Did you read "The Things That Keep us Here"

I pulled this question from a reading guide:

In the story Ann chooses to not take her best friend's baby because of the flu, thereby condemning him to an almost certain death. Peter intervenes and takes the baby. What do you think that you would do in a similar situation? Does Peter's behavior reflect a faith?

Did anyone else read the book?

I totally disagreed with Ann's choice.  This was her best friend--as close to family as she had.  To leave that child out on the doorstep was equivalent to murder in my eyes.  I found it a bit unbelievable that she would have made that choice, knowing that the incubation period was 48 hours for the onset of the flu.  As they proved, it wasn't that hard to keep the baby away from her daughters. 

As for Peter's behavior reflecting a faith, perhaps it did.  I didn't read into his decision that much because it was what I would have done.  But yes, he had faith that the mother wouldn't expose his children to the virus if her son had it.  And maybe he also had a faith in God that his family would be taken care if he made the right choice

Any other comments?  Did you like the book?

I liked the book. Honestly I don't know how I would react in a situation like that. My girls will always come first no matter what. I don't know that I would risk exposing them without a lot of thought about it and soul searching. 

I thought the book was interesting, but I some things in it bothered me.  For instance, when the power went out, I couldn't understand what the urgency was in cooking up all the food in the freezer.  It was snowing and cold outside--a natural freezer for them.

Here's another question to ponder:  Do you think the character of Ann was written as strong or selfish?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Diane 

I thought the book was interesting, but I some things in it bothered me.  For instance, when the power went out, I couldn't understand what the urgency was in cooking up all the food in the freezer.  It was snowing and cold outside--a natural freezer for them.

 

Here's another question to ponder:  Do you think the character of Ann was written as strong or selfish?

I think Ann was written as a strong character. A mom does what she has to in order to protect her children. I don't think a selfish woman would have let her ex come and stay with the girl she believed to be his lover. 

Question: Are you prepared for a natural disaster? How long would you and your family last with the food in your pantry? Would you be able to protect yourself from thieves? Could you kill someone to protect your kids?

I do agree.  I think she was a strong character.  I don't think I would have even wanted to attempt to go to the grocery store in that kind of atmosphere.  But you do what you have to do.

I'm not sure how long we would last in a natural disaster if we had to live off of what we had at home.  It would all depend on whether I had just stocked up or if we were getting low. Sometimes, I deliberately won't buy things so we'll use the food we have in the pantry.  If something happened at that point, we probably wouldn't make it more than two weeks or so.  If push came to shove, and my girls lives were threatened, I think I would be able to hurt an intruder badly enough to protect them.  I would hope my adrenaline would kick in so I would be strong enough to do it.

• What do you think that you would do in a similar situation? Does Peter's behavior reflect a faith? I would've done the same thing. Take the baby in. I don't' think his decision was based on faith, but most likely instinct and the fact that he also had first base knowledge on how the virus worked and knew the baby wasn't contagious. 

• Do you think the character of Ann was written as strong or selfish? I think she was a very strong woman, as Dee mentioned, it takes a very strong woman to accept her soon to be ex-husband in her home with the supposedly other woman. However, it really irritated me how she reacted towards the baby and I did see that as selfish. Especially after she had gone through the loss of a baby how could she would leave a baby out on her door step and not feel some kind of guilt! 
• Are you prepared for a natural disaster? Living in Florida and having gone through the Andrew Hurricane back in _____ you'd think I would be prepared, however I'm not. I usually don't follow the Hurricane preparedness guides. I think if I were I'd go over the edge. I was joking with DH that I should become a doomsday prepper! LOL! He was like "NO" 
• How long would you and your family last with the food in your pantry? I think we would last a couple of months. I do have a ton of dry food that we could use up, but on the other hand we have lots of stuff in the deep freezer so if the electricity were to go we would have to eat it all up in a rush. No snowing in FL.
• Would you be able to protect yourself from thieves? We don't have weapons in the home, but I think DH would anything to protect us, no matter what.
• Could you kill someone to protect your kids? Absolutely. Without a doubt. Mommy-Instinct Adrenaline would definitely kick in for me!