Questions to Ponder: Leora’s Letters

Several book clubs have chosen Leora’s Letters to read and discuss, from Texas to Indianola and Polk City. Thanks to Deni Scar Sobek, the latest was in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. (Her grandmother was Darlene Wilson Scar, twin sister of Dale Wilson.)

The book has these discussion questions at the end to help get a discussion started.

Questions to Ponder

Do you have family members who served in World War II, or at another time in our history? Has anyone recorded their stories? How could you make sure they are? Memorial Day is dedicated to remember Americans lost in wars. If your family has no combat losses, how you make sure to remember them on Memorial Day? How could you help the next generations think about the nation’s great losses? Thousands of graves of young Americans lie in foreign countries which our soldiers helped free from tyranny. They have regular ceremonies to remember and reflect. Because WW II was fought on foreign soil, does that affect your perspective about American losses?What do you think motivated the Wilson brothers to enlist? What motivates people today to join the military?Several family members advised the youngest brother to stay home with their parents. How might that have eventually changed family dynamics from his point of view? What about his parents? What did the Wilson family do to cope with all the uncertainty during the war? For months after the war, the Wilson still had no answers about what had happened to two of their sons. How did they get through those anxious days? What would you have done? Essie Sharpton was a faithful correspondent for Leora through the decades, helping to sustain and encourage her. Has someone in your life come alongside when things have been tough? Have you been able to do the same for someone else?C.S. Lewis said, “I have seen great beauty of spirit in some who were great sufferers.” (The Problem of Pain) Have you know someone with a sweet spirit in spite of physical or emotional pain? What do you think sustains them? There’s something precious about being able to hold and keep a letter, a tangible blessing. People during World War II sometime had to wait for one, heightening the tension families already felt. Do you have any old family letters? Why do you think people keep them for decades?

Leora’s Letters is also available as an audiobook, narrated by Paul Berge. You may listen to a sample below the cover.