by Sonja Yoerg
Brynn and Reid are very different people, to put it mildly, but family dynamics can often cause siblings to fill disparate niches. How much of a role did their parents play in how Reid and Brynn behaved and in how they saw themselves? What do you imagine the future will hold for Brynn and Reid?
Iris was attached to the natural world in a way few people are in our society. Were you envious of this? Does the idea of doing without modern conveniences appeal to you in any way?
Did you think Suzanne and Whit would stay together? Did you want them to?
The story is filled with botanical imagery and themes. Can you connect these to the overall narrative, especially Suzanne’s transformation? What was the significance of the name Iris and its mythological root as the name of a messenger from the gods?
The title of the book originates from the Melville epigraph but is connected to the story, particularly here, in Suzanne’s thoughts: “We can opt to reject the boundary, the shell behind which we operate our lives, separate from the world, the world of dirt and leaf and sky in which we evolved, the true place that holds our essential nature. We can step out from behind the glass, and live.” What do you think this means? Does the idea of stepping out from behind the glass and away from the mirror have particular significance for women? How might this connect to Brynn’s interest in photography at the close of the story?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Photo © 2017 Tamara Hattersley Photography
Sonja Yoerg grew up in Stowe, Vermont, where she financed her college education by waitressing at the Trapp Family Lodge. She earned a PhD in biological psychology from the University of California, Berkeley, and wrote a nonfiction book about animal intelligence, Clever as a Fox , before deciding it was more fun to make things up. Her previous novels are House Broken , The Middle of Somewhere , and All the Best People . Sonja lives with her husband in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia.
