Story Circle Network

Austin Chapter
Reader's Guide

August 2003

Blackbird
by Jennifer Lauck

If this were fiction, readers would find its chain of tragedies and surreal cruelties impossibly melodramatic, but this riveting tale of a young girl so burdened with family trauma that she thinks "I don't know anything about being a kid" is a true story. Writing strictly from her young self's perspective, Lauck describes being left alone to care for her once beautiful, cancer-ravaged, and suicidal mother at age 5, and her descent into near homelessness by age 11, succeeding brilliantly in portraying the innocence and intuition of a child, the vulnerability and strength, and the moral clarity and will to survive...

  1. Jennifer Lauck writes her memoir from the viewpoint of a very perceptive and thoughtful child. How important was this viewpoint to the tone and emotional impact of the book? How would it have changed the impact if an adult voice had been used?

  2. "I'm most thankful for you," Janet Lauck tells her daughter in the book's first chapter. "You're my extra special gift." How do Jennifer's understandings of and feelings about this statement evolve over the course of the book?

  3. Discuss the parallels Lauck establishes between Snow White's story and that of the narrator's. How is the extended metaphor further developed each time Jennifer returns to the Snow White book and describes the pictures? (pgs.82, 88, 119, 193, 246)

  4. How does Jennifer's relationship with her brother Bryan change over time?

  5. What kind of man is Bud Lauck? How do you explain his behavior in the book? What were your reactions to him at different times in the book?

  6. What is the motivation behind Jennifer's obsessive protection of her silver key and how does it represent her response to the tragedy in her life?

  7. What do you find most appealing about Jennifer Lauck's writing style?

  8. What range of emotions did you experience while reading Jennifer's story? Which scenes affected you the most and in what way?

  9. Did Jennifer's ending entice you to want to read her next memoir? If so, what are you most curious about when you read the sequel?

(These questions were compiled with the help of "A Reader's Club Guide".)

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