Please feel free to use these questions to enrich your discussion of Sand Dollar. 1.  We often call something “tragic” when it is sad and unfortunate, but there is also a classical definition of tragedy. Aristotle said a tragedy tells of a person who is "highly renowned and prosperous" and who falls as a result of some tragic flaw, because of external or internal forces, or both. Do you think Sand Dollar fits this definition? Why? 2.  Do you think there’s a point where Mary might make a decision that would change the outcome of her story? What would that decision be? Or do circumstances and Mary’s personality lead her to an inevitable ending? 3.  In many ways Phoebe is closer to Mary than her own sister. Do you think Phoebe’s influence benefits Mary or harms her? What about Mary’s friend, Caroline? 4.  In describing a hero’s journey, Joseph Campbell says that in becoming a hero, a person moves from the familiar world into the unknown. At what point does Mary cross this threshold?  Is there any going back from there? 5.  Sometimes we romanticize earlier periods in history and say we wish we’d lived then. What are some of the realities of mid-19th century Key West that would cause you to reconsider that idea? What appeals to you about life at that time? 6.  What do you think will become of the other characters after the book ends? Richard? Phoebe? Caroline? Julia and her children? Ephraim? 7. Can you think of a different ending that would please you more? What is it? Why do you like it better?

Questions about Sand Dollar for your readers’ group: