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1. As the novel opens, Janelle is walking down a seemingly steady spiritual path when she learns about Guruji's potential misdeeds, which throws her whole life into a tailspin. Has any bit of news ever impacted you in a similar way?

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2. Throughout the book, Janelle relies heavily on various mindfulness practices, especially her favorite inner-outer pause. Have you tried this practice? If so, what do you think of it? What other grounding practices did you enjoy learning about in the novel or that you use yourself to keep your inner peace?

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3. Let's talk about girlfriends, who play a key role in this novel. Did you appreciate that Janelle has such a large posse of girlfriends to learn from and to lean on, or did you feel there were too many to keep track of? 

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4. Janelle is nervous when Danny first comes to visit, in part because she worries Danny will put her on a pedestal. Why does that idea bother her? Have you ever felt people do that with you?

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5. Danny becomes a key source of Janelle's personal growth and transformation as the novel unfolds. What did you like most about Janelle and Danny's relationship? Anything you disliked?

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6. Janelle's work problems also throw her off balance, because life sometimes piles one problem on top of another. Did you enjoy that element of the story? Do you ever struggle to keep your own anger in check at the office?

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7. Meryl wrote this novel with the intention of exploring emotional and spiritual growth in a fun fiction read. Do you think she succeeded? Did the ways Janelle and her friends work through their various emotions feel realistic to you?

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8. Angelica emphasizes the importance of forgiveness. Is there someone you are currently pondering forgiving? What holds you back? Does it help to remember Angelica's belief that forgiveness is something you do for yourself, not for the other person?

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9. If you've read Meryl's prior two mindfulness/yoga novels, Downward Dog, Upward Fog and Warrior Won, both told through her friend Lorna's perspective (each book stands alone), did you enjoy seeing similar characters and themes pop up here?

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10. How do you envision Janelle's life will be the same or different a year or two after the book ends, in terms of work, romance, and her emotional/spiritual life? How do you see your own unfolding in that time? 

 

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