Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah discussion post (spoilers included)

There will be spoilers in this post so only read if you have read the novel. Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah was a wonderful book.

The Kate-Johnny-Tully triangle is one of the central threads of the novel. How does Johnny really feel about Tully? How does Tully feel about him? 

Kate was always inscecure that she was with a man who loved Tully first. Johnny at first is really likes Tully which leads to their one drunken night together. Tully on the other hand is uncapable of love after her mom abandoned her. The relationship was nothing to Tully.

Kate believes she is Johnny's second choice for love. How does Johnny contribute to her insecurities? How does Tully? How much of a relationship is set in the beginning and how are changes made as we grow? 

Kate knew she was in love with Johnny the moment she walked into the interview. The problem is that Johnny didn't see any of it. He was always blind. Johnny had that one night stand with Tully and then Kate told him how she felt. From there they had a whirlwind romance getting pregnant and married fast only to have Kate miscarry. Johnny contributes to Kate's insecurities by spending so much time with Tully. Kate thinks because they are both in the news world they should be together. Tully is very open with Johnnny and she will be all over him without really thinking and that makes Kate jealous.

Near the end of the novel when their friendship is on the rocks, both women feel wronged. Certainly Kate has ample reason to feel betrayed, but what about Tully's similar belief? Do you understand why Tully was upset, too? Do you believe that a friend should always reach out even when great pain has been caused? Or do you believe that true friends would never hurt each other? 

Tully is a complicated character with a difficult past. Some of the things Tully does is because of what her mother did to her and they are really unexplained as to the reasons why. Tully doesn't know what it feels like to be a mother or even to be a daughter so her betrayal with Kate was clearly her fault. After the fact was over I think Kate reacted too harshly saying the things she said. I also think Tully should have called Kate much sooner than she did. Of course there is no way to know that Kate would get breast cancer, but if Tully had just stopped being so stubborn and apologize she would have been there to hold her friend's hand through this difficult, trying period in her life. It is really hard to reach out when you have been hurt by a friend. Kate could have easily never called Tully again, but she needed a friend and Tully was that friend. That is what I loved about their friendship is that whenever times got back they would be back together. True friends do hurt each other it happens all the time. Fighting is a part of life it just may have not been that dramatic.

What role do you see Tully playing in Marah's life, after the pages of the novel are closed? Johnny's life? 

Marah needs a mom and unfortunately her biological mom is gone. Tully needs to stop being Marah's friend and just be a woman role model in her life. I picture Tully helping Johnny through a lot of difficult times. Although I see no romantic relationship forming.

In the end Kate comes full circle in her life and accepts the choices she has made, and in fact, discovers that she would do it all over again. She is fully at peace with who she is for perhaps the first time. How is this acceptance a gift to her children, her husband, and her best friend? And where do you think Tully ends up in terms of her own self worth? How will Kate's illness change her life? 

Cancer is a thing that touches so many people's life. There isn't a person on this Earth right now that didn't have a family member or a friend die of cancer. My great grandpa died of Stomach Cancer and my grandpa died of Colon Cancer. Kate was always striving to be somebody that she wasn't or do better at what she was. She thought she wasn't doing enough as a wife and mother. It took her getting breast cancer to finally sit back and look at her life and think how good she had. Kate gained perspective as she was dying. You could see towards the end that Kate was at peace as she said goodbye to her family and her best friend. Tully is always going to have issues in her life. Abandonment by a parent isn't something a child ever gets over. Tully will always think her life is just mediocre and she will never be good enough in her own eyes. Kate's disease gave Tully perspective too that friends and family are what matters in life and she took a few weeks off from her show after making that decision.