Where We Left Off (24 page)
Reading Group Guide
Discussion Questions
- In the very beginning of the chapter Mason Everett looks down on one of the groomsmen's wedding ring, as they're asking a question, why anyone would give up all of the opportunities afforded to a single man and responds “It will never be me”. Why do you think Mason dislikes the idea of marriage? Do you think his age profession or success as anything to do with it?
2.
Mason and Erika have a pretty eccentric arrangement. Do you think it's possible for two people to be involved and not develop feelings for each other? Why or why not?
3.
Towards the end of their first date, Sydney expressed her concern about what she clearly thought were Mason’s intentions. In Mason’s response he said to her “I know you don’t know a lot about me, and until tonight, I obviously didn’t either”. What do you think he found out about himself within the twenty four hours he’d spent with her? Can someone like Mason change overnight?
4.
Mason and Sydney spent their first night together during which Sydney tells Mason that she still a virgin. What if anything do you think would have changed if they had slept together?
5.
When Mason finds out that Erika is pregnant he fights himself on whether or not he should tell Sydney. To what extent do you keep a secret, whether past or present, to preserve the strength of a relationship?
6.
Have you ever been in a relationship with someone where other people assumed you were married? What gave it away? Was it the love at first sight glances, the light giggles, or the moments of missing them even when they were only a few feet from you? How influential do you think the store employee was in Mason making such a drastic decision?
7.
Why do you think it was so easy for Sydney to fall in love with Mason, despite her intuition?
8.
When Mason meets Thurgood McCail, the world he built around a secret he’s kept from everyone begins to unravel. Do you think it was unfair of him to pass judgment & disgust on Sydney’s father?
9.
When Mason left Sydney in Charleston, he knew he was risking it being the last time he would ever see Sydney again. Have you ever been in such a position where you felt the need to just run and not look back? Does running from anything actually solve the problem? Do you think it will solve or create a bigger one for Mason?
10.
Many relationships go on with skeletons in the closet that are often never addressed. Is there ever a right time to discuss them? Do you think it was fair for Sydney to ask Mason what happened to him?
11.
When Mason finally told Sydney what had happened to him, why do you think he became so angry at the end? Have you ever shared a secret so deep it felt like it hurt even more as you told it? Did you feel a sense of relief afterwards?
12.
In light of the molestation cases that have filled the media, what do you think victims fear the most when they finally tell someone? Mason felt a slew of emotions when he woke that morning, the first beginning with wishing Sydney had ran away as a result of him telling her. What do you think you would have done in that situation?
13.
The story makes a surprising twist after Mason wakes of from his coma only to realize he’d never woken up the first time. What do you think the significance of everything that took place in between then? Do you think there is a power in forgiveness?
14.
What do you think the author was trying to achieve with the conversation between Mason and Kevin?
15.
At the end of the novel Mason finally answers Jackson question of Sydney’s last words to Mason came at the end of her vows “I already have.” Why do you think she held on so long?
16.
This novel is in large part about growth, change, forgiveness and love. Where you able to relate to any of the feelings and emotions of any of the characters? Have you seen them before, known someone like one of them before? Do you know what it’s like to forgive someone who’s hurt you? Has this book helped you in any way?
J. Alex Blane
His debut Novel “Where We Left Off” was his first break in the literary world of fiction romance, but definitely not his last as he is currently working on his second.
A Multi-Media developer by trade, his creativity is fascinating.
And from a number of his reviews, so is his ability to draw you into his writing, his suspense …his story.
A native of a small city in Pennsylvania, Alex is a graduate of Wilmington University where he received both his graduate and undergraduate degree. Before becoming a full-time writer, he worked as a Career Counselor within the University and a media developer for design firm he and a friend founded in 2004. He’s always had a passion of writing, telling himself one day he was going to write a book. After nearly eight years of deciding to put his pen to a piece of paper he finally finished, Where We Left Off, a story that has evolved with his many life experiences into something to this day he will say he never expected.
Alex currently resides in Bear, Delaware
with his wife and his two
children where they share a small home just right for him to sneak off into a little corner and write more of what he loves
and where he is currently at work on his next novel. He is a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., Nu Upsilon Chapter in Wilmington, Delaware, a father and a husband. Alex loves to tell a good story, but more than that he loves to make you feel as if you are right there as it’s happening; a part of the feelings, the emotions, the joys and the sadness’s. Pull up a chair, or find that special place where you can escape the world around you and get to know a few new people. That’s how he makes you feel, as if you are just as important reading the story as the characters living it.
www.amazon.com/author/jalexblane
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