You'd Be Home Now

What is the meaning of the title? How does the idea of home relate to the themes of the novel?

Discuss the novel’s attitude towards prescription medication or legal drug usage versus the abuse of illegal drugs. How does her father's use of tobacco and her mother’s use of sleeping pills confuse Emory’s thinking about addiction?

What does the novel have to say about second chances? Consider, for example, Joey’s parents’ view on his return home and Emory’s relationship with Liza.