Lita & Jean: Memoirs of Two Generations of Military Women. Master Wings Publishing,

March 29, 2022

What inspired Lita and Jean to share their very personal and painful stories?

How can writing about your past struggles and daily life help you keep things in perspective?

How will you share your personal life story with future generations?

While reading about the lives of these two women, did you find yourself identifying more with Lita, the mother, or Jean Marie, the daughter?

How did their struggles shape who they became?

How has your life’s journey mimicked that of your parents?

In what ways have you chosen a different path from your parents?

If you could give this memoir a new title, what would it be, and why?

What would be the title of your memoir?

Whose memoir would you love to read next?

How did the cover art for this memoir help capture the overall story?

Was the memoir well-paced?

Were Lita and Jean’s writing styles complimentary?

Was it challenging to switch from one narrative to the other?

What was your favorite section of the memoir? Least favorite?

How did you react emotionally to this book?

What was the most shocking part of this memoir?

Did the book fulfill your expectations of a military memoir?

How did the first sentence of this book set the tone for this memoir?

What section of the memoir needed further elaboration?

Which section would you cut from this memoir?

Did you find the authors’ stories compelling?

What do you feel is Lita/Jean’s most significant strength/weakness?

How did you feel about Lita and Jean’s mother-daughter relationship?

Who from your own life did Lita/Jean remind you of?

In what ways did Lita and Jean evolve, change, devolve, or grow through the course of this memoir?

Do you think Lita/Jean learned anything from their experiences? Are they doomed to continue making the same mistakes?

Based on the narrative, were you able to picture what it is like to be in the military?

How did you feel about reading a memoir from a mother and daughter?

How did you feel about reading about events from two different POVs?

Would you have preferred two stand-alone books to the one combined work?

Did reading each woman’s backstory allow you to view their military careers differently?

Did the liner timeline make it easier to switch back and forth between Lita and Jean’s narratives?

Were you waiting for a more upbeat, life-affirming ending to this memoir?

What issues do you feel were left unresolved?

Did this memoir inspire you to read more memoirs written by female veterans?

Have you ever served in the Armed Forces or wanted to?

How did this book confirm, challenge, or change your view of women in the Armed Services?

If you have served in the Armed Services, how did Lita and Jean’s experiences compare to your own?

What were your thoughts on those who never saw actual war-fare but still paid a high price through service to the United States?

Did this memoir challenge your view of the Catholic church?

Would you be willing to donate if someone you knew needed a kidney transplant, bone marrow, or a portion of a liver could save their life?

What if it was a stranger in need of a transplant?

How has this book challenged how you view organ donation (both living and deceased donors)?

Have you registered to be an organ donor? Why or why not?

Do you donate blood? Why or why not?

What are some other ways we can support those waiting for organ donation?

If this memoir was a movie, who would you cast to play:

Lita

Lita’s mother

Lita’s step-father

Alex

Pete

Jean

Kym

Drill Sergeant (SFC) Duggar

Ginny Lingle

DeWayne

Cali

Anton

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