Gardens that Mended a Marriage (Moloney) - Discussion Questions

Discussion Questions
1. The book narrates a six year period in the lives of a couple struggling with a new building and garden. What did you find inspiring? What did you find disappointing?

2. Was there a specific passage that had left an impression, good or bad? Share the passage and its effect.

3. Was there a lesson that you personally have taken away from this story, either about relationships, building projects or gardening? What was it and why is it important for you?

4. This book tells the story of an ambitious project. Do you have any secret ambitions and is there a chance they could ever be fulfilled?

5. If you are an empty-nester, how have you coped with the void of your children leaving home?

6. Thinking about the author’s marriage, how typical are the ups and downs she shared? What did you think of her way of coping with them? How do you cope with them?

7. Non-fiction books can sometimes be technical. Was this book written in a way that was easily accessible? Were horticultural terms and concepts explained? Did the photos help to reinforce the subject matter and were they helpful?

8. Sometimes it is hard to categorize a book, as the author wrote in the Foreword and Afterword. Where do you think this book belongs? Gardening, travel, relationships? Or does it cross over several categories?

9. How well written was this book?

10. The author recounts her differences between herself and her husband in their approach to designing a garden. Have you experienced a tension between high-control and laisse-faire styles? Maybe between you and those you live or work with? How did you resolve it?

11. Was there something especially surprising about this story? What was it and why?

12. Does this book mainly appeal to men or women and why?

13. Memoirs trace a personal story. Did you have any preconceived opinions of the author when you first began reading and did they change in the course of her story? If so, did it change for the better or the worse?

14. Memoirs are only one side of the story, of course. What kind of book do you think Stanley would have written?

15. What do you think the next ten years will bring for the author and her family?
(Questions courtesy of the author.)

top of page (summary)