The Seven Daughters of Dupree

In this novel, we meet seven generations in a family of women bound by a shared history of passing down family secrets. How does this legacy of secrets impact each generation?

Ancestors are important and respected in the Dupree lineage. Why do you think this is?

Who is your favorite daughter and what are some of the traits you appreciate in her?

Who is the most misunderstood daughter and why do you think this is?

Is there a legend in your family, like the birthing curse the Dupree family struggles with, that you still don’t have an answer for?

Hairstyling practices play a huge role in the lives of all the Dupree women. What is your relationship to your hair and styling practices? Has this changed throughout your life?

Do you feel any kinship with a place where you have never lived? Why do you think this is?

The book explores how trauma is dealt with and passed down from generation to generation. Do you believe each daughter in the matrilineal line of Dupree women tried to do better in dealing with this trauma once she herself became a mother?

At the end of the novel, Tati is writing a book in verse to preserve her family history. Is there someone in your own family who knows the family ancestry, lineage, and history, or is keeper of family stories and secrets?

How did the violent legacy of slavery hurt the Dupree women? How did knowing most of their origin story in the United States bolster the Dupree family, from Emma to Sa'rah?

In the epilogue, Nadia is cooking from Gladys’s recipes, which Evangeline first made for Sa’rah on the Dupree plantation and later used as an ancestral offering. Are there any special dishes that have been passed down in your family from generation to generation that are similar to the Dupree’s foodways?

When Tati and Nadia move to Land’s End, Nadia rents her house in Chicago even though her daughter and partner sell their homes. Why do you think Nadia chose to hold on to her house?