North of Hope
By Jon Hassler

688 Pages • $13.95

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
AND REFLECTION

North of Hope
By Jon Hassler

[Open a pdf version]

Use the following questions as guides to deeper individual understanding of the novel or for group discussion.

1. Describe the character of Fr. Frank Healy. What were the formative events in his life? What inspired his entrance into seminary?

2. What were the symptoms of Fr. Healy’s midlife loss of hope? What factors, by the end of the novel, had worked to restore his hope?

3. What do you think of the character of Libby? What were her strengths and weaknesses?

4. Once as a young man and later as a priest, Frank hears a voice telling him “She’s the one . . . she’s the one.” (pp. 8 and 169) Where is this voice coming from? What does it mean that Libby is “the one”? Does Libby being “the one” mean the same thing both times?

5. Libby and Frank both make choices that bring them to, at least momentarily, problematic points in their lives. What do you see of your own life experience in these characters? What attitudes did these characters have about their past choices and present consequences during the course of the novel? What is your attitude about choices you’ve made that you might question or regret today?

6. Why does Libby think she needs Frank Healy? What would you
tell this character, if you had a chance, about the nature of love and self-respect?

7. Do you think Frank should have simply cut Libby out of his life at some point? Why or why not?

8. Most of the characters in this novel were “north of hope” in some way. Describe one or two of these characters, their loss of hope, and how hope was restored.

9. The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines the virtue of hope in this way: “Hope is the theological virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ’s promises and relying not on our own strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit. . . . Buoyed up by hope, [we are] preserved from selfishness and led to the happiness that flows from charity.” (CCC, 1817, 1818) Reflect on the struggles of the characters in this novel in light of this definition.

10. What are the times in your life in which you have lived “north of hope?” How has hope been restored in your life?

11. What impact did hearing the truth about his mother’s dying wish have upon Frank? How might you feel in a similar situation—if a central guiding principle in your life turned out to be not wholly true? What does Frank’s response say about life and acceptance?

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