READING GROUP DISCUSSION GUIDE
(Note: Questions may contain spoilers.)

1. At the start of the story, are Lark and Mikki holding each other back, perhaps outgrowing their friendship? Or are they smart to stick together no matter what? When we say our close friends are “like family,” do we really mean that, or are there limits? 
2. Do you think Mikki was reckless in walking out of her shift and getting into Chris’s car? Or was she right in fulfilling a promise she’d made to herself, no matter the risk? 
3. Can you imagine anything Lark could have feasibly done to stop Mikki from leaving, even if she’d tried? Is the Becksville rumor mill too hard on Lark, or does she deserve it? 
4. What do you remember about the first time you saw the ocean (or have you seen it)? If you were a child at the time, how do you think that experience would differ as an adult? 
5. Regret is a powerful motivator, for better or for worse. How does regret shape Lark’s character in the present day? How did it play into Mikki’s decisions in 2016? What does regret do to Chris (who humorously self-identifies as “pining”) and the other Redmonds? Do you think regret does more harm than good, or is that up to us? 
6. Do you get the sense that Nini is closer with Lark now than she ever was with Mikki? Do Nini and Lark make the best of things out of necessity, or is there more to it? 
7. Lark is haunted by a recurring dream of searching empty cars in the Travel Stop parking lot in an endless, looping search for Mikki. Have you ever had recurring dreams, and do you interpret them as significant? 
8. Dove says little on the page but plays a huge role in the story. How do you imagine things might have played out differently—then and now—if Lark had never been pregnant? 
9. Given the way Lark has been treated by law enforcement, did you find Heath an odd love match for her, or a perfect choice? After Chris reappears in Lark’s life, did you empathize with Heath having to tread so carefully? What did you wish he’d done differently? 
10. Were you hoping for Mikki and Chris to get together, or do you think they were too different for a romance to ever make sense? 
11. The Rolling Stones make several appearances in this novel’s soundtrack, from the singing trucker wearing vintage concert tees to one of the novel’s final scenes, when Lark notices “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” playing in the restaurant at dinner with Heath, Nini, and Dove. What does that song mean to you—do you find it reassuring, or kind of a downer? How is it appropriate (or not) to Lark and Mikki’s story? 
12. What do you imagine the future looks like for these characters and their relationships?