Story Circle Network
Austin Chapter
Reader's Guide

May 2001
Dream House

Dream House: A Memoir
by Charlotte Nekola

  1. Nekola tells her story in short vignettes. Which one is your favorite? Why? Which one do you feel is least successful? Why?

  2. "I would have told you that I was a happy child," Nekola writes. "At the same time all these gifts were spread in front of us, there were the facts of daily life. What are some of the gifts the Nekolas gave their children? What were some of the "facts"? In what ways are the facts a necessary by-product of the gifts? Can you recall "gifts" and "facts" from your own childhood?

  3. Writing about her father, Nekola says (on page. 99): "And so the story of my father had become the bread of life. I wondered how much of my story, even now, was all about me, or all about him. When is it, exactly, that children tell their own story?" How much of her story (do you think) is about her father? How much of your story is about your father, or your mother? When did you start to tell your own story?

  4. One of the themes we've been tracing in the books we have read is the silence of women. For instance, in Hurston's book, she says that she has to speak for her mother; the subtitle of Back Talk is Teaching Our Lost Selves to Speak. In Dream House, pick out several instances of this theme.

  5. Charlotte has a knack for drawing vivid, detailed portraits of people, places, events. Choose a favorite to share. Did any of her descriptions bring back memories of parallels in your life?

  6. Much of Charlotte's childhood lacked solidity, yet confined her. Where did she find solidity? Where did you?

  7. Charlotte sees her mother's and father's discontent and lack of fulfilment quite clearly. How did this affect her life choices? How did it affect John's? Jane's?

  8. Charlotte describes a poignant & bittersweet legacy that her father left her. Did this strike a chord with you?

  9. Charlotte and her siblings each dealt with their dysfunctional parenting in a different way, a different "Alabama". Discuss. What was YOUR "Alabama"?

  10. Did this book remind you of any other(s) that we have read? If so, which one(s)?