Discussion Questions
Use our LitLovers Book Club Resources; they can help with discussions for any book:
• How to Discuss a Book (helpful discussion tips)
• Generic Discussion Questions—Fiction and Nonfiction
• Read-Think-Talk (a guided reading chart)
Also, consider these LitLovers talking points to help get a discussion started for Acedia and me:
1. What is acedia—how does Norris define it? What are its symptoms as well as its spiritual manifestations?
2. Take a moment and trace acedia's historical roots going back to the medieval church. What do monks have to say about acedia?
3. What is Norris's personal experience with acedia as a young person and as an adult? How did it reveal itself in her marriage? Did you find yourself identifying with Norris as you read her story? Can you find parallels in your own life?
4. How does Norris distinguish acedia from psychological, or clinical, depression? Is it too fine a line, or does she do a good job of separating the two?
5. As a young adult, Norris had lost her spiritual moorings from childhood. Why? And how did she regain her faith?
6. Talk about the ways in which Norris extends the concept of acedia to society as a whole. How does she see it revealed in our culture? Do you agree with her? Can you identify other manifestations?
7. What does Norris offer as a way of healing acedia—what does she suggest as a path out of what she calls "enervating despair"? Do you find these ideas helpful? Can you suggest other healing methods?
8. What parts of Norris's book do you find most moving—or most enlightening?
9. Has Acedia & me changed the way you see yourself ... others ... or the broader society?
(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online or off, with attribution. Thanks.)
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