Book Club Discussion
Tell Me A Story by Cassandra King
Tell Me A Story Breakdown and Discussion Questions:
Because Cassandra’s book is a memoir not a novel, I am going to breakdown her book chapter by chapter. Without further ado, let’s get to it:
Prologue: Cassandra King started off her memoir with a bang by beginning at the end. A trip to the ER and a five hour ambulance ride in a rare southern snowstorm set the scene for a comedy of errors in true Conroy fashion. It is that moment when life is normal and operating smoothly and and then all of a sudden the world shifts on its axis and nothing is right ever again. If you are lucky you have never experienced one of these moments, but if you have lived it you never forget it.
Chapter 1: Cassandra King Ray met Pat Conroy almost by accident at an event for writers. Do you ever look back at a pivotal moment in your life and wonder if you had been just a few moments late how different your life would be?
Chapter 2: Pat initiated a years long phone friendship with Cassandra after blurbing her book. For two people in their late 40s coming from deeply dysfunctional marriages to have this time to get to know each other, this seems like such a critical step in their romance.
Chapter 3: They finally see each other again, two years after their first meeting. It was rushed and sandwiched into one of Pat’s big events. But Pat said, “Having you with me felt…Right. It felt right.”
Chapter 4: Their relationship began in earnest and they shared more about each of their previous marriages and hard lives. I think one of the things that strikes me here is that they were both in a place where they needed something different from their lives and they were each ready for that change.
Chapter 5: Their relationship continued and they found in each other a kindred spirit. Cassandra visited Fripp and met his family for the first time, and they continued to fall in love. I think one of the most interesting observations of this chapter came from Pat when he said, “I need someone to rescue me for a change.”
Chapter 6: Pat and Cassandra got married, in unceremonious fashion, and The Great Santini died. One of the intriguing aspects of Cassandra’s story is how Pat maintained a relationship with his famously abusive father.
Chapter 7: One of the things I found so striking about this chapter was how Pat prioritized Cassandra’s writing and made sure she had a room of her own to create. Writing was so integral to Cassandra’s identity and denying her dreams had been a huge part of the reason her previous life had not worked out.
Chapter 8: Pat’s relationship with his estranged daughter Susannah is so heartbreaking. I think this was such a brave thing for Cassandra to discuss, even if it was from a position of helplessness.
Chapter 9: In this chapter, Pat met Cassandra’s family and says to her “Relax, kiddo. I’ve made my living writing about crazy families. Yours is no crazier than anyone else’s.” Pat’s special relationship with Cassandra’s father was testament to how Pat was a master at connecting with anyone. I love the story of Pat’s eulogy at her father’s funeral.
Chapter 10: A reoccurring theme throughout the book is how Pat and Cassandra’s life centers around good food. As the families gather together to celebrate Pat’s daughter’s wedding it also further highlights Pat’s continued estrangement with his daughter Susannah. Do your relationships center around food the way Pat and Cassandra’s did?
Chapter 11: For me the big take away from this chapter was what Cassandra’s friend said to her: “You can get whatever you want from life. Take it and pay the price.” Cassandra used this as warning for basing your characters off of real people but it can be applied to each one of our lives.
Chapter 12: This chapter details the writer’s life of book tour and also Pat and Cassandra’s travels together.
Chapter 13: Like in all of our lives, the honeymoon phase eventually comes to an end. This chapter reflected that truth when the Fripp house underwent massive renovations upending and the death of one of Pat’s former students. Cassandra observed that with Pat suffering was so entwined with his creativity that even though their lives were peaceful he had to create that drama in his fiction.
Chapter 14: One of the re-occurring themes that Cassandra reveals about herself is her interest in spirituality and mysticism. Whether it was visiting a fortune teller, reading tarot cards, cleansing her house with sage, the elaborate moon ceremony depicted in this chapter, or the bridge of light in a later chapter the mystical kept popping up in this book. I think this contrasts so starkly against the no-nonsense, stiff upper lip persona she projects throughout the rest of the book. It just goes to show that we are all a bag of contradictions and it makes us more human not less.
Chapter 15: This chapter reflects that portion of life where you begin to lose those closest to you in what feels like quick succession. It’s heartbreaking and harrowing and Cassandra and Pat were lucky to have each other to lean on.
Chapter 16: Pat and Cassandra moved to Beaufort, while also keeping the Fripp house. Cassandra repaid his gift of a writing space to her by building him a library in their new house. Pat’s worsening health problems inspired Cassandra to enact a new healthy living lifestyle.
Chapter 17: Cassandra details the anguish of walking through a cancer journey with her sister Nancy Jane. If you have every walked through a journey like this, Cassandra’s determination, despair, and irreverent humor will resonate with you.
Chapter 18: Pat started taking his health seriously, but Cassandra’s health worsens. Cassandra’s story of her trip to the ER is perhaps my very favorite story from the whole book.
Chapter 19: From his beginnings as a high school teacher in Beaufort, to his time on Daufuskie Island, and throughout his entire career Pat Conroy was a teacher at heart. This chapter talks about his work with Story River championing and nurturing other authors. As his 70th birthday approaches his colleagues began to plan a huge birthday part/literary festival to celebrate. And this event marks the beginning of the end. Pat began to experience worse health problems. This chapter ends where the whole book began - Pat’s trip to the ER.
Chapter 20: The title of this chapter is Dark Days, and no other words could so encapsulate Pat’s battle with cancer and the grief and fear that battle brings. Anyone who has ever held a bedside vigil will understand and grieve again for those last weeks of watching a loved one slip away.
Afterword: Seven months after Pat Conroy’s death, Hurricane Matthew set its sights on Beaufort, South Caroline. The the leveling of the moss-draped oak that framed their view of Battery Creek became a metaphor for Cassandra’s loss of Pat. The huge, solid presence in her life now gone, but its absence also revealing the fleeting beauty left behind.
Thank you, dear readers, for coming along with us this month as we have paid tribute to one of the greatest writers the literary world has given us.
We have heard from
on struggling to find the right words to bear the burdens only our hearts can carry. We have heard from on the deep regret she feels for missing her one chance to meet her literary hero. We have heard from Michael Morris on the encouragement Pat Conroy offered to him as a new writer. shared her experience of being daunted in the presence of a literary master.We have had not one but two special podcasts:
Todd Doughty, Senior VP of Publicity and Communications at the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group recalled his time as Pat Conroy’s publicist and the literary legacy he left behind.
Cassandra King discussed her book Tell Me A Story: My Life With Pat Conroy, our March book club pick.
And if you just can’t get enough Pat Conroy, here is a Garden and Gun exclusive article: a letter from Pat Conroy to his grandson on sportsmanship and basketball - lessons that I suspect apply to us all - even if we don’t play the game.
~ The Book Tide