Book Club Questions for The Irish Goodbye by Heather Aimee O’Neill

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Book club questions for The Irish Goodbye by Heather Aimee O’Neill take an in-depth look at this complicated family. There will be spoilers, so for more context about the book, check out my spoiler-free review first.

I liked this one a lot! It’s a quiet novel about a complicated family that has experienced quite a bit of tragedy. I really liked the introspective nature and how we got to know each sister.

Maybe my only complaint is that Cait wasn’t called out more. She’s pretty unhinged, and I know there is unresolved trauma, so hopefully she really does try to work on herself more and help out her family.

Let me know what you thought about the book in the comments section below!

Summary

The story follows three sisters as they return to their family home in Long Island to spend Thanksgiving with their parents. Twenty years ago, there was a fatal accident on their brother Topher’s boat, and it was a defining moment for the family. Now, as they get ready for the holiday, each sister carries a huge secret.

The oldest sister, Cait, is a single mother of two toddlers, who has always been so career-driven, but now she’s at a turning point. The middle sister, Alice, always does the right thing and has a stable household with a reliable husband and two boys. But she’s received news that could derail all her plans for the future. And the youngest, Maggie, is bringing her girlfriend home for the holiday, but she’s terrified of what her catholic mother will think.

We find out that Cait left her job as a lawyer in London and is very lost. She really is returning home to try to reunite with her high school crush, Luke, who was also best friends with her brother, Topher. But it’s quite messy as Luke’s younger brother, Ryan, died in an accident on Topher’s boat. No one was ever the same after that. Topher eventually spiraled and committed suicide. Maggie was the one who found him.

Luke’s parents sued the Ryans after their son died on Topher’s boat. So no one in the family is thrilled Cait invited Luke to their family Thanksgiving, as it brings plenty of old pain.

Alice is a stay-at-home mother who is ready to enter the workforce again, but then finds out she’s unexpectedly pregnant, and doesn’t want to keep the baby.

Maggie hopes her mother will accept her girlfriend, Isabel. But Maggie is also hiding a secret from Isabel that she saw her ex again recently. So Maggie is also holding onto guilt for that as well.

Everything comes boiling to the center at a pivotal Thanksgiving dinner. However, many items get resolved. Alice decides to have an abortion, and her husband eventually accepts it (which I think that storyline probably got wrapped up too quickly). Cait is moving back home to help her family. She starts to realize she does have an alcohol problem, and finally recognizes that starting a romance with Luke is a bad idea, at least for now.

Maggie is forced to come clean to Isabel about seeing her ex, and also needs to face that she needs to break free from trying to please her mother.

Book Club Questions for The Irish Goodbye

1. Let’s first discuss the significance of the book title, The Irish Goodbye, to the story as a whole.
2. Why did Cait hope to accomplish back home during Thanksgiving? Do you believe she has genuine feelings for Luke, or is she just holding onto the past?
3. Maggie invites her girlfriend Isabel to her house for Thanksgiving, but is immediately worried about what her mother thinks. She also hasn’t told Isabel about seeing her ex again. Why is Maggie so secretive, and how does it impact her relationships?
4. Alice is ready to return to work, but is dismayed to find out she’s pregnant again. What were your thoughts overall on Alice’s storyline and choices?
5. Which of the three sisters do you relate to the most, and why?
6. What was the overall impact on the family regarding Ryan’s death on Topher’s boat?
7. Were you surprised to learn that Topher eventually committed suicide?
8. Maggie was the one to find him. How did this change Maggie for good?
9. Do you feel Cait’s selfish behaviors are because of past trauma, the boating accident, and kicking Topher out of the house right before he committed suicide, or was she always selfish?
10. Why did she decide to move back home? Will she change for good? Do you believe that she and Luke will have a romance?
11. What did each sister learn during this Thanksgiving holiday?
12. Do you feel this family healed a bit, or is there still lasting trauma and resentment?
13. What happens next for everyone?

Additional Recommendations

Hope you enjoyed the book club questions for The Irish Goodbye! Here are some more recommendations, along with links to book club questions.

The three siblings—Henry, Kate, and Martin—have joined together with their spouses and children to celebrate Christmas together. This is the first Christmas without their mother, who passed away earlier in the year. She was the type of mother who thrived with holiday traditions and family reunions, and the children are trying their best to maintain that special time.

However, everything is complicated. There are job losses, financial worries, parenting struggles, marriage disputes, infertility, and more. Each person in the novel is trying their best to hold it together in their own way, but also feeling like they’re failing constantly.

Naturally, tensions mount. But everything shifts when they all have to come together to help a local mother and her daughter. Check out more of my review here.

Check out my book club questions here.

Hello Beautiful centers around the Padavano family and specifically, on the four sisters: Julia, the go-getter of the family; Sylvie, the bookish dreamer; Cecelia, the free-spirited artist; and Emeline, the compassionate nurturer. The sisters are as close as they can be and always have each other’s backs.

Everything changes when Julia meets William Walters, a shy and broken man with a tragic past. William is immediately taken with Julia’s vibrance and is especially happy to be welcomed into a new family.

However, William’s past eventually resurfaces. And as a result, the sisters’ seemingly unbreakable bond is broken.

Will the loyalty that once rooted them be strong enough to draw them back together when it matters most? Check out more of my review here.

Check out my book club questions here.

Happy reading!