Product Closeup

 Sweet Waters Discussion Questions: Julie Carobini

1.  Tara is known as the leader of the family, the one who is always in control, yet she often looks to a soap-opera diva for guidance. Have you ever sought counsel from an unlikely source? If so, did it help or hurt the situation?

2. What makes someone a wise counselor? Do you have a person like that in your own life?

3. Tara thought when she moved back to her childhood home in Otter Bay, California, life would be peachy. But that was far from reality. Have you ever done something believing it was the right thing to do, even that God called you to do it, only to find yourself in distress? What do such things teach us about God’s guidance, and His way of helping us grow?

4. What did you learn from Tara’s relationships with her sisters about how siblings get along? Have you had to struggle in your own relationships with your siblings? How has your faith helped you?

5. How did you feel about Peg’s initial behavior toward Tara and her sisters? Would you have reacted as Tara did? How does the Bible counsel us to react when we’re attacked?

6. How did you feel about Nigel’s skirting of the truth? Did you think him a friend or a foe? Is there ever a time when it’s right to conceal or “fudge” the truth?

7. Have you ever taken a big risk, as Tara did? How did it work out for you? What did you learn from your adventure? Would you take the same risk again?

8. In your opinion, what event or events helped Tara finally see the direction her life should take? What are some epiphanies in your own life and how did they change you?

9. How would you describe Tara at the beginning of the story? How do you see her change in the end? Consider the same questions for Josh.

10.  Tara refers to the ‘life of freedom’ God means for his people to have on earth. What do you think she means by that? What might a life that’s less than free look like? Do you think that life can still find hope in heaven?