Trail of Broken Wings (Badani) - Discussion Questions

Discussion Questions
Use our LitLovers talking points to help start your discussion for TRAIL OF BROKEN WINGS … then take off on your own:

1. Trail of Broken Wings is told through four different characters. Whose story, or character, do you find most compelling, and why? The persepctives, however, vary: two use a first-person narration, while two others use a third-person. Why might the author have chosen two differing points of view?

2. Talk about the different ways in which the sisters have responded to, or coped with, their father's abuse.

3. Brent the father is comatose through the book, yet he is possibly the most influential character. Talk about who he is--what we come to learn about him. How have his past actions affected the lives of his wife and daughters? Do you have sympathy for him? Might extenuating circumstances excuse his actions?

4. What does this book suggest about the power of secrets—in a family or in an individual life? What is your personal understanding of why secrets become secrets? Might it be better for some of life's suffering to be kept under wraps—or do you think it's always best to bring them to light, to keep them from becoming "secrets"?

5. To what extent does the past determine the future? Is it possible to ever break free of the past—and if so, how? What does this novel seem to say?

6.  What part does trust and love play in healing in Trail of Broken Wings?

7. What is the significance of the book's title, "Trail of Broken Wings"?

8. What do you think of the book's ending? Is it earned? Or is it unrealistic and pat?

(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online or off, with attribution. Thanks.)

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