Later Chapters Discussion: Family Ties

[Stephanie]

Throughout the novel, we see how Natalie's sense of herself is shaped by the way her family sees her (or sometimes doesn't see her.) How much do you think her family relationships made her who she is? How much do you think they shape people in general -- are we who we are regardless of our parents and siblings? Or because of them?

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Note: This discussion topic is particularly suitable for readers who have read all or nearly all of Daddy's Girl. If you haven't finished the novel yet, please be aware that this discussion may contain plot spoilers.

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[Donti]

I think we are who we are BECAUSE of our parents. Especially during the earliest years of childhood, when our personalities are being formed, we are greatly influenced by our parents' attitude toward life in general and by the way they treat us, and by the example they set for us. How much influence the siblings have on us, I don't know, but I do feel the parents have a huge influence, and I speak from my own personal experience.

[kiakar]

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Donti wrote:
I think we are who we are BECAUSE of our parents. Especially during the earliest years of childhood, when our personalities are being formed, we are greatly influenced by our parents' attitude toward life in general and by the way they treat us, and by the example they set for us. How much influence the siblings have on us, I don't know, but I do feel the parents have a huge influence, and I speak from my own personal experience.

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I believe that a whole lot of ourselves comes from the way we were brought up. If we were raised by parents we would have alot of their characteristics and most likely alot of their morals and ambitions. Alot of time we rebel against parents or the ones that rraise us for a number of reasons. But I do not think someone is who they are simply because they were born on this earth . Their first influences are made in stone. That is my take on it.

[Lisa_Scottoline]

I agree with you guys, that parents are amazingly influential, in ways we may not even understand,because so many early experiences happen even before language develops. As a mom, I also think some traits are hardwired - so ultimately it's a balance of nature and nurture.
That's why I use both in the book - and all of my books, really. In Daddy's Girl, Nat is probabably a bookaholic (like me) and a more resevered person than her brothers - partly she's hardwired that way - but also it would develop as a reaction to living in such a boisterous, football-dominated household. She probably had to fight to get a word in edgewise, and aftre a time, she just stopped trying.
Also, I wanted to look at the way books can provide a complete and furnished world for someone, too. I know they did me, growing up, even athough I had a fun childhood, books are a way to get completely into someone else's consciousness and heart, so that it's broadening. Reading is like vacation for the brain.

[kiakar]

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Lisa_Scottoline wrote:
Reading is like vacation for the brain.

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Wow! I love that statement! I thought I felt lighter everytime I read a novel!

[Lisa_Scottoline]

Thanks, kiakar. I think a lot about reading - it such a simple, low tech pleasure and it seems like so few people take the time for it. The world has convinced us that we should all get on a treadmill for twenty minutes a day, but nobody says you should spend twenty minutes just redaing, which nourishes the heart and soul, too. I became an author because I'm a booklover, not the other way around.

[Stephanie]

Lisa,

I used to get on the treadmill AND read my book. Now that I'm back in sunny FL, I can walk outside again, but I still take my book with me.

I've heard there's an increase in teen reading- I hope we're creating a new generation of readers. It's an amazing thing to see a child excited about a book, and that's when we have to grab them, when they're young, to make lifelong readers out of them.

[Lisa_Scottoline]

Agree! Audiobooks may help reach yougner people, and I love audios too. I buy and download them, and they're great for walking the dogs or long trips. That's when I listen to mine - I do check quality control - and come out very happy. And that's not me taking the credit - it's very clear that my readers, Barbara Rosenblatt and Kate Burton, are fine actresses and they bring their own interpretation to the characters and plot.