Book Club Discussion Guide
The Space Between Us
By Marnice Emerson
Thank you for choosing The Space Between Us for your book club. My hope is that Kari's journey sparks meaningful conversations about family, forgiveness, grief, second chances, and the unexpected ways life can lead us in new directions. I hope these questions encourage you to share your own stories with each other.
Kari's life changes with the discovery of a box of letters. How do you think you would respond if you learned something equally life-changing later in life? Would you want to know the truth?
Throughout the novel, Kari struggles to reconcile the father who raised her with the father she had just discovered. In your opinion, what defines family? Biology, love, shared history, or something else?
Ben believed he was protecting May keeping Atka's contact a secret. Do you think his actions were ever justified? At what point does protection become something else?
Atka lost decades with his daughter because of choices made by others. How did your feelings toward him evolve throughout the story? Which scene helped you understand him most deeply?
Gus enters Kari's life during one of her most vulnerable times. How does their second-chance romance differ from a younger love story?
How did the Alaskan landscape, traditions, and pace of life influence Kari's emotional journey?
Grief appears in many forms throughout the novel. Which character's experience with grief resonated with you the most? Why?
As a spirit guide, Tazhi quietly influences events without removing the characters' freedom to choose. How did this spiritual element affect your reading experience?
Forgiveness is one of the novel's central themes. Which act of forgiveness was the most difficult (or the most meaningful) for you to accept?
Several characters are forced to choose between holding onto the past and embracing an uncertain future. Which character do you think showed the greatest courage?
One of the recurring ideas in the novel is that grief and joy can exist at the same time, and the potlatch offers Kari a new way to understand grief as something shared, honored, and released. How did Kari’s journey, and the tradition of the potlatch, affect the way you think about healing, mourning, and allowing joy back into life after loss?
If you could spend an afternoon talking with one character from the novel, who would you choose? What would you ask them?
The title, The Space Between Us, can refer to physical distance, emotional walls, family secrets, grief, or even the space between who we were and who we become. What did the title come to mean to you by the end of the novel?
Which scene stayed with you long after you finished the book? What made it especially memorable or emotionally powerful?
By the novel's conclusion, many broken relationships have begun to heal, though not perfectly. Did the ending feel satisfying and authentic to you? What do you imagine happens next for Kari, Gus, Ben, and Atka?