The Book Club for Troublesome Women

Describe Margaret’s encounter with Betty Friedan’s book, The Feminine Mystique. How did it reframe her life as a wife and a mother? What did the book give voice to that she’d never heard expressed before? Likewise, how did it affect Charlotte, Bitsy, and Viv in different ways?

If possible, describe a book you’ve read that has completely altered your outlook on the world. What has been the book’s lasting impact on your thinking or your actions?

Of the four Bettys—Margaret, Bitsy, Charlotte, and Viv—which woman resonates with you the most and why?

Discuss the marriages in this novel. Whose were most successful? The most frustrating? Whose outcomes surprised you the most?

What particular struggles did the Bettys endure that women still experience today? How much has changed for American women of all stripes since the 1960s? What steps forward—and what steps backward—have been taken?

Did Walt’s transformation by the novel’s end surprise you? If so, what were you expecting of him and his story?

What held Charlotte back from pursuing her art, and what eventually set her free? Describe how she was able to find contentment and purpose in something she loved despite several disappointments along the way.

What factors led to Margaret’s success as a writer? What qualities did she embody, and how crucial was her proverbial “village”?

For decades, women have debated the possibility or impossibility of their “having it all.” In your opinion, what does having it all look like? Can having it all be attained? And how might each of the Bettys answer this question?

Think over some of the other women who came alongside the Bettys and broadened their horizons (such as Dr. Fran and Katharine Graham). How do the women of this novel take opportunities to “pay it forward,” and how can women today do the same?

Which do you think was more transformative for the Bettys: the books they read together or the sisterhood and camaraderie they experienced?

Do you have a “village”? If so, how has the support of those friends made a difference in your life? Have you always gotten along well? Or, like the Bettys, did you experience some bumps, misunderstandings, or rifts along the way? How did you work through them?