Introduction

Frankie Sicari awakes one night to a key rattling in the front door. It’s her ex-husband, Charley Blackwell: a man she hasn’t seen for a quarter of a century. What’s baffling is Charley thinks they are still married, and has no recollection of his current wife, Hannah. When medical tests reveal shocking findings, Frankie’s left wondering how to forgive the man who abandoned her when she needed him most? And how can Hannah cope with the impending death of the man she’s loved for the past twenty years – especially when she’s faced with the shattering truth that he never stopped loving his first wife, Frankie?

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Excerpt

Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin. June, 2016

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Francesca Sicari started up from sleep, disoriented. Her cell phone was ringing.

The TV flickered a rerun of Two and a Half Men, casting just enough silver-blue light across the coffee table to reveal the remnants of her take-out supper, her MacBook and her Canon camera. No sign of her iPhone. ... view entire excerpt...

Discussion Questions

1. Just Once revolves around two women who love the same man. Would you describe the relationship among Frankie and Hannah and Charley as a love triangle?


2. The plot of Just Once unfolds in chapters alternating between the present and Charley’s past with Frankie and with Hannah. Why do you think the author chose to reveal the characters’ intertwining stories in that way?

3. Was it difficult to read about the events surrounding the novel’s most pivotal character, Frankie and Charley’s daughter Lisa? How did your own experience and perspective shape your understanding of Frankie and her response to loss?

4. How is Hannah’s response to loss—the death of her twin brother to AIDS—different from Frankie’s response, yet just as understandable and affecting?

5. In Just Once, parallels are drawn between the Vietnam War and 9/11. What have you discovered about the enduring, often unseen toll on survivors of terror and trauma? In your view, should more be done on a national level to raise awareness of PTSD and treat those suffering?

6. Being forgotten by someone you love is a common fear provoked by a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. While Just Once deals with a different diagnosis, the results of memory loss are very similar. What inspiration might people with a parent or spouse afflicted with memory loss find in Hannah’s journey to acceptance and her final sacrifice?

7. Which character is closer to your heart and your own real-life character, Frankie or Hannah? Why?

8. As its title indicates, Just Once affirms the endurance of true love. Do you believe that marriage is a vow uniting a couple forever, till death or even beyond? Are you a believer in soul mates?

9. Would you call the ending of Just Once “happy”?


10. Frankie and Charley shared the passion and conviction of needing to record the world through a camera, “but where Frankie saw light and color, contrast and composition – the way the world came together – Charley saw how the world came apart. What passion do you have that is shared by someone else in a different way? How does that impact your feelings about that passion?

11. Charley didn’t tell Frankie that he loves her until she pointed it out. Does that make his love for her less sincere?

12. How does the relationship between Hannah and Heath reveal Hannah’s key characteristics? What do we learn from the difference between the way she dealt with Heath’s illness and death and Charley’s illness and death?

13. At various points in Just Once, the speaker identifies Charley as Her Charley, referring both to Frankie and Hannah. How does the term Her Charley highlight the relationships Charley had with each woman?

14. Frankie was desperate to find beauty with her camera and Charley found it difficult to respect that. How are beauty and reality opposing forces? Do you tend to look more for beauty or reality in the world?

15. Even though it was difficult to agree to allow Charley to chronicle Heath’s death, Hannah knew it was important to do so. Charley said, “Words are easy for someone to read or hear and forget about later. But a picture – a lot of pictures – those stay with people.” What images have had that impact on your life? Would the effect have been different if that image had been described with words rather than through a picture?

16. Frankie was afraid that Charley had died after the bombing in Beruit and was furious when he finally contacted her. Charley had “a tiny niggle of annoyance” because “Frankie knew who he was, how he was.” Which response seems more reasonable based on the relationship that they have?


17. The moment when Hannah stood up to the protestors in front of Heath’s doctor’s office was frightening for Hannah, Heath, and Charley, but Charley state that the pictures were perfect. How do photojournalists today contribute to and shape important conversations? How did Charley feel about his role?

18. Frankie had refused to return to Fish Creek after Lisa’s death, but when Charley slipped away from the home health nurse and went missing, she wanted and needed to see it. What accounts for the change in her attitude toward the cottage?

19. Frankie realized that she had forgotten so many things about Lisa when Charley spoke about her. She wondered how many other things she’d forgotten about her daughter while trying to forget the pain of losing her. Grief is a complicated emotion that people experience in a number of ways. Are we sometimes too quick to tell people to "get over it," and move on with their grief? How might we be more comforting to those who are struggling with grief?

20. The connection that Hannah and Frankie formed was unique but powerful. How important is it to have unique friendships or connections with people beyond those in our inner circle?

21. Irene was Frankie’s only close friend. She was loyal to Frankie, nearly to a fault. What characteristics are most important to you in your best friend?

22. If you could ask Lori Handeland one question about this book, what would you ask and why?

23. How did you feel about Hannah in the beginning of Just Once? Did that feeling change as the events unfolded?

24. What pivotal quote or scene from the novel was the most memorable for you?

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