Mercy Train (Meadows) - Discussion Questions

Discussion Questions
1. How much did you know about orphan trains before reading this novel? What touched you most about Violet’s story? Did reading Mercy Train make you want to learn more?

2. We are introduced to Violet as a rambunctious young girl living with an adventurous zeal for life—that is, until she is sent off on the orphan train. In what ways has Violet changed from a little girl to the older woman Iris remembers as her mother? Why do you think she has changed? How has she remained the same?

3. Which mother/daughter relationship resonated most with you? Why?

4. Has there ever been a time in your life when you’ve been forced to make a hard decision regarding a loved one’s health like Sam is? What do you think of the decision she ultimately made?

5. Do you think each of the mothers in this book represents her particular generation? What about them is specific to the environment in which they grew up?

6. Iris tells Sam that women don’t know what they will be like as mothers. Why do you think she tells her this? Do you think this is true? Do women really have no control over the mothers they become?

7. There is a running theme of identity and self throughout the novel. Iris feels that she put up a façade as a mother. Samantha loses her will to create art after having Ella. Is losing one’s identity part of becoming a mother? Do the women in this novel think that motherhood is worth the sacrifice?

8. There are a lot of secrets that are kept by the women in the novel (eg., Violet’s abandonment by her mother; Iris’s trip to the Drake Hotel; Sam’s abortion). Why do you think they keep these secrets—even from those closest to them?

9. Are there any questions that this book brought up that you’ve ever wanted to ask your mother but couldn’t? What are they?

10. Iris’s reading played a big role in this novel. Are there any books that you and your mother or children have connected over? Why?

11. Did reading this novel make you think about your own family history? What memories did it bring up? Did it make you want to learn more about your family’s past?

12. Violet chooses her path and suggests being sent on the orphan train. “She wanted what her mother could never give her.” Do you think she made the right decision? How would her life have been different?

13. How are Violet, Iris, and Sam similar? How are they different? What do you think Ella’s inheritance will be from the family?
(Questions issued by publisher.)

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