I have been blessed in my family for all those infinite particular reasons that will never make their way to these pages, especially my aunts Kay and Kathleen. I thank Sabrina, a sister unlike any other, as well as my brothers, Julian and Eliot, for years of joy; and I wish wonder for the little ones, Yue Yue and Andrew “Che” Milton, whose joys have only just begun. I send love to my aunt Phyllis, wherever she might be.

To my parents, Dean Jamison and Joanne Leslie, I feel a sense of gratitude that is hard to hold in words. I thank my father for his faith and his generosity; and I thank my mother, quite plainly, for being the deepest source of love and support I’ve known.

Finally, to David: thank you. You are the one with whom I wake each day, the one with whom I dream this life.

About the Author

Leslie Jamison was born in Washington, D.C., and grew up in Los Angeles. A graduate of Harvard College and the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, she has also spent time working as an innkeeper on the coast of California and as a schoolteacher in Nicaragua. She is currently a Ph.D. candidate in American literature at Yale University. visit her website at www.lesliejamison.com.

About This Guide

The following reading group guide and author interview are intended to help you find interesting and rewarding approaches to your reading of The Gin Closet. We hope this enhances your enjoyment and appreciation of the book. For a complete listing of reading group guides from Simon & Schuster, visit www.community.simonandschuster.com/.

READING GROUP GUIDE FOR
THE GIN CLOSET

The Gin Closet recounts the story of a family stricken by grief, loss, and addictions. Told from the perspective of two narrators—Stella, a young cosmopolite searching for meaning, and Tilly, her estranged alcoholic aunt—the story follows what happens when Stella and Tilly meet after decades of separation, and tracks the unlikely friendship that forms between them. Both women struggle with addictions: Tilly abuses alcohol and Stella is a recovering anorexic. In the midst of their hardships, they come to understand what it means to love the family you’re given, no matter the cost.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. The novel opens with the decline and eventual death of Grandma Lucy, as told from Stella’s point of view. Stella describes her grandmother’s declining quality of life: “You couldn’t yearn like this unless you’d been lonely for years, practicing” (5). Consider how the sickness and death of Lucy illuminates the yearning for love and understanding in Lucy, Stella, Dora, and Tilly. Do you think Tilly is the character most in need of love? How so? If not Tilly, who?

2. Do you forgive Lucy for not taking Tilly back? Why or why not? Turn to pages 65–67 and discuss. Would you have done something differently?