Printable Book Club Questions for Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane

The story starts off quietly with Frances and Brian as rookie cops in New York. On the surface they have a lot of common: both cops around the same age and taking the next steps in life with marriage and kids. But yet, you can tell right away that they are quite different. What was your initial impressions of both men? Why do you think they were never able to develop a true friendship?
Frances’ wife Lena tries to become friends with Brian’s wife, Anne. But Anne quickly pushes her away rather harshly. In many ways, this dynamic sets the stage for what will come for the next 40 years. What would you have done if you were Lena? Would you have continued to try with Anne or would you have given up? Did you suspect then that there was something wrong with Anne?
Kate and Peter are best friends. When Kate accidentally falls and Peter helps her, on page 70, Anne confronts them and tells Kate, “you think you’re so smart.” What was Anne’s issue with Kate? Is that something that is even definable? And then Lena comes out and slaps Kate on the face in-front of both Peter and Anne. Why would she do this? Was it because Kate was with Peter, Anne’s son, of all people?
Anne begins to act out constantly, and it all comes to a head when she has a breakdown publicly. But Brian, her husband, doesn’t try to help her or even acknowledge there’s an issue. Why do you think he chose to do nothing? How would have things been different if he would have gotten Anne help?
Kate and Peter began to fall for each other and one night, they sneak out to spend time with each other. However, they get caught, which enrages Anne. Peter rushes over to the house to call the police on his mom but Frances tries to defuse the situation and goes over there—only to be shot in the face by Anne. Let’s discuss what we thought as this scene progressed. How could something like this happen? Why did Anne shoot Francis?
The fallout of the shooting impacted the two families forever. Peter eventually moves in with his Uncle George—with his father leaving behind his son forever to move south. Kate continues with education and has a boyfriend—but her thoughts are always on Peter. Let’s talk about how that event impacted Peter and Kate as teenagers. Did you understand why Peter didn’t try to reach out to Kate during this time? Let’s talk about George and how he was the only one there for Peter the entire time.
Anne avoids jail and gets sent to a psychiatric facility. Why did she not want to see Peter? On page 206, she says, “she wonder if it was possible that she had none of these things the doctor said she had, paranoid personality disorder, schizophrenia, schizoid personality disorder, bipolar disorder…but she wondered if she was simply very, very mean.” What do you think about this? Do you believe she had a disorder? Or do you believe she was just simply mean? Or is the truth somewhere in-between?
Peter and Kate come back together and develop a romance. Do you think they were destined to be together, bonded by tragedy or just simply fell in love? Let’s talk about their romance.
Anne starts to stalk the two—and hopes that Kate can help her connect with Peter again. But Kate tells her to leave them alone. Did you understand why Kate did that?
When Peter tells George that he’s with Kate, on page 244, George think it’s a bad idea. He tells Peter, “Because it means that all that stuff from years ago, it didn’t end back then. It’s still happening.” But Peter thinks everything that happened—happened to their parents. Do you agree with that? Do you think Kate and Peter are a good match?
Like his father and Uncle George, Peter becomes an alcoholic. Kate tries to ignore it until it’s too big to avoid. And as a last resort, she turns to Anne, of all people, for help. Let’s talk about this decision to bring Anne back into the fold. What did you think about Anne once the book was finished?
The big theme of this novel centers on forgiveness—Peter and Anne; Kate and Peter; Frances and Anne; Lena and Frances; and everyone with Brian. Let’s talk about this central theme. Would you have been able to forgive?
On the last page of the novel, Lena remarks to Francis, “I think we’ve been luckier than most people.” And Francis agrees. Let’s discuss the character progression that leads them to finally accept life for what it is—not what it could have been.