As Bright as Heaven, by Susan Meissner

 

Characters
1918-1919	1925-1926
Pauline -mother (died) Thomas – father Henry – deceased baby Evelyn “Evie” – 15 Maggie – 12 Willa – 6   Grandpa and Grandma (Eunice) Adler – Quakertown Jane – Pauline’s sister   Uncle Fred – Bright Funeral Home (died)   Mrs. Landry – housekeeper Mrs. Brewster – does hair and makeup   Sutcliff Accounting – neighbors Roland and Darla – parents Charlie (died) Jamie   Evelyn – school Mr. Galway – teacher (died) Gilbert Keane – student (died)   Willa – school Florence “Flossie” Gretchen Weiss – German (died)   Maggie – school Sally (died) Wendell Ruby	Thomas Evelyn “Evie” – medical school, psychiatrist Maggie – did make-up and hair Willa – singer “Polly Adler”   Alex - Leo   Ursula Novak   Cal Dabney – Alex’s father Rita and Maury Dabney – parents   Darla and Roland Sutcliff Jamie   Palmer Towlerton – courting Maggie   Dr. Bellfield – Fairview Hospital Conrad Reese Sybil – patient   Silver Swan – speakeasy Mr. Trout Albert Lila – singer Mr. Weiss – rescues Willa when club raided   Landmark Club Lila

 

For Discussion:

NOTE: Page numbers are from the paperback edition.

1.       When we first met Maggie, she was in school and having trouble with math.   She was hesitant to ask Evelyn for help because, “asking my sister for help is like asking to be stung by bees.  Somehow she makes me feel stupid.  I don’t think she means to, but she does” (page 61).  Have you ever felt that way when asking for help?  Do you think you ever made someone else feel that way?  How can you avoid that?

2.       Could you understand Maggie’s actions when she took the baby?   When she looked back, the sister had disappeared.   What about when she lied and said she could not remember the address when she went back to check on the family?

3.       The afternoon after she took Alex, Maggie went to the church to tell Mrs. Arnold the partial truth.  She thought, “I suddenly realize sometimes things aren’t simple.  Sometimes you do a bad thing for good reasons.  Sometimes you do a good thing for a bad reason” (page 150).  Did Maggie do a good thing, a bad thing, or something in between?

4.       Did you understand Eunice Adler’s response when she said no to Pauline’s request to return to Quakertown during the Spanish Flu because she was protecting her other daughter and baby?   Did you understand Thomas blaming Pauline’s mother then for her death?

5.       Maggie had conversations with the bodies she was working on in the embalming room.  Did this surprise you?  Do you think you could do that type of work?

6.       Did you like the ending and the way everything was wrapped up?   For example, Willa still sneaking out to sing in a speakeasy and Evelyn is married and taking care of her husband’s first wife.

7.       Do you think you would have read this book differently before COVID?