
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June 23, 2025
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Overall, what did you think of Lessons in Chemistry? (No spoilers, please!)
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30
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176
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June 23, 2025
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Elizabeth is sometimes depressed by the circumstances in her life, and yet she's never a victim. How does she continually pick herself up? What do you think fuels her resilience? And why, after she's reached stardom, is she more miserable than ever?
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4
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22
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June 23, 2025
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Many male characters are sympathetic to Elizabeth's plight, but most have trouble standing up for women or other minorities in the workplace. Why do good-hearted people have trouble speaking up? And what are the consequences of not doing so?
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6
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24
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June 23, 2025
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Elizabeth refuses to accept limits placed on her by society and insists that others also ignore those limits. How do each of those characters ultimately rise to that challenge? And in what ways have you or others been limited by societal norms?
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4
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15
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June 23, 2025
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Could Elizabeth’s story happen today? How have things changed in the work place then?
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5
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40
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June 23, 2025
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“Having a baby,” Elizabeth muses, “was a little like living with a visitor from another planet.” (p. 162). What did you think of this statement? If you have children, did this sentiment ring true, in your experience?
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4
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22
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June 23, 2025
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Madeline fills her family tree with Sojourner Truth, Amelia Earhart, and Nefertiti to point out that all humans are related. But if humans are 99.9 percent the same, why do we treat each other so differently?
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8
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28
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June 23, 2025
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Phil tells Walter that Elizabeth isn’t relatable – but that’s a good thing. “People don’t want to see themselves on TV, they want to see the people they’ll never be on TV.” (p. 202). Do you agree with him?
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4
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16
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June 23, 2025
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Harriet questions Elizabeth’s “que será, será approach to parenting.” Do you think she was truly as hands-off as Harriet supposes? What do you think of the way she raised Madeline?
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5
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24
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June 23, 2025
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After WWII, when men returned to their jobs, what encouraged women to accept their place as only in the home? And why, in today's world, when women are in the workforce in record numbers, are they still doing most of the housework and child-raising?
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5
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38
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June 23, 2025
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Can friendships sometimes provide family better than family itself? Walter isn't Amanda's biological father, but he loves her fully. On the other hand, Avery Parker still loves the son she never knew. How do you define family?
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3
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15
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June 23, 2025
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Elizabeth refuses to marry Calvin. What did you think of her decision here? How would her life have been different if they’d married?
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9
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48
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June 23, 2025
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Elizabeth tells Harriet she worries that introversion could be a gene mutation, and that both she & Calvin could be carriers (p. 167). Do you think Madeline was an introvert? Do you feel this is an inherited or learned trait?
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5
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27
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June 23, 2025
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Elizabeth tells her audience that “Courage is the root of change–and change is what we’re chemically designed to do…When you go home today, ask yourself what you will change. And then get started.” Did you find this inspiring and if so, in what ways?
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3
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15
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June 23, 2025
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