READERS GUIDE

Reader’s Guide
The Mostly True Story of Tanner & Louise by Colleen Oakley
Discussion Questions:

1.   When Tanner and Louise first meet, they make a lot of assumptions about each other. Have you ever gotten a negative first impression of someone that turned out to be wrong (or right) as you got to know them?

2.   When we first meet her, Tanner is hell-bent on getting back to Northwestern, even though she can’t play soccer. Why do you think she’s struggling so much to accept the curveball life has thrown her?

3.   Given their age difference, what do you see as the toughest disconnect between Tanner and Mrs. Wilt when they start living together?

4.   Do you have a favorite person in Louise’s family? What do you enjoy most about the character?

5.   When Tanner started to pick up on several suspicious things around Mrs. Wilt’s house, did you agree with her? Or did you assume she had an overactive imagination?

6.   When Louise burst into Tanner’s room demanding they leave immediately, what did you think was the real reason she needed to leave? Were you right or wrong?

7.   If you could pick the getaway car of your dreams, what would it be?

8.   What was the most memorable pit stop along the road trip for you as you read? Have you been to any of the places Tanner and Louise went?

9.   Louise muses: “People always said life was short, but it wasn’t. Not really. You could cram so many different lives into one. Be so many different people.” Do you think that’s true? Do you feel like you’ve lived different lives or been a different person at different times in your life?

10. Did you see a point where Tanner’s mindset about aging begins to change from what she thought early on, that “all old white women were nearly indistinguishable from one another”? Did you agree or disagree with her there?

11.  There are so many strong female friendships in this novel—Tanner and Vee; Louise and George; and then, of course, Tanner and Louise. How do these relationships differ, and how are they similar? Do any of them remind you of your own friendships? How so?

12. When George and Louise are catching up after being reunited, Louise asks George, “Do you really think things are better now? For women, I mean.” What do you think? Are things better or worse for women in America now than, say, fifty years ago?

13. What would you say is the biggest life lesson Tanner learns from her friendship with Louise? And does Louise learn anything from having Tanner in her life?

14. The author was inspired to write this novel because of her close relationship with her grandmother and everything her grandmother taught her. Have you ever had the experience of learning from an older generation? What was the most valuable thing they shared with you?