This is so super late. I started reading “The Husband’s Secret” but could never find the time to finish it. These  days with the baby, I can only do so much. I just finished and it and found some questions from the publisher on the book. If you read the book you can leave your answers in the comments section.

Update with my answers to the book club questions.

Discussion Questions

1. When Cecilia finds the letter addressed to her from her husband, “To be opened only in the event of my death,” she is tormented by the ethics of opening it. Do you agree with her ultimate decision? What would you have done?

I do not agree with her decision not to open the letter. I would have opened the letter immediately, I am a very curious person. I would have wanted to know what my husband is hiding from me.

1. Consider the title The Husband’s Secret. Several characters in the book have secrets they hold on to that they eventually reveal. Felicity and Will share the secret of their affair to Tess; John-Paul guards his secret from Cecilia until he is forced to admit it. What are the ramifications of their secrets? Is secrecy is ever warranted and justifiable?

Secrets have a way of coming out eventually and it usually hurts the people involved. I can understand why someone would keep a secret. Sometimes one holds onto a secret because it is not their position to share what they know. Life happens and it s not always easy.

1. Tess has suffered her whole life from crippling social anxiety. How has this made everyday situations a challenge for her? Why has she never confronted her problem? Why doesn’t she tell anyone about it?

Tess finds it so difficult to socialize with other people and  because of her anxiety. I can relate to that being an ex-pat here in Bermuda, its hard meeting new people here. I keep to a small group of friends, it makes me feel safe. I think Tess finds safety in her family. If she had told them about it they would have not taken it serious.

1. The Berlin Wall is referred to throughout the novel as Esther works on her school project. And in fact, we learn that Cecilia met John-Paul on the day the Wall finally came down. What does the Wall signify in the book?

The Wall signifies the secrets between the people involved and when  the Wall came down it was to signify the coming out of the secrets.

1. Grief is a major theme in the novel, and many of the characters have suffered as a result of their losses. How has grief affected Rachel? Rob? Tess? John-Paul? How do they each cope? In what ways have their lives have been irrevocably altered as a result of their grieving? Do you think people can fully stop grieving and move on with their lives?

Rachel lives her life based on “if Janie was alive” so she misses out on what is happening in the now. She almost forgets she has another child. Rob grieves for his sister all by himself, his parents do not grieve with him. When Tess realises she has lost her husband to Felicity she immediately goes back home, uprooting her son. Tess starts  a new relationship to heal herself. John-Paul removed in his life that he loved to punish himself.

Depending on the circumstances you can eventually stop grieving with the right support as well. There are times that you are able to let go of a loved one especially if you have accepted that the person will die like when someone has been ill for a long time or due to age. If it is an accident then it is much more difficult.

1. The concept of guilt also plays a major role in the novel. Rachel feels that because of a brief flirtation with Toby Murphy she was absent when Janie died. John-Paul continues to sacrifice things that he loves, out of guilt for what he did to Janie. It seems that these characters have never been able to recover from the feelings of guilt caused by their actions. Yet at the same time, other characters in the book do not appear to feel guilt in the same way. Consider Felicity and Will. Do they have remorse for their affair? And does Tess regret her fling with Connor? What determines how guilty one feels-is it the situation, or is it determined by the individual’s character?

Felicity and Will realise what they have done but they think everything should just go back to normal when the call it quits. I do not think Tess regrets her fling, if she did not have a son with Will she would hav stayed with Connor. I think guilt is determined by one’s character.

1. Tess and Felicity have a history of making snide comments about other people. Tess realizes this only once she is out of the comfort zone she’s shared with Felicity for so many years. How has such negative energy affected her relationships with others? Do you think she and Felicity are actually cruel, or is there another reason for their unkind behavior?

It is not a nice thing to do but its not necessarily cruel. It is their thing but I do not think they had a reason for this.

1. Ethics and morals are important themes in the book. Discuss how John-Paul, Cecilia, Tess, Will, and Rachel have each done something they would not have thought possible. Have you ever acted in a way that seems entirely out of character? How did you feel? Does love cause people to do things they wouldn’t normally do?

Acting out of character makes you feel weird but you feel there is no other way. Loves makes people do crazy things!

1. Consider the notion of betrayal in this book. Which characters have betrayed someone they love? Are their acts of betrayal premeditated, or are they unplanned decisions that become regrettable actions? When one person betrays another, can that person be forgiven? Or is the damage irreparable?

Felicity and Will betray Tess. John-Paul felt betrayed by Janie whom he loved. None of the betrayal in the book was planned.

Sometimes the betrayal is so deep it is hard to forgive. I have to pray for me to be able to forgive and I have learnt that time heals wounds. If one holds on to the pain the damage is irreparable and it eats you from the inside out.

1. The novel is narrated in third-person and in past tense. Given the intense focus on three women, why did the author choose to tell the story from this point of view? How does this perspective add a sense of mystery and foreboding?

I think the way the story is told makes see each of the women’s perspective, how the view themselves and and why they make the decisions that they make.

1. Cecilia has been married to John-Paul for fifteen years and has three children with him. Until she opens his letter, she seems to trust him and believe him to be the wonderful husband and father she’s always thought him to be. But when she discovers his terrible, sinful secret, she begins to question him. How well can one know one’s spouse? Is it possible to ever completely know another person?

You and your spouse will change over time so it is impossible to know someone completely. The core of one’s character will not change though.

(Questions issued by publisher.)