As you begin August’s book club pick, So Far Gone, here are a few questions I’d love for you to think about—and dive into with us in the comments.

And if you’re hosting a book club in real life, I’ve included a few So Far Gone–themed snack ideas below to make your gathering extra fun. (We love a theme.)

1. Consider the title So Far Gone. As you read, who or what do you think the title refers to? What different meanings might the phrase take on over the course of the book?

2. The narrator describes exile as something that happens to them rather than something they freely choose: “it seemed like I was being sent away.” How does this distinction between choosing to leave and feeling forced out shape our understanding of exile in So Far Gone? What forces (personal, relational, social, or otherwise) seem to decide where a person belongs, and when they no longer do?

3. How does Rhys change (or perhaps reclaim?) his identity when his grandchildren appear on his doorstep?

4. Walter titles each chapter with the phrase “What Happened to…” followed by a character’s name. Why do you think he uses this repeated structure? How does moving from one character’s “what happened” to another shape the way you understand the larger story?

5. The novel introduces us to several different “intentional communities.” What are their members seeking—or trying to escape—by creating these communities? Why do you think Walter brings these particular groups together in one novel, and what do they suggest about contemporary America?

Snack Ideas!

“Off-Grid” Wilderness Survival

• “Survivalist” Trail Mix — A rustic mix of dried berries, pumpkin seeds, smoked almonds, and dark chocolate chunks.

• “Pine Needle” Rosemary Skewers — Grilled chicken or vegetable skewers using sturdy rosemary sprigs as the skewers.

• “Foraged” Berry Galette — A rustic, free-form tart filled with blackberries, huckleberries, or raspberries.

Pacific Northwest & Spokane Vibes

• “Spokane” Coffee Shooters — Mini cups of strong cold brew coffee or espresso, nodding to Jess Walter’s frequent Washington settings.

• Rain-Dusted Popcorn — Popcorn tossed with dark sea salt and nutritional yeast for an earthy, savory flavor.

• “Militia” MRE (Meals Ready to Eat) Snack Packs — Individual brown paper bags stuffed with beef jerky, dried fruit, and hard cheeses.

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Last week, I got to sit down with Emily Habeck and talk all about Shark Heart with so many of you, and it was everything I hoped it would be. If you missed the live or want to send it to a friend, here it is (and the video is fully functional, my friends. Thank you for your patience!).

And if you haven’t read the book yet, consider this your sign. It’s strange and tender and unlike anything else I’ve read. Grab a copy of Shark Heart from your favorite independent bookstore or listen through Libro.fm, request it on Libby, snatch it from a used bookstore, or borrow it from a friend. And once you read it, be sure to engage with all of our discussion questions and subscriber chat.

To stay updated on all of these offerings, make sure you are subscribed to the Book Club section here on Substack. You can do this by switching on the toggle for Book Club (in the Notifications section) right here in your Substack account settings.

Emily told us she’s working on something new, and I personally can’t wait to hear more about it. Be sure to follow her website emilyhabeck.com and on Instagram @emily.habeck.

I have absolutely loved the first month of Book Club with you all. Stay tuned as we dig into August’s selection!

Well, friends. We’ve reached the end of our beloved Shark Heart. We’ve laughed. We’ve cried. We’ve politely declined to make peace with Lewis swimming away in the end.

Such is life, I suppose.

I’d love for you to join me in answering these final questions in the comments below.

1. How did Angela’s condition prepare Wren to take care of Lewis? Was Wren’s prior caretaking experience ever an impediment during her time

   with Lewis?

2. At Lewis’s “send off,” the partygoers “discovered the same private truth: Lewis and Wren’s situation made them feel better about themselves” (page 136). What do you think this statement says about humanity’s general attitude toward suffering?

3. Habeck writes, “Lewis finally understood the log line of their love story: He was an aimless kite in search of a string to ground him to the world, but instead, he’d found Wren, a great, strong wind who supported his exploration of the sky.” Comment on the idea of love in this short passage. How does it differ from the current cultural scripts we have of love?

4. Angela feels like her body has betrayed her. Have you ever felt this way? And conversely, when do you feel that your physical body is a source of strength

   or protection?

5. What surprised you the most about this book? Was it a plot turn, a line that stopped you cold, or maybe just how it made you feel about something you thought you already understood?

Tell me: We’re about to announce our second ever book club pick! But before we do, I’d love to hear from you. What did you like? What could make this space better? Is there a format you wish we’d try? Let me know!

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I have LOVED reading your reactions and responses to this novel. If you haven’t, pop into the comments here and read through. And I have been having fun seeing what everyone is reading in the Substack chat function. More evidence that this is the best corner of the internet.

If Shark Heart found its way into your heart, here are a few essays, poems, and podcast conversations that feel like good companions. They linger in some of the same questions—love, change, loss, and what it means to keep showing up when life becomes something you never expected (which is…all of us??).

Dive in. (I cannot promise I will stop with the ocean puns. I apologize in advance.)

: Watching Someone You Love Accept Death

Written in real time as ’s mother was dying of cancer. An honest take on what it’s like to grieve someone who is still alive. Read it slowly—it will sit beside Wren in your head all month.

: Pauline Boss - Navigating Loss Without Closure

Boss is the therapist who coined the term ambiguous loss: the grief of someone gone but not *gone.* This conversation on offers some extra language around these complicated experiences.

Amy Krouse Rosenthal’s “You May Want to Marry My Husband“ and “My Wife Said You May Want to Marry Me”

Rosenthal wrote this essay days before she died of ovarian cancer, addressed to whoever might love her husband next. It is the inverse of Shark Heart—the spouse preparing to leave instead of the spouse being left—and the two, read together, do something neither does alone. Grab some tissues. Trust me. (And Amy’s was also the author of the precious children’s book, I Wish You More.) We had Amy’s husband, Jason on the podcast a few years back.

“The Fish,” Mary Oliver

Watch as Mary Oliver, in one stanza, reveals the body as a place where the human and the animal cannot quite be told apart, which is exactly the territory Shark Heart is asking us to enter.

@jcpoetry_Mary Oliver reads "The Fish", a profound and thought-provoking poem from her Pulitzer Prize winning book "American Primitive." 💜 #poem #poetry #maryoliver

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Okay, your turn: What recommendations—books, podcasts, poems—do you have after reading Shark Heart?

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After you’ve read the first 100 pages or so of Shark Heart by Emily Habeck, our July pick for the Everything Happens Book club, here are some questions I’d love for you to dive into in the comment section.

1. Habeck opens the book with a wedding, not the diagnosis. Why begin there? What does the wedding ask you to invest in?

2. Pay attention to form. When does the prose break into a screenplay? When does it fragment into a list? How does this influence your understanding of the story?

3. Where do you first sense that Wren knows something is wrong, before Lewis does?

4. Comment on the use of animal mutation rather than a medical diagnosis. How does that perspective change your view of the story? Does it give you any space or freedom to think in a way you didn’t anticipate?

5. Habeck writes, “They were, at once, thirty-five and a hundred years old.” Have you ever felt that way? Describe what that feeling is.

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