Book Club Discussion Questions for 'Notes on a Silencing' by Lacy Crawford
Notes on a Silencing is a true story about pain, victim-blaming, and survival at a New England boarding school during the 1990s. Lacy Crawford is a joyful adolescent when her innocence is brutally taken from her by two male students one night. What follows is Lacy’s experience of shame, lack of support, and eventual growth and rebuilding as she moves into and through adulthood.
Discussion Guide
Were you familiar with the abuse cases at St. Paul’s before reading this story? Were you familiar with Lacy’s story in particular?
Did you go to a boarding school? If so, what was your experience there? If not, what are some stereotypes or things you believe to be true about the boarding school experience?
What did you think about Lacy’s friends’ reactions to her experience? How do you typically respond when a friend is going through something difficult?
How do you think Lacy’s high school experience would have been different if she had worked on processing her trauma with a mental health professional?
What did you think about the way her parents responded once they found out what took place?
Which feelings were evoked in reading about the school administration’s comments about Lacy? Were you surprised at what they did to Lacy and her family?
How do you think society has evolved (with the #MeToo movement and other calls to action) since the 1990s when Lacy’s story took place?
Did the book end the way you thought it would?
What are you reading next?
Heather Finn is a clinical social worker living and working in North Carolina. You can follow Heather on Twitter @heatherlynnsw.
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