Printable Book Club Questions for Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi

What do you think the title means in relation to this story?
Why did Gifty decide to study reward-seeking behavior? Did the conclusion of her studies give her any answers and insight into depression and addiction?
Gifty is the daughter of Ghanaian immigrants. Her father never felt comfortable in the U.S. and eventually went back to Ghana and never returned to see his children. Let’s talk about how his absence impacted the entire family.
Nana first played soccer but eventually moved to basketball. What was behind his decision to change sports?
Gifty’s mother is very religious and the kids grew up attending an evangelical church. Gifty used to write letters to God when she was a child—why did the author include those letters in the novel? What did it reveal about Gifty’s relationship with religion and also her family?
The family lives in Huntsville, Alabama and they experience racism and discrimination. Let’s discuss the family’s experience in this small town.
Gifty’s mother believed that moving her family to the U.S. will give them a better life. It proves to be much more challenging and heartbreaking than she could imagine. Why do you think her mother never went back to Ghana?
We know from the synopsis that Nana will pass away from an overdose and we slowly learn how he gets to that point. When did it become apparent that Nana had a problem?
Gifty questions her faith and on page 128 she remarks, “We read the Bible how we want to read it. It doesn’t change, but we do.” What do you think she’s saying here?
After her brother passes away, Gifty becomes a bit disillusioned with her faith. But she never can quite shake it—not when she’s at Harvard and her classmates are making fun of religion or when she’s an adult working on her research. Do you think that Gifty found a balance between her love for science and that of her faith in the end?
On Page 160 Gifty says, “Nana is the reason I began this work, but not in a wholesome, made-for-TED Talk kind of way. Instead, this science was a way for me to challenge myself, to do something truly hard, and in so doing to work through all of my misunderstandings about his addiction and all my shame.” Let’s talk about this. Why do you think she experienced so much shame? Do you think she understood her brother more through her research?
What do you think about the complicated relationship between Gifty and her mother? Do you believe they eventually came to an understanding each other?
What did you think about the ending?