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Lemons In The Garden of Love
Winner of the Firebird Book Award for Current Events, LEMONS IN THE GARDEN OF LOVE is a very timely tale about reproductive freedom, which is under serious attack across the country. It’s easy to forget what life was like for women before birth control was readily accessible. This novel is an important reminder of all that’s at stake today for women who want to be able to decide their own futures.
In 1977, Cassie Lyman, a graduate student in women’s history at the University of Minnesota, travels to her sister’s shotgun wedding in Massachusetts. On her way there, Cassie discovers a trove of suffrage cartoons, diaries, and letters of Kate Easton, the founder of the Birth Control League of Massachusetts in 1916, when she visits the Sophia Smith Collection at Smith College.
Over the wedding weekend, Cassie learns that Kate was her great-grandaunt, and one of her aunts confides in Cassie about Kate’s secrets. Soon Cassie’s and Kate’s lives start to parallel each other.
This novel was inspired by Blanche Ames, president and co-founder of the Birth Control League of Massachusetts, the author’s great-grandaunt. In a dream, Blanche asked the author to write her story; however, the author has taken liberties with Blanche’s actual history in order to create a compelling plot.
This discussion guide was shared and sponsored in partnership with Ames Sheldon.
Book club questions for Lemons In The Garden of Love by Ames Sheldon
Use these discussion questions to guide your next book club meeting.
Cassie Lyman, the main character in Lemons in the Garden of Love, discovers a drawing of a pregnant woman on a cross in the beginning of the novel. How does Cassie react to that image? How did you respond to it?
Both Cassie and her mother Liz were accomplished women who wanted to make their mark. Discuss the decisions that Cassie and Liz made for their careers and families.
Kate had a botched abortion early in her life, which led her to found the Birth Control League of Massachusetts. Cassie is on a mission to teach women’s history and the importance of reproductive freedom. Both Cassie and Kate are trying to put meaningful life choices into action. Discuss how their sense of purpose defines their characters
Have you ever used a home pregnancy test? Were you surprised to learn how complicated it was to use the Predictor – the earliest home pregnancy test?
Kate’s story is presented through her diaries and letters dating from 1911 to 1940. Were you put off by Kate’s use of language? Did you find her language tedious or historically appropriate?
Did you find it credible when Cassie tells her sister Penny after her divorce that she still feels love for Martin?
At the end of the book, Cassie says, “As a female, I’ve always felt like a second-class citizen.” Could you relate to that in any way? What other kinds of people are treated like second-class citizens?
The current battles over access to birth control and abortion involve both moral and practical issues. Do you believe that abortion is a lazy woman’s way out of pregnancy? Do you believe that for some women at a particular point in their life they need an abortion but that no one really wants to get an abortion?
If legal abortion is too difficult to obtain for women who can’t afford to travel to a state that allows abortion, what should that woman do?
If Roe v. Wade is overturned, do you expect that the number of illegal abortions will decrease or increase?
What would it take to get your adult children to care about access to reproductive freedom?
What do you think the author meant to suggest with the title, Lemons in the Garden of Love?
Lemons In The Garden of Love Book Club Questions PDF
Click here for a printable PDF of the Lemons In The Garden of Love discussion questions
“Sheldon’s evocative prose and compelling sense of the sweep of history grabs attention from page one…a moving portrait of the struggles and successes of first- and second-wave feminism.” BookLife Reviews
“A rich historical novel that examines the slow acknowledgement of women’s rights.” Foreword Reviews
“Amazing how relevant this story is today. I couldn’t stop reading.” Mary Logue, Still Explosion
“Ames Sheldon’s beautiful novel brings us on a journey with characters that come alive on the page…It’s easy to forget what life was like for women before birth control was readily accessible and Sheldon’s engaging writing is an important reminder of what’s at stake today, when we find ourselves facing the potential loss of many of these rights.” Sarah Stoesz, President and CEO, Planned Parenthood North Central States