Looking ahead

Throughout the book, Shields is achingly honest about the apathy and sometimes dislike she felt for her daughter while struggling with PPD. As she found a good medication and underwent therapy, she talks about how that changes and how her love for her daughter became everything she ever hoped and more. But, if you were Rowan, Brooke's daughter, how do you think it would affect your relationship to read this book as an adult? At what age do you think a child can understand a mom's ambivalence, if ever? It's PC to say Rowan will be proud of her mom for being honest and helping other women -- and she probably will be -- but do you think that will be totally true, or will she be hurt in some ways as well?

The darkest secrets

Re: Page 71
"The wall morphed into a video game, and in it her little body smacked the surface and slid down onto the floor."
Wow. Was anyone expecting this kind of openness? How did this passage make everyone feel? Were you horrified? Empathetic? Do we all have these moments of unbidden images of hurting someone that our superego squelches? If the narrator had been an unwed, poor mother, not a celebrity, would that change your opinion of this passage in the book?

Speaking of celebs ...

OK, I'll post a book-related question in a sec. But I did want to build on Christy's question about celebrities and babies and ask what everyone thought of this big trend toward celebrity adoptions. Did Angelina Jolie start the hippest trend ever? Is this good for the kids getting adopted? Why do you think being a mom has become so cool in Hollywood lately? (And, go ahead, tell us what you think about Madonna's adoption too ...)

Here's a couple to get us started

Below are a couple questions to get the discussion rolling for Down Came the Rain by Brooke Shields. Please feel free to post your own discussion questions at any time...

Oh, and even if you haven't read, please read the questions. These first two are more of "reading the book made me wonder this and I want to know what you think" rather than straight discussion of the book itself. Your comments are welcome weather you have read or not.

September 11 and kids

Brooke and her husband, Chris Henchy, were planning to start trying for a family with the help of fertility specialists in early 2002. The attacks in NYC on Sept. 11, 2001 just seemed to solidify their decision to have a family.

Did Sept. 11 affect how you felt about bringing children into your life? Did it affect how you feel about other people having children (deciding not to at all because of the horrors of the world, having more children than originally planned because of how the attacks made them feel, etc.)?

Well, duh.

The very first line of the book:

"After all of the time I've spent in the public eye, you might think that finding out I was going to have a miscarriage moments before stepping onstage wouldn't shake me up, but it did..."

What are we? Monsters? So unfeeling and out of touch with reality that just because she is a celebrity we think that this wouldn't be hard for her? I don't know why we would be reading this book - unless you had to for some book club or something - unless you were prepared to feel at least some empathy for Brooke Shields.

Do you think that in terms of having a family, do we expect more or less from celebrities? Do we expect the extra money that we perceive that they have to allow them to "purchase" a better or easier child-rearing experience than "normal" people can have?

Crap. Is it October already?

Okay, so I know we were supposed to have started talking about Down Came the Rain by Brooke Shields, um, yeah two days ago, but I haven't gotten my butt in gear and written discussion questions and frankly, I don't know what happened to September. It was here. Now it's gone and all the stores have Christmas decor up.

So here's the deal: The lovely Jenni has suggested to me that we ask the contributors (that's you!*) to post just one question for the current reading selection. It can be a "this was interesting to me; what do you think?", a "this was my interpretation of this, how about you?" or a "what the hell was this all about?" ANYTHING.

That said, here's my question for you: Wanna play?

Because, really, I think that is what this should be about. It should be fun in that intellectual way that you enjoyed your literature classes in college, but without the professor telling you that you are wrong or the worry of grades.

So I was thinking that maybe we could start discussing Down Came the Rain next Monday (October 9) and I'll start us off with a question or two and maybe the rest of you, as you have time, can post a question sometime before November 6. Sound okay to you all?


*For those of you reading along and are not official "contributors" (you know who you are), if you want to email me with a question to post, I will be happy to. Or email me and I can invite you to be a contributor. Whatever works for you.