Heaven Should Fall - By Rebecca Coleman Page 0,140

community mental health services disproportionately affect veterans and their families.

Acknowledgments

Many thanks, first and foremost, to my agent Stephany Evans, whose hard work allows me the privilege of writing a set of acknowledgments at all. And I am deeply grateful to Susan Swinwood, my editor at Harlequin MIRA, for her wonderful skill and extreme patience.

To a few extraordinary people in the writing community: Ann Hite, Eleanor Brown, Keith Donohue, Carolyn Parkhurst, Alma Katsu, Gary Presley and Rick Bylina, who courteously allowed the use of his surname in this book.

To my friends, en masse, for their extraordinary support. Laura Wilcott, Hillary Myers, Stephanie Cebula, Jalin Sopkowicz, Sarah Thompson, Amanda Miller, Christine Barakat and Elizabeth Gardner; Kathy Gaertner, Erika Schreiber, Laurine Kandare, Laura Carns, Mollie Weiner and Kay. And of course, Vern Roseman, Sara Spivey Roseman and Miranda Poff, for the inspiration (as well as the fuel).

And finally, to my husband, Mike, and to my kids—James, Catherine, Breckan and Luke—thank you ever so much for your patience and your love.

Questions for Discussion

Jill’s relationship with her mother was a close one, which leads to her sense of anxiety and guilt at not having intuitively known when her mom died. Do you think Jill’s feelings about that are irrational or natural?

Cade is ambitious and outgoing, and early on he and Jill have a strong relationship. Did you see signs even then that a ruthless element existed in his personality? Did his behavior set off any red flags for you, or did you feel that the change in him was entirely brought on by his grief and circumstances?

Jill’s mother was a member of Alcoholics Anonymous, and Jill is well versed in their philosophy, which becomes a kind of spirituality that she draws from during difficult times. Have you known anyone in a recovery program, or participated in one? Have you learned anything from such a program that applies to your life, regardless of whether you are in recovery?

At the beginning of the story Cade seems uninterested in his old girlfriend, Piper, but as things deteriorate in his own life he grows obsessed with her. What do you think is behind this change of heart?

How do you think Elias’s upbringing affects the way he feels about his experiences of war? What do you think is the biggest contributing factor to his suicide—is it his PTSD, or something else?

Candy uses religion as a way to see the world as inherently just and, as a result, feels no compassion for others. This backfires on her when Elias dies and she feels punished for her own feelings and misdeeds. What is your opinion of Candy’s way of approaching her faith?

Even Leela, who is one of the most sympathetic members of the Olmstead family, has moments when she takes a hard-hearted approach to people close to her—Eddy and Lucia in particular. Do you think her callousness toward them is justified?

It’s implied that Candy had more involvement in Lindsay Vogel’s drowning than she owned up to. What do you think her role was, and why?

Elias suffers from PTSD, a condition that affects as many as one-quarter of soldiers returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. What do you think can be done to reach soldiers who struggle to readjust, or who need help but are reluctant to seek it?

Cade professes to deeply love his son, his wife and his brother, yet throughout the story he commits acts that violate their trust and risk their safety. Do you believe he truly loves them and is limited by his human flaws, or that he doesn’t fully grasp the meaning of love and loyalty in the first place?

How did you feel about Jill’s actions toward the end of the story? Did you feel she was doing the best she could with what she had, or that she was too complicit in her own problems in the end? Were you satisfied with the way the story was resolved?

If you loved Heaven Should Fall, don’t miss Rebecca Coleman’s captivating debut novel, The Kingdom of Childhood. Available now.

“Coleman’s debut novel is a disturbing yet enthralling read. Recommended for fans of Jodi Picoult’s realistic, ethics-driven novels, as well as book clubs looking for interesting debate.”—Library Journal, starred review, on The Kingdom of Childhood

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