1. In your way of thinking, what is the difference between renovation and preservation?

2. What is Jo-Lynn’s memory of Uncle Jim connected her to his spiritual life?

3. Have you ever felt like Jo-Lynn: totally in the world and yet completely out of sorts with it. How’d you get through it?

4. Describe Jo-Lynn’s relationships between her and various members of her family.

5. What “characters” in Things Left Unspoken’s cast of characters did you feel as though you connected to?

6. Do Jo-Lynn and Evan really love each other or is theirs a marriage of convenience and comfort? Where do you think their marriage went wrong?

7. Why do you think God never allowed Stella and Valentine to come back together?

8. Do you think you could love a child in the way Stella chose to love Bettina? What characteristic of God do you see in the way Stella chose to handle her situation?

9. Why was the discovery of Cottonwood’s secrets so important/devasting to Jo-Lynn?

10. Jo-Lynn felt the issue of “legacy” to be very important. What kind of legacy do you hope to leave?

11. What prejudices have you had to overcome in your life? What sacrifices have you had to make? What secrets have you had to keep?

12. At the end of Things Left Unspoken Jo-Lynn and Evan have reached a compromise of sorts. Describe it from both points of view. Is Evan really the mayor of Cottonwood?