Brown Girl Dreaming

Jacqueline’s name is the result of a compromise between her parents (as well as some last-minute sneakiness on the part of her mother). What do you think that the argument over her name reveals about the differences between them, and about their different expectations for their daughter? 

Jacqueline has a complicated bond with the South, where she spends her early childhood. What do you think she loves about it, and what do you think she finds difficult? Do you think that her feelings about the South change over time? In what ways? 

New York City is a disillusioning place for Jacqueline and her family at first. Yet Jacqueline gradually comes to find her way there, particularly as a writer. What about New York City and her experience there allows her to claim this identity for herself? 

Much about Woodson’s Jehovah’s Witness upbringing is constricting and isolating. She must follow a strict schedule of Bible studies, and cannot participate in many social activities and rituals. Do you think that there is anything about her religious upbringing that she appreciates, even so? How might it have formed her as a writer? 

Jacqueline receives different advice by family members about how to cope with racial prejudice. What is some of the advice that she hears, and what peace do you think that she finally makes with it?

Jacqueline dreams from an early age about becoming a writer. What do you think attracts her to writing? What are some obstacles that she must face, in order to achieve her dream? How does she transform these challenges into strengths?

Jacqueline’s father takes up the first section of this memoir, before then disappearing from the book and (for a time) from his children’s lives. What is your sense of him as a character? How do you think that Jacqueline absorbs his early influence and holds on to his memory?

How is Jacqueline’s friend Maria important to her? What are some similarities between them and their families? What are some differences? What do you think they learn from one another?