Crisis, Pursued by Disaster, Followed Closely by Catastrophe A Memoir of Life on the Run

1. The adults in the family, John and Jessica, had an extremely strong and loving connection to each other. How did this play into the family's flight?2. Was it a false image for the children to let them believe that all was well? How was this good or bad for the children?3. Was it reasonable for the parents to continue to run? Should they have stopped and turned to address their problems? Does the fact that they were never caught validate their instinct to run?4. All three children, Mike, Mary and Fiona are educated and living successful lives as adult, despite the difficulties and instability of their childhoods. How do you think positive and negative aspects of ones childhood can influence adult life?5. Can we as a society learn any lessons from the O'Connor experience? Are there any political implications for our world today?6. How did John's drinking affect the family? Did some of his business failures stem from drinking, not just the affects of hiding?7. How strong was the influence of the Catholic Church in the family? Did John's faith give him strength or did it underline his mistakes and make him feel like a failure?8. Was it right for John and Jessica to keep their children ignorant of the family's true history? Do you think they were trying to invent a more acceptable history or did they keep the children in the dark to ensure discretion and safety?9. Was it right for the O'Connors of Boston to lie to Terry and Jack about their father?O'Connor, Mike is the author of 'Crisis, Pursued by Disaster, Followed Closely by Catastrophe A Memoir of Life on the Run', published 2007 under ISBN 9780375504792 and ISBN 0375504796.