Book Club Discussion Questions

for My Stubborn Heart

by Becky Wade


  1. 1. What do you think of when you hear the term ‘romance novel’?  Is your immediate reaction positive or negative?


  1. 2. What are some of your favorite romantic movies, books, or TV shows?  Why do you think those particular ones stand out so strongly in your memory?


  1. 3. Can you remember some of the first romances that you ever read?  Can you remember some of the first Christian novels that you ever read? 


  1. 4. What challenges do you think Becky Wade faced when she set out to write a book that would be on one hand a romance novel and on the other hand a Christian novel? 


  1. 5. While she’s writing, Becky boils the theme of her book down to one word.  That one word describes what her book is really about.  What do you think that word was for My Stubborn Heart?


  1. 6. Consider the humor in the book.  Where did it come from?  Did any one element in the book strike you as particularly funny?


  1. 7. Becky uses a few metaphors in My Stubborn Heart to represent the changing state of Matt’s character.  Can you think what those might be?


  1. 8. Over the course of the book, Becky writes from both Kate and Matt’s point of view.  Did Matt’s point of view feel authentic to you?  Why or why not?  How were Matt’s sections written differently than Kate’s sections?


  1. 9. Have you known anyone who’s experienced the loss of a spouse?  How did they respond?  Did they eventually find a new relationship?


  1. 10. What did you like or dislike about Kate’s character?  What particular facets of her personality were used by God to bring Matt ‘back to life’?


  1. 11. At one point in the novel, Matt goes to his knees in the chapel before God and asks for forgiveness.  If you found that scene moving, why did it strike you that way?


  1. 12. Near the end of the book, Kate hears God say, “no” to something she dearly longs for.  Has God ever said, “no” to you over something you desperately wanted?  How was your relationship with God effected in the season that followed?


  1. 13. How would you characterize Becky Wade’s unique writer’s voice?  What elements of her storytelling style did or didn’t work for you?


14.  Which scenes did you enjoy the most in My Stubborn Heart?  Why?