Beyond the Sea: Room Four

Chat by Chapter: End of Chapter 33

Welcome to the first discussion room for Beyond the Sea! We are so glad you're here.

This room is for readers at the end of Chapter 33. Not there yet? Go back! Spoilers lie ahead.

Did you read further ahead? Come chat, but keep upcoming details to yourself. Anything that comes after Chapter 33 is strictly off-limits! Enter other rooms here.

Anyone can vote in the polls, but you'll have to join the site to leave a comment. It's a quick sign-up that won't result in any emails from me (unless you also sign up for my newsletter). I wish I could leave it free and open, but the bots are just too prevalent for that to work. Thanks for joining!

Intro & Guidelines

Congrats on completing the most complicated part of the Chat by Chapter experience - scanning your QR Code. Now that you're in the room, dive in!

Scroll down for...

• Quick Polls

• Discussion Prompts

• A comment section to share your thoughts and ideas (don't forget to reply to others!)

Click here for more information on Chat by Chapter and how it works.

Guidelines

• Lurk if you must, but it's way more fun if you join in.

• Keep it respectful - Rudeness gets you booted.

• No spoilers! If you've read ahead, save those thoughts for the other rooms.

• Talk to me like we're chatting on the couch over a bottle of wine (the nonalcoholic kind, if you like). Give us your thoughts. Ask us your questions. We want it all... There are no stupid comments in a book discussion. Probably.

Quick Polls

Vote below! Explain your answers in the comments to spark discussion.

How do we feel about Joe? (Round 4)

• Love him! Relatable
• Hate him! Jerk
• It's complicated
• Not sure yet! Must know more...

Are Joe's friends justified in how they treat him in the present-day timeline? (Round 2)

• Yes!
• No way!
• Not sure yet

Does Ally owe it to Joe to tell him about the pregnancy?

• Yes - He has a right to know.
• No - Not his business.

Discussion Prompts

Open the expandable lists below for prompts to start the discussion. Pick one to answer in a comment. Or, add a new comment with your thoughts on the story thus far. These prompts & sentence starters are suggestions, not requirements.

Beyond the Sea: Chapter 33

• Explain your answers to any of the polls

• Share your reaction to Ally's miscarriage.

• How do you think witnessing Ally's miscarriage impacted Joe's friends' view of him?

• Who do you think hit Joe on the head?

• How does this chapter impact the way you feel about Joe, Ally, or their friends?

• Make a prediction: What happens next?

General Sentence Starters

• I loved this part because...

• I hated this part because...

• I would NEVER...

• This is relatable because...

• I'm predicting that...

• I'm so insert emotion here because...

• I agree with you because...

• I disagree with you because...

• I want to talk about...

• I love character  because...

• I hate character because...

Thoughts From Me (the Author!)

As a mom, writing a miscarriage wasn't part of the original plan. I anticipated that it would be too triggering, and generally something I wouldn't want to include. I mean, I don't even like to read about child loss in any form. But as the story evolved, it came naturally.

Pregnancy is risky business. It's easy to ignore that reality, especially when you're young and starting a family feels like some ambiguous, distant future. Most moms can attest to pregnancy's risks to your physical and mental health, not to mention the unfortunately all-too-common experience of pregnancy loss. I hate to say that it's a part of life (and fertility), but it is, and there isn't all that much we can do about it.

Ally's experience mirrors that of so many women, and it's made even more complicated by her breakup with Joe. It's one of the saddest parts of her story, and though I didn't initially envision it, I can no longer imagine Ally without it.