Back on the porch with Henry's Sisters...

English Tea Garden        

at the International Flower and Garden Show Epcot by HGTV! 

Just back from Florida vacation in time to talk about my Aman Girl's book club pick Henry's Sisters
Discussion Questions
Of the three sisters whom do you relate to the most? Janie. She lives on the houseboat, writes, a little odd. Friends with? Janie, the tea, aprons, crocheting...I could change places with her, only for a month. Reach out to other people maybe try to get out more. Isabelle went from a person who was  self destructive nearly to the point of death to a woman who wanted to live and enjoy life. Cecilia stopped pleasing only other people this helped with her extreme anger. Janie started letting people in including her family. River was hard for me to like. Some of her decisions were so alien to me. But I have never been backed into the corner she found herself in. I hope if I ever were in such dire straits I would find a way to let my children know how much I loved them. Her girls felt so unloved... Carl was a sympathetic character. His PTSD made me try to understand his leaving for 30 years but losing those years made the lives of his family so difficult...hard to forgive. Henry, now there was a character I knew. I worked with people like him for over 20 years. I believe he did have a happy life. Life made him happy. We could all learn from Henry that joy is in little things, that life is only lived in moments and give hugs when you have the chance. Father Mike gave Isabelle the means to forgive herself for her past. Good guy. The fallout from Henry and his sisters horrible childhood probably will always effect  their lives but I believe they will all rise above it and have interesting lives...not perfect but worth living. Isabelle's statement about men "...deeply flawed and exhausting." Well, aren't we all? I hope she gives a relationship a try. Henry held the family together with his unconditional love. I wish Henry would not have had to die. It would have been nice for him to have enjoyed his family in good times. He did a great job though of living all his moments right to the end. Any other ending would have worked but Cathy Lamb wanted to land her last punch!   Last question is a hard one for me to answer...what are the dynamics of our family? What are typical sisters? I think any family is functional if siblings, including in-laws, maintain relationships through out their lives.
In conclusion, I liked the book. A little hard on my sensibilities but put me in another woman's shoes for a while.