2-3-4 Challenge Book Discussions #2 discussion

All of Grace’s early plans are centered around a career in music. On her death bed, her mother made her promise to forego her plans until she finished college with a different major as a backup plan. Grace kept her promise and has set her dreams of having a career in music aside. Was her mother right and fair to insist Grace make such a promise? What effect does it have on Grace’s psyche and self-image? After her mother’s death, why doesn’t Grace return to music?

I understand her mother's worry. The music business is one of the toughest. So many young performers get their music or money stolen from them. It is common for parents to ask their children to have a backup plan. Grace took this request too literally because she was sensitive to her mother's feelings, and she didn't want to disappoint her. It also made her think that her mother didn't have confidence in her talent.

I think Grace stayed away from music because quitting "cold turkey" was easier than participating halfway.

Isabel's mother wanted her to have a stable future and to be able to support herself. I don't believe she meant for Isabel to totally give up something she loved, only delay it to get her education.

Giving up music was to Isabel like asking her not to breath. She still wrote songs, but a part of her went dormant and her life wasn't being lived to its' fullest.

Isabel, being an all-in kind of character, thought totally giving up music was what she wanted. Isabel didn't return to music after her death because Isabel was honoring her promise.

I understand her mother's good intentions, but it messed with Isabel's self-worth as she suspected her mother thought she just wasn't good enough to make it in music. Isabel certainly didn't consider herself good enough just like she didn't consider herself as smart or talented or with it as Michael. Her mother's death bed request had a big impact on Isabel for a long time. Maybe she shouldn't have taken it so literal, but she loved and respected her mother and would break her promise. I think maybe if her mother had known how it would affect the rest of her life, she wouldn't have done it or would have explained her intent better. Even Isabel's sisters didn't know about the promise.

Any kind of a death bed promise is completely unfair. I have seen it happen in my own family. Circumstances change and the deceased person is no longer there to assess this. This part of the book was a major trigger for me and made me really dislike Isabelle's mom. I agree her mother's intentions were probably good but the result is an unfair deathbed promise that can never be readdressed as her mother is gone.