Ryan's Place (17 page)

1. While Sherryl Woods touches on a number of different issues in RYAN’S PLACE, what is the underlying theme throughout the book?

2. If you have read other books by Sherryl Woods, are there themes or values in RYAN’S PLACE that are consistent with her other work? What are they?

3. Was the book influenced at all by the Boston-Cambridge setting and the Irish background of many of the characters? How might it have been different if it had been set in another part of the country, for example a small town in the South?

4. Ryan’s hatred of holidays is one example of how his life has been shaped by his difficult childhood. Were there others? How has your own life been shaped by the things that happened to you as a child?

5. Although we don’t yet know why the Devaneys abandoned their three oldest sons to the foster care system while keeping the younger twins, can you think of any excuse that would justify their actions?

6. Do you blame Ryan for not wanting to find his parents or his siblings? Was it inconsistent for him to work so hard to find Lamar’s father when he’s refused to look for his own? And once he does begin to search for his family, did you understand his initial need to find an unemotional excuse for finally looking for them?

7. If Ryan eventually does find his parents, what do you think their reaction will be? How do you feel about adopted children searching for their biological parents? What are some of the emotional pitfalls they might face?

8. How difficult do you think it will be for the Devaney brothers to get along once they are eventually reunited? What sorts of issues might they have with each other?

9. When Father Francis reveals Ryan’s childhood trauma to Maggie—at that time a virtual stranger—do you feel that his actions were appropriate for a priest? What about his meddling and manipulations to try to bring Ryan and Maggie together? Does it matter that his motives were well-intentioned?

10. What role do you believe fate played in bringing a woman like Maggie into Ryan’s life? Do you believe in fate? Are there instances in your own life in which you believe fate had a hand?

11. How about love at first sight? Do you believe it’s possible?

12. Though she doesn’t call it love right away, almost from the very beginning Maggie clearly believes that Ryan is going to be an important man in her life. Do you think she was too forward in going after what she wanted from the relationship?

13. Did Maggie’s family make it easier or more difficult for her to develop a relationship with Ryan? Have you ever known a family like the O’Briens?

14. The story often talks about counting one’s blessings. Are the blessings that touch us always obvious? Can blessings sometimes come from negative events in our lives?