Introduction

It's been ten, long years since her abrupt departure, and, with a cryptic voicemail, 28-year-old writer Charlotte Sutton finds herself back in her hometown of Lakeside, Ohio. Only this time, her estranged father doesn't recognize her, and a surprise half-sibling has taken her place.

Chuck Sutton-newspaper editor, retired baseball player, and the town's most beloved celebrity-is thought to have Alzheimer's disease. The community newspaper is also on the verge of closure, and a childhood friend holds a decade-long grudge. Despite all this, there is Lakeside. The quaint waterfront community, flush with ivy-covered cottages and vintage charm, hasn't changed even as everything else in Charlotte's life has shifted. She intends to stay only long enough to get her father's affairs in order.

But, to reconcile her past and unearth family secrets, Charlotte must reconnect with Chuck through his Alzheimer's diagnosis and reevaluate her own misconceptions about growing up in the small Ohio town that still holds her heart.

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Excerpt

Charlotte Sutton glanced at the buzzing phone lying beside her on the window seat.
Area code 419. Lakeside, Ohio. Frowning, she set her laptop aside and silenced the call, placing her cell face-down.
It’s nothing. A telemarketer.
Or was it? In recent weeks, she’d received more than one dropped call from her Lake Erie hometown—an unlikely occurrence on any day of any week of any month. A boy—a teenager—had left a message the night before. He’d stumbled through a request to discuss Chuck and hung up without giving his name. ... view entire excerpt...

Discussion Questions

From the author:

1. Charlotte left her small-town home right after graduation, with the intent of stepping out of her father’s larger-than-life shadow. How did her independence help her grow? How did it not quite meet her social and/or career expectations?

2. Charlotte did not allow herself to get emotionally close to anyone after leaving Lakeside, including Elliot, her on-again, off-again boyfriend. Why do you think this is?

3. Charlotte said she returned to Lakeside simply to do her duty as Chuck’s daughter. What do you think Charlotte really wanted to accomplish by returning? Discuss.

4. When Charlotte first came in contact with her half-brother, she was visibly upset. We saw little of Adam’s reaction. What do you think he was feeling in that moment?

5. Why was “big city” Charlotte reluctant to see the good in “small town” Lakeside, Ohio? What are some misperceptions she had about her small-town upbringing?

6. Children do not come with directions. What are some different choices Chuck might/should have made while raising Charlotte? What are some unreasonable expectations or perceptions Charlotte had of her parents, either individually or as a married couple?
7. Alzheimer’s disease greatly impacts patients and caregivers. Discuss. In Finding Sutton’s Choice, how does the diagnosis change Charlotte’s relationship with Chuck?

8. What are some aspects of the after-story that surprised you most?

9. What do you see in the unwritten future for Charlotte? For Adam? For other characters?

10. Discuss how the characters of Lakeside made you feel. Who were you rooting for? Who did you feel most connected to? Who did you recognize in yourself?

Weblinks

»	Publisher's book info
»	Kirkus Review
»	Literary Titan book review

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