- The book starts off with a prologue of a woman watching another woman. Did you think this was Lana at first or did you know it was Katya?
- Lana’s journey to motherhood has been very difficult. And then her partner Tyler breaks up with her. But despite all of that, she’s determined to become a mom and goes through the process. She says to herself: “Tyler could walk away from me, but he shouldn’t be the one deciding if I’d ever feel the kick of a baby, if I’d ever experience the pain and elation of birth. It was my choice to make.” Let’s discuss Lana’s thought process here. What would you have done if you were her?
- What was you impressions of Katya at first? Did that change at all as the story went on?
- Why do you think it was so important for Lana’s egg donor to share her Bulgarian heritage?
- Lana is pregnant and she starts to really wonder about her egg donor. Do you think it was a healthy curiosity? What do you make of their first meeting?
- When Lana joins Katya at the club, people remark that they look like they’re sisters, which makes them both so happy. Let’s talk about how their heritage instantly bonded them.
- When Katya first went missing, what did you think happened to her? Why do you think Lana was so obsessed with finding out?
- Let’s talk about Tyler. Do you buy his reasons for why he broke up with Lana? Did you think he had the affair with Katya and/or had anything to do with what happened to her?
- Were you surprised when she was found dead?
- Now let’s discuss Katya’s guilt over her little brother’s drowning. How did that blame consume her and impact her decision making moving forward?
- Katya becomes obsessed with Tyler and Lana—hoping that they will provide for the child in ways that she didn’t experience. But then she started to become possessive and a stalker. If Katya would have lived, what do you think the dynamic would have been like? Would she have been like an aunt or do you think she would tried to be more mother-like to the child?
- Josh, the therapist, ends up playing a huge role in the novel. Let’s talk about their sessions; do you think he generally tried to help her in these sessions or was he just attracted to her? And then it turns out, he’s the one who pushes Katya to her death. Let’s talk about that. Did you see that coming?
- What do you think about Lana staying connected to Katya’s mother? Why was this important for her?
- Lana acknowledges that she let infertility take over her life and she lost some of herself in the process. When did she start to take the steps to regain who she was?
- Do you think her and Tyler are in it for the long haul?
Her Daughter’s Mother by Daniela Petrova
More discussion at bookclubchat.com. These questions contain major spoilers.