11 Thought-provoking Book Club Questions about Aging and Found Family: How to Age Disgracefully

Jul 11

2 min read

Updated: Aug 6

Lady in red jacket and sunglasses with red leash to white dog

Age: Adult

Genre: Contemporary

Quick Review of How to Age Disgracefully

This adult contemporary is book club fiction at its most fun. I love a book about seniors kicking butt, and this one throws in a teen father dealing with a gang, a quest to save a community center, and a grundle of murky backstories, just to keep you on your toes. However, don't be fooled into thinking this book has no substance—when my book club read it, it led us to confront our own attitudes about aging, agism, and male vs. female teen parenthood.

Book Club Questions

Who in your life would you say has aged (dis)gracefully? What does aging (dis)gracefully mean to you?
At the start of the book, Daphne makes a plan to find friends and love, and she has definite ideas about what she is and isn’t willing to do. How are her ideas challenged throughout the book? What eventually wins her both friendship and love?
As a teenage single parent, Ziggy deals with childcare issues, social stigma, and the struggle to get out of poverty, all things teen mothers stereotypically face. What was it like to read about a male teen parent rather than a female one?
Ziggy oscillates between wishing he didn’t have to deal with Kylie to not being able to imagine his life without her. If you are a parent, can you relate? If not, how does Ziggy’s experience make you feel about parenthood?
Art begins shoplifting to avoid facing his guilt and grief over losing his family. What benefit did shoplifting provide? How did it prevent him from actually healing?
Art frequently feels frustration and regret over his career, which was over before it really began. In his shoes, would you have given up on the acting dreams sooner or continued to persevere? Defend your answer.
Even after she learns to change a diaper, Daphne’s babysitting style could still be considered irresponsible. If Ziggy had known what she was doing with Kylie, do you think he would have let Daphne keep watching her? Thinking back to your childhood, who was your favorite babysitter and why?
The daycare’s Christmas program is unorthodox in various ways. If you had been an audience member, would it have bothered you? Why or why not?
After Ziggy lets his computer teacher down, his teacher gives him a second chance even though he doesn’t owe him one. Have you ever been given a second chance you didn’t deserve? Have you ever extended one? If yes to either question, how did it feel, and what was the result?
Several groups at the community center—the seniors, daycare, pregnancy group, AA support group, and karate class—come together to save it. When have you been part of a successful group effort, and how did you feel about it?
Which type of dog owner are you/would you be—the rule-following Lydia or the love-to-spoil-them Daphne and Art? Which name do you think suits the dog best—Margaret, Maggie, or M—and why?