Wellness

1. General Impressions

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

• Wellness features two protagonists who are married to each other and approach the world and relationships with their respective sets of hang-ups and insecurities. Which of the two do you most sympathize with, and why?
• What do you think of the title of the book? How does it hint at or sum up the ideas and themes explored in it? Were you able to anticipate any of them solely based on the title?

2. Personal Reflection and Connection

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

• The novel suggests that people continue to evolve and change throughout life. Do you think it is possible to navigate such changes within a long-term relationship without compromising on commitment and stability? How can one do so?
• What does the term “wellness” mean to you? Is the pursuit of wellness an active part of your life, or is it just an afterthought? Are any of your beliefs, practices, and choices rooted in a desire for wellness?
• Jack grows unsettled by Elizabeth’s independence, the very same quality that initially drew him to her, because he believes himself to be peripheral to her life. What is the role of need and dependence in a relationship? Is some amount of it necessary and healthy, or should two individuals choose to be together solely because they want to?
• Although Jack tried hard to escape the Midwest when he was young, he grows “weirdly protective” of it as an older man. What is your relationship with the place where you grew up? Do you still call it home, have you left it behind altogether, or have you found a balance somewhere in between? 

3. Societal and Cultural Context

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

• Wellness posits that the wellness industry promotes constant dissatisfaction with the status quo. What does it suggest is necessary to overcome or reconcile oneself to the dissatisfaction that individuals are perpetually led to feel?
• How does the novel critique the commercialization of all aspects of modern life? Does it acknowledge any redeeming qualities to contemporary fixtures like social media, technology, and the increased focus on wellness?
• A number of couples in the novel experience marital discord and conflict, stemming from a variety of causes. What are the enduring societal expectations surrounding marriage and its functions? What place does marriage as an institution have in the modern world? 

4. Literary Analysis

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

• Both Jack and Elizabeth are profoundly shaped by their negative relationships with their respective sets of parents. Does the novel suggest that they have been able to break free of the unhealthy patterns they grew up with, or do they repeat some of their parents’ mistakes in their own journey of parenting Toby?
• The novel explores the scope of psychological research and experimentation with reference to a number of real-life studies. What are some of the benefits, limitations, and ethical questions related to the field, as posited by the book? How does this critique intersect with the novel’s critique of contemporary wellness culture?
• What is the novel’s stance on the role of counterculture in society? What factors does it suggest cause people to move away from a countercultural set of beliefs and back to the mainstream?
• Elizabeth is constantly oriented toward the future, as she believes her true happiness lies there. Can the same be said of Jack, but in the context of the past? How do their attitudes fuel the novel’s conflict?

5. Creative Engagement

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

• Imagine a sequel to the novel. How do you envision Jack and Elizabeth’s relationship unfolding in the future? What do you think each of their lives looks like a decade after the ending of Wellness?
• If you had to get a tattoo that you believe represents the most essential and unchanging part of yourself, what would it be, and why?

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