The Year of Necessary Lies Reading Group Guide

1. This novel focuses on a year, 1904-05, that was pivotal for women. Did you know that during this time so many women were beginning to realize they could step up and change not just themselves but the world?

2. The plume trade is a huge part of this empowering novel. Discuss the role women's fashion played and still does in history and social and moral decisions.

3. The heroine of the novel, Julia, risked everything to follow her heart and claim a new place for herself in the world. Would you have the courage to risk it all?

4. This work of historical fiction transports readers first to sophisticated Boston and then to primitive Florida. Talk about how different those two worlds were for Julia.

5. Female friendships are front and center in this book. What role did strong women play in Julia's life?

6. Julia's granddaughter, Kelly, takes a very long time to discover her Year. How important was her grandmother's gift to her?

7. The variety of men in the novel, and Julia's relationships with them, is complicated. Discuss their importance to her.

8. One of the great risks Julia takes is opening up her heart to all kinds of love. What does this say about her character?

9. The author, Kris Radish, has said that one of the reasons she wrote this novel was so that women, young and old, would remember what sacrifices women in the past made so we can all live the way we do. Is that important to you?

10.The global warming controversy is a huge issue today. Compare our issues with similar issues addressed in this book.

11. Once Julia opens her heart she realizes there are many ways to love and live. Do you think it's possible to love two people at the same time?

12. Many of the characters in this book existed and Julia is based on many real life female environmental and ornithological pioneers. Do you think its still necessary to have women in those leadership roles?

13. The world was so very different in 1904. What do you think your life would have been like if you had lived then?

14. The author has devoted a large part of her writing career to empowering women and encouraging them to live their lives their way and not the way society thinks they should live. How important is personal choice and risk to you?

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