Authors: Christine Lemmon
Sand in My Eyes (45 page)
6. DREAMS ON THE BACK BURNER
. Anna thinks of “all the things a mother does in a day—things she doesn’t want to do but must—and walked over to my writing desk instead. It wasn’t that I did writing at the desk—I didn’t have time—but it was a writing desk nonetheless and when I cleared the clutter, a desire to create flooded my mind, and as I dusted the deep mahogany with my finger, I felt an urge from within compelling me to start.” What is something you wish you could fit into your life everyday? Why are you not doing it now? At what age do you feel you will finally start it?
7. SHARING PROBLEMS
. The first time her neighbor knocks at her door, Anna quickly changes the mask she is wearing on her face from miserable woman whose life is in disarray to ‘my life is astounding.’ Anna doesn’t want to “be one of those women who verbally dump her overwhelmed side on others and, besides, it’s simpler to pretend that all is fine.” Talking about problems is a healthy thing to do; however, is there a difference between talking to friends about problems and becoming a draining person?
8. ROUTINES AND REGRETS.
When Anna was a publicist, she had fallen into routines she had disliked. What radical steps did she take to try to change her routines? In what ways is radical change possible? To what degrees? Was Anna’s change extreme? Is it worth making extreme changes when we are unhappy with our lives, or is it risky or irresponsible? Do you agree with Liam when he says, “It’s your life! You can never take it too seriously. Most people don’t take it seriously enough. They go about never questioning discontentment. They live with it like the color of their eyes, something they can’t change. Me? I can’t do that, Anna, I expect more from life. Call me a revolutionary, but if there’s something I hate about my life, you better believe I’m going to set out to make radical changes.”?
9. UNHAPPINESS.
What are Anna’s, Fedelina’s, and Liam’s views of happiness? Do you think any of them are truly happy at any point in the novel? Do you know people who are truly happy? Without naming, do you know people who constantly crab?
10. TOO BEAUTIFUL A WORLD.
Do you agree with Anna or with Fedelina that there is any such thing as a mother creating too beautiful a world for her children?
11. THE ENDING
. What was your reaction to the ending? Of course you didn’t expect it, but were you upset with the ending or did you appreciate its intent?
CHRISTINE LEMMON
is author of three inspiring novels —
Sanibel Scribbles, Portion of the Sea, Sand in My Eyes
— and the gift book
Whisper from the Ocean
. She has worked as an on-air host for a National Public Radio affiliate, business magazine editor, and publicist for a non-fiction publishing house.
She lives with her husband and three children on Sanibel Island, the setting of her three novels.
VISIT
CHRISTINELEMMON.COM
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