Twenty Years Later

1. General Impressions

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

• Is this a novel that is “about” September 11, 2001, or is this a novel in which the events of that day happen as a background to the main plot? Consider how Victoria’s murder trial gets dismissed and then revived in determining your answer.
• How does the novel show trauma as something that affects a character’s decisions? How does it show trauma as something that can be processed or overcome?

2. Personal Reflection and Connection

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

• “Deathbed confessions” like the messages Victoria leaves for Emma are often considered powerful testimony. Do you consider such declarations credible? Do you think that people experience greater clarity when facing death? Why or why not?
• Have you ever made a dramatic career change, like Avery’s movement from law to news media? What inspired this shift if so?
• If you were alive, do you remember where you were on September 11, 2001? What was your experience of that day?
• Is there a point in the novel where you felt that the characters (such as Walt, Emma, or Avery) should have turned back in their search for information? Why do you think they should have considered such a moment a line not to cross?
• Have you ever experienced a single day that affected you for years to come? What happened, and how did it stick with you?

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