The Fire She Set

Book Club Discussion Questions

1. Who the does the “She” in the title refer to? Did your answer change as the story unfolded?
2. How would you feel if you found out your father was not your father? What would change?
3. What do you think about the revelations from the forensic investigator?
4. How does this story compare to the worst thing that ever happened to you?
5. What effect do you think the truth had on the sisters?
6. Has this book changed how you perceive mental illness, alcoholism or drug addiction?
7. Remember someone from your childhood whom you always wondered about.  Does this story change your perception about what that person was going through or living with?
8. Are there “family secrets” in your family that you wish could be brought to the surface and discussed? What effect would that have on your family dynamic?

Questions for the Author

1. Is the “She” in the title of the book referring to Lisa, because everyone assumed it was her, or to you, because of all the questions that came out once you started the investigation?
   • The “She” in The Fire She Set refers to all of the females in the family.  It was a general pronoun for my mother and the four sisters. The title is more metaphorical, in that everyone sometimes “lights a fire” concerning certain topics.
2. What made you decide to write the book, and what was your biggest challenge?
   • I was ready to learn the truth about how the fire started, and whether someone was responsible. I finally had the time to research the story. My biggest challenge was to write a story that people would want to read, so I enlisted the aid of Emily Adams. Emily worked closely with me to tell the story. My sister, Lisa, who is also a great writer, helped me finish the story.
3. What effect did the search for the truth have on the sisters’ relationship and were any of the sisters against the investigation?
   • Initially, I did not tell my sisters that I was writing a book about the fire.  Later, I enlisted their support. While each sister had her own viewpoint about the book and the outcome, we remained supportive of each other and respected our differences.
4. Has your role as the “sister in charge” changed once the truth was learned about your paternity?
   • My sisters still treat me the same even when we all learned the truth.
5. You were very open/honest about your mother’s mental health challenges, was that difficult to write about?
   • Today, we view mental health differently than we did when I was growing up in the 1960’s and 1970’s. The process of writing provided relief about my mother’s mental illness, which led me to forgiving her parenting challenges.
6. Have your sisters’ lives changed since the book was published?
   • No, we are still the same, just getting older and appreciating our sisterhood even more. The biggest change is that I now live in Idaho and Lisa lives in Kentucky, while Les and Liz are still in California. We are more separated by distance than circumstance.
7. What is your best advice for someone who wants to write a book today?
   • My best advice is to never give up. Believe in yourself and your story and work hard to promote your book.  Most importantly, keep writing!