Blogmas Day 15 Safe Haven

Safe Haven Book Discussion

One of the things I like is when books have discussion questions at the end of the book. I keep a copy of them in my phone so that while I'm reading the book I can go through and answer the questions when I want. 

1. When Alex first meets Katie, he senses that she is in trouble. How does he figure out what has happened to her?

Because he's trained to notice things in people. Plus she is so over protective of herself. Most people give some sort of information about them selfs. If they'd been married before, children, that sort of thing but Katie was very protective of every aspect of her life. 

2. What is the nature of Jo and Katie’s relationship? How does Jo help Katie adjust to her life in Southport?

At first it seems like a friendship. It's someone to talk to, someone to Listen someone to help her make sense of why she is here. 

3. Katie and Alex fall in love very quickly. What draws them together? Have you ever fallen in love so quickly? If not, do you think it’s possible?

I think what draws them together is the fact that Alex won't back down, and that he possesses qualities that Kevin never did. When you know. You know when your in love. 

4. On their first date, Alex says to Katie: “Everyone has a past, but that’s just it—t’s in the past. You can learn from it, but you can’t change it.” Do you agree with him? Is it possible to truly put the past behind you?

I do agree with him. You can't change what had happened to you in the past. I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. Those things that happen in the past make you who you are today. I don't think it's ever possible to put the past behind you. You can learn to change things so they don't happen again 

5. Alex is a widower who has had to raise two children on his own. How has he dealt with his grief in the years since his wife passed away? Have you experienced grief of this magnitude in your own life? How did you handle it?

I think he's handled it really well. I think it's got better and easier over time because of the children. He'll never forget his wife but he knows for the sake of sho

6. When Katie tells Alex about Kevin she says: “I hate him, but I hate myself, too.” Why does she feel this way? How does Katie change as she spends more and more time in Southport? How is she different by the end of the book? 

She feels that way because she thinks that she should have been stronger and left before she got. Over time Katie becomes more relaxed in her surroundings, she can become the person that she wants to be by the end of the book. She definitely 

7. Despite his violent behavior and his incessant drinking, Kevin quotes the Bible constantly and takes the Ten Commandments seriously. How do you understand his behavior?

I understand his behaviour as horrid. He tries and justify's his behaviour by quoting that Ten Commandments to make himself feel better.  

8. Katie’s past puts Alex and his family in potential danger. Do you think it was irresponsible of Alex to involve himself with a woman he knew could endanger him and his children?

Just like you can't change the past you never know what's going to happen in the future. You can't control feelings or how ex partners are going to act even if they have been violent in the last. Katie began to feel safe because Kevin took so long to find her. I don't think Alex could ever understand how Kevin would ever react because they'd never met.  He may have put his family in danger but not intentionally 

9. Why do you think the author chose to write a portion of the book from Kevin’s perspective. Do you have any sympathy for Kevin? Why or why not?

I think we needed the part about Kevin to see where his thought process is.  I have no sympathy for Kevin. You should never lay your hands on anybody in a violent way. 

10. Did reading this book give you a new or better understanding of domestic abuse?

I think that it's given me a better understanding of domestic abuse. There are so many different ways that people are abused by their partners 

11. At the end of the novel, Alex tells Katie he is sorry for her loss. What does he mean by this? How does Katie react?

What he means by say sorry is that Katie has lost her husband. Even though Katie and Kevin had been together for a while Katie has still lost her husband. Someone that she loved and trusted at one point. And even though Kevin had no hold over her, he had for so long. Katie's reaction may have seemed harsh, but she is still coming to 

12. What do you make of Katie’s discovery at the end of the novel? Do you find the book’s ending believable?

Katie's discovery is what she needed. Ok, you could kind of tell Jo wasn't real but in a way you also hoped that Katie had a friend. It was the push that she needed. 

13. This novel is in large part about safety and trust and how we often take these two things for granted. Did this book make you think differently about your own life and the things you value?

It doesn't make me think different about my life because I've been lucky not to go through it, but it makes me think about signs in the future if any of my friends or my self may go through domestic abuse like Kevin showed.