Photo by Valari Jack
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Questions for Reading Groups
By Danielle Dell’Olio, January 2007
If you’d like to discuss Leap! with your book club, these questions will help spark lively dialogue
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1. Body image is a recurring theme in the book—how you perceive yourself and those younger than you, and how you’re perceived by others. How do you feel about the pressures to stay and look young?
2. “What to do?” Davidson asks herself on such hot topics as plastic surgery and fitting in with the latest style trends. “Will I feel embarrassed, as if I’m cheating, trying to deny what’s happening, and failing to make the transition gracefully?” What message do you think plastic surgery sends to a younger generation about growing older gracefully?
3. Davidson reminds us that although boomers came of age during the sexual revolution, many now find it difficult to navigate the notions of love, sex, and relationships. How do you feel about love, sex, and the challenges of either forming new relationships or sustaining an existing one? Have you redefined “love” for yourself?
4. Our jobs can determine how we look at ourselves and how we’re viewed by others. But a career can change gears, either by choice or circumstance, and we can find ourselves being defined by our age. How has your view of keeping your career, switching it, or retiring from it changed how you feel about yourself? Have you felt the draw toward community service and giving back to society?
5. When interviewing the late author Bebe Moore Campbell, Davidson found Campbell living out her post-50 days caring not only for an ailing mother at home but also welcoming back her adult daughter with a toddler in tow. “These are the most stressful years of my life,” Moore Campbell said. But she then explained that she was at peace with the change. How have the years post-50 been different from what you imagined they’d be? Have you had to care for an ailing parent or support an adult child or a grandchild? If so, how has this changed your idea of these years?
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