READERS GUIDE

Questions and Topics for Discussion

1. What is your biggest takeaway from An Exercise in Uncertainty? You may wish to talk about the thematic significance—literal and symbolic—of the title, for starters.

2. “Cancer has very little good to offer,” Jon Gluck writes. “But living with a near-constant awareness of my mortality for more than two decades has also taught me valuable lessons about how to live.” How does Jon live in a state of perpetual uncertainty? What did you find most compelling or inspiring about his story?

3. Gluck writes that the universe contains a death force—one that’s “closer to [him] than it’s ever been.” But he also needs “to believe in the life force.” Talk about Gluck’s belief system (or lack thereof) and how he manages to keep hope alive. Do any of his coping strategies resonate with you? Which ones and in what ways? Take a moment to reflect on your own experiences with illness or other adversities as well. 

4. “Therapy helped my cancer,” Gluck writes. “But cancer also helped my therapy.” Consider the impact of Gluck’s illness on his own mental health. What does self-acceptance and resilience look like for him? And what does it look like for his wife, Didi?

5. Talk about Gluck’s passion for fly fishing. What excites and comforts him about this activity? How does it keep him grounded? What does fly fishing have to say about the nature of patience, perseverance, and—if you want to take this subject to a deeper, more symbolic level—survival itself ?

6. How did Covid affect Gluck on both a physical and psychological level? What did the pandemic teach him—and the world at large—about the fragile boundary between sickness and health? Talk about the theme of uncertainty as it relates to the pandemic area as well.

7. “I don’t fear being dead,” Gluck writes. “I fear not being alive.” What does he mean? And what do you think is the difference?

8. Gluck writes that people ask him what’s it like to live with an incurable illness for more than twenty years: “How has it affected me? My wife and children? My family and friends? My career? My finances?” The list goes on. If there’s one question that you could ask the author—about living with cancer or, perhaps, what Gluck hopes readers will take away from this memoir—what would it be?