So when she decides she wants a child of her own, she turns to an anonymous sperm donor who will never complicate their lives. We hope that these ideas will enrich your conversation and increase your enjoyment of the bookĪbandoned by her father when she was young, geneticist Paige Robson has dedicated her life to pulling apart the science of his choice-discovering a gene that explains why some men stay while others leave. The suggested questions are intended to help your reading group find new and interesting angles and topics for your discussion. This reading group guide for The Ones We Choose includes an introduction, discussion questions, and ideas for enhancing your book club. “An absolutely dazzling, profound ruby of a novel” (Caroline Leavitt, New York Times bestselling author), The Ones We Choose shows that while the science is fascinating, solving the intimate mysteries of who we are and where we come from unleashes emotions more complex than the strands of DNA that shape us. But when tragedy strikes, Paige must face the consequences of sharing a secret only she knows. As Paige slowly opens herself up-by befriending an eccentric mother, confronting her own deeply buried vulnerabilities, and trying to make sense of her absent father’s unexpected return-she realizes breakthroughs aren’t only for the lab. Paige’s carefully constructed life begins to unravel as the truth of Miles’s paternity threatens to destroy everything she has grown to cherish.

The powerful forces of science and family collide when geneticist Paige Robson finds her world in upheaval: Her eight-year-old son Miles is struggling to fit in at his new school and begins asking questions about his biological father that Paige can’t answer-until fate thrusts the anonymous donor she used into their lives.

Lisa Genova meets 23andMe in this “extraordinary breakthrough novel” (Sarah McCoy, New York Times bestselling author) about the genetic and emotional ties that bind as a young boy searches for his place in this world and a mother comes to terms with her own past.

We are who we choose to be