READERS GUIDE

Questions and Topics for Discussion

1. In If the Dead Belong Here, the Taylor family’s personal tragedies collide with the enduring traumas that haunt Indigenous people in America. How do the specters of colonization, assimilation, and their forced removal from their ancestral homeland shape the ways that the Taylor family continues to be haunted?

2. If the Dead Belong Here weaves itself across five generations and is told through the eyes of multiple members of the Taylor family, both living and dead. What did you think of the choice to skip back and forth in time throughout the book? What do the different characters’ perspectives reveal about the Taylor family’s history and the forces that have haunted them? Was there a character that you particularly resonated with? 

3. Nadine, the hardened, headstrong eldest daughter of Ayita, ends up taking the lead in the search for her missing sister. In what ways is If the Dead Belong Here a coming-of-age story? How do we see Nadine grow throughout the book? Why do you think Nadine had to be the one to seek peace for her family?

4. The motif of wounds recurs throughout the book: Elgone and her daughters tend to people’s wounds. Morgan, wounded from his car crash, materializes in front of Ayita. Ayita is described as “a wound in the shape of a body.” How does imagery of wounds and scars tie into the book’s themes?

5. Violence against women pervades the Taylor family, with Prentiss, Ayita, and Nadine each facing abuse in their relationships. Why do you think this cycle of violence has repeated itself across generations? What do you think is the significance of the book’s cast being composed nearly entirely of women?

6. The inability of Morgan’s father and his community to accept his sexuality leads to a tragedy with devastating repercussions. What role do toxic masculinity and intolerance play in the Taylor family’s history and their relationship with the world around them? How have these forces shaped the course of America’s relationship with Indigenous peoples as a whole?

7. Why was it important that Nadine and Rosebud traveled to South Carolina as part of their search? What did they gain from returning to their family’s homeland?

8. The line between the dead and the living blurs throughout the book, with deceased members of the Taylor family crossing over to visit and communicate with Ayita and Nadine. Why do you think they returned to haunt their living relatives? In what ways do the living members of the Taylor family also haunt their dead?

9. Nadine relies on guidance from Rosebud, and later Talisa and Elgone, to search for Laurel and confront her nightmares. What does Nadine’s relationship with her elders reveal about the importance of honoring one’s culture and history? What wisdom and stories have you learned from elders in your own family?

10. Did the ending surprise you? Would you consider the Taylor family “healed” by the end of the book?