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Authors: Rene Gutteridge

Tags: #FICTION / Christian / Suspense, #Suspense

Misery Loves Company (27 page)

BOOK: Misery Loves Company
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Acknowledgments

I’D LIKE TO THANK
all the people at Tyndale who continue to be teammates in this wonderful world of writing. The entire fiction team, the sales team, the support staff are incredibly gifted, dedicated, and professional and a joy to be around. Special thanks to Jan Stob, Sarah Mason, and Karen Watson for continuing to believe in my stories and writing.

I’d also like to thank my agent, Janet Kobobel Grant, for her constant guidance and encouragement. She is a fountain of wisdom from whom I draw much. Also, thanks to Ron Wheatley, my constant writing companion and technical adviser, who makes my stories read authentically.

My family
 
—Sean, John, and Cate
 
—bring such joy to my life and fill my days with deep meaning and purpose. It’s easy to come back from my imaginary world and dwell in the moments that are real.

And as always, thank You to my heavenly Father, who allows me to work out my faith in my stories and ask the hard questions, never harshly rebuking me but always dealing with me kindly and attentively.

About the Author

RENE GUTTERIDGE
is the author of nineteen novels, including
Heart of the Country
,
Possession
,
Listen
, and the Storm series from Tyndale House Publishers and
Never the Bride
, the Boo series, and the Occupational Hazards series from WaterBrook Multnomah. She also released
My Life as a Doormat
and
The Ultimate Gift: The Novelization
with Thomas Nelson. Rene is also known for her Christian comedy sketches. She studied screenwriting while earning a mass communications degree, graduating magna cum laude from Oklahoma City University and earning the Excellence in Mass Communication Award. She served as the full-time director of drama for First United Methodist Church for five years before leaving to stay home and write. She enjoys instructing at writers conferences and in college classrooms. She lives with her husband, Sean, a musician, and their children in Oklahoma City. Visit her website at
www.renegutteridge.com
.

Discussion Questions
  1. At the beginning of
    Misery Loves Company
    , Jules writes in her blog that Patrick Reagan has lost his spark as a writer. In what ways can any of us lose our spark? Can that loss be prevented or a spark restored once it’s gone? How?
  2. Jules copes with the loss of her husband, Jason, by retreating from the world and looking forward to seeing Jason in her dreams. What do you think was healthy or unhealthy about her response? Have you ever turned to your dreams or imagination to cope with grief?
  3. Jules’s father, the Lt. Colonel, says in chapter 1 that “instinct can carry you an awful long way, but full analysis can save your life.” Explain what he means by this. When have you had to put “full analysis” into practice?
  4. In chapter 5, Jules considers the purpose of death: “What was this life for if not loving and living and changing and breathing? What was the point of it all if death took it away?” Have you ever struggled with similar questions? Were you able to reconcile your thinking about death, and if so, how?
  5. In chapter 6, the Lt. Colonel says that technology is ruining our society. Considering the story line in
    Misery Loves Company
    , is there some validity to his concerns? How should we apply wisdom in our use of technology? What are the pros and cons of social media in our culture?
  6. When Patrick asks Jules if she told the truth about his writing on her blog, she answers him honestly despite being his captive. Have you been in a situation where telling the truth was risky or costly? Explain.
  7. In chapter 8, Patrick asks Jules, “Did you intend to harm
    me
    ?” in reference to her blog post about his writing. If you were writing a review about someone’s work on your blog and knew the author would read your words, how would that knowledge affect your writing? How much responsibility do you think reviewers have to consider the feelings of the author?
  8. Have you ever found yourself in a terrifying situation? If so, please share, if you feel comfortable, how you coped.
  9. Jules describes herself as someone who only functions in a well-ordered environment, as opposed to Patrick, who is “fond of chaos.” Describe how you best function and discuss why you believe God formed you this way.
  10. “You can’t find peace because there is no peace without truth,” Patrick says in chapter 17. What does he mean by this? Do you agree that there’s a relationship between peace and truth? Explain.
  11. Later Patrick says, “Writing is about finding truth. But you can’t find the truth if you don’t see everything,” describing how writers closely observe their world. Do you need to look more closely at your world? What would change if you did so?
  12. Leona Patterson tells Chris in chapter 21 that “writers play God, don’t you see? They create their people, their creations, and . . . then send trouble into their paths.” In literature, obstacles are essential to good storytelling. What would our lives be like without trouble? What purpose do our problems serve?
  13. Consider Patrick’s words in chapter 25: “We need people, Juliet, to show us our selfishness, to extract ugliness that reveals itself in our hearts.” How do people play this role in our lives? Can you think of a time when you either allowed someone to play this role or prevented someone from doing so?
  14. Patrick asks Jules if there is a time when killing is merciful. How would you answer him? How would you handle an end-of-life situation if you were in the place of Patrick’s wife? What would you do if you were in Patrick’s position, watching someone you loved suffer?
  15. As Patrick and Jules consider God’s role in their lives, Patrick remarks that “the hardest thing to understand about God is why He answers a prayer for a good parking space at the mall but won’t hear the cries of a man desperate to save his wife. Why He wouldn’t hear the plea of such a woman as yourself, that her husband might not die on a sidewalk in the darkness of night.” Have you wrestled with similar questions about answered and unanswered prayers? How would you answer Patrick?
BOOK: Misery Loves Company
5.35Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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