1. What does the title of the book mean? Consider that Mrs. Madeline Bemis says, about her time in the home for unwed mothers in Golden, Colorado: "It was my college, my graduate school. I earned a Ph.D. in misery. Saw it, felt it, ate it, slept it. A useful thing to know in this world, I suppose. All the suffering in it." (p. 324). Is this the key to the title? Why is a knowledge of suffering useful? (It might be interesting to consider here that in Buddhism, the Buddha said, "All I teach is suffering and its end.")

2. What would you say is "The Education of Alice Matthews"?

3. There are some dandy villains in this story. Who would you choose as the most villainous? If personal growth comes from our encounters with difficulties, how do the story's villains push both Mrs. Bemis and Dr. Alice Matthews to change?

4. The author bases his depiction of Mrs. Bemis's depression partly on Judith Herman's Trauma and Recovery. What was Mrs. Bemis's trauma? What circumstances contributed to her depression? Why do you think keeping secrets is so harmful, and revealing them so cathartic?

5. It is said, "The rich are different." How does Mrs. Bemis's social class make her different? In what ways, do you think, did her social status and wealth help or hurt her?

6. Why is Alice Matthews so drawn to Mrs. Bemis? She herself tries to answer this question, so you might what to look at what she says, and then think about what she doesn't say.

7. In this story, women badly misjudge the men they choose. Why do you think they made such poor choices? Do you think Alice Matthews has a future with Detective Frank LeBeau, i.e., is he a better choice?

8. The author says in his "A Note on Psychiatry" at the end of the book: "As Irvin D. Yalom makes clear, the psychiatric effort is not solely the patient's journey, but the psychiatrist's as well." Dr. Matthews clearly represents Yalom's point of view. What are the opposing ones, represented by the other psychiatrists in the novel? What are the risks, as well as the obvious rewards, of Yalom's approach?

9. Discuss Brendan Hurley. How would you solve the mystery of his death? Look at Mrs. Bemis from his perspective. How does his perception differ from her own? What does she contribute to his tragic life?

10. Since Mrs. Bemis's mother also spent time in the Montrose Psychiatric Hospital, do you think Mrs. Bemis's mental problems were hereditary, learned behavior, or both?

11. Why doesn't Mrs. Bemis contact her real son? How would you evaluate her mental health at the novel's end?