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Rich People Shop Here (Book Club Questions)
It has been said that after a life-altering event, we should wait a year before making major changes in our life. Do you think Patsy would have been better off to follow this rule?
When you were first introduced to Patsy, what was your opinion of her? Did it change through the story? If so, in which way?
Which character do you think had the most impact on helping Patsy go forward?
Patsy had a lot of “defenders’ who came to her aid throughout her life. Who are your “defenders”?
Patsy and Boots considered themselves to very different from each other. Did you observe any similar traits between the two women? Did either woman change?
Patsy said she did not love Ron at first. Why do you suppose she married him anyway after her 2 other failed marriages? Also, why do you think she decide to stay married to him even though he continued to binge drink for several more years?
What are your thoughts about having a “Pre-Funeral”? Would you like to attend one of these for yourself? What do you surmise that people would say about you at one of these events?
True friendship and unconditional love are transformational. How do you feel this was shown in this book? Who was transformed and how?
Forgiveness is a choice we make. Tell about the some of the forgiving choices that were made in this book.
What power does forgiveness bring? How is this shown in the book?
Sense of humor is important in a crisis. How have you seen this to be a reality in your life?
Nobody is beyond God’s unlimited ability to help. Who in the book showed this to be true? How does that effect how you see other people in your life, especially people who seem to always be in trouble of one kind or another?
My blackberry shivered and shook with this text message from one of my oldest and dearest friends: “Shame on you for baptizing Mustachia! I’m in the chapter on “Bullets and Brothers” and I think it’s the best thing you’ve ever written.”
My new book is out there now and I’m getting some calls and emails. I’m taking all of the joyful praise with a grain of salt.
“This thing is doing heart surgery on me. I would have written sooner but I was on my way down to feed the chickens and I was pulled into the ditch by a giant crab.” Another reference to Rich People Shop Here. A story about my older brother. My friend was paying attention.
That’s amazing.
“We stayed up all night long and read it out loud to each other”. A friend of mine and his wife read the whole book in ONE NIGHT. OUT LOUD!
All of this is confirmation for me. It’s supposed to be out there. After a few fits and starts, it finally IS being read by a host of people and I get to hear their very enthusiastic responses to the stories.
Somebody else wrote to tell me that the book had inspired them to forgive someone in their own family. It doesn’t get any better than that in my humble opinion.
All of this fun is making me think about a sequel….
Well the Rich People Shop Here fun continued a couple of weeks ago with a party at Barbara Henricks’ home here in Austin. We had a great turnout and terrific food and fun and fellowship. Everybody had a good time, and went home with at least one book each to read at their leisure.
In times like these I realize how blessed I am to have such good friends.
Lots of amazing early reports from readers of the book, and many people are buying multiple copies to give away.
We’ll be doing a lot of speaking in the new year, and I can’t wait to get out there and get started. For those of you who have attended one (or both) of our book parties; for those who have bought books for themselves, friends, and relatives; for those who’ve been so encouraging to Susie and I…thanks is really not enough.
Everybody have a Merry Christmas!
Sunday, November 1 was the date for our book release party for Rich People Shop Here. Though the official publication date is January 15, books came a bit early and were available so we got 100 plus of our closest friends and family together and threw a shindig in a room that could barely hold 80.
It was an amazing day with people coming from as far away as Georgia and as close as two buildings over from the meeting room.
We sold all the books we had on hand and we’ve re-ordered. The early feedback on the book has been very encouraging.
Barbara Henricks, Book Publicist Extraordinaire, gave a moving speech about why the book matterered to her all those months ago when I was just sending along one chapter at a time to her.
I spoke briefly, mom spoke, and we both signed books for over an hour. Our Cave Henricks Communications friends sold books and were kind enough to man the desk and deliver those that had been pre-sold.
What a great day!!!! I suppose every author dreams of these kinds of days, but when they actually happen, they are better than one can imagine.
To all of you who attended, thank you, To those of you who could not attend, but were there in spirit, many thanks to you, too.
In a fast-paced and sometimes cold hearted world, many women struggle simply to survive, to raise their children and along the way have lives that are at the least productive and at the best, fulfilled … Patsy Welch is one of these women and her tale is one that many will recognize — filled with sadness, struggle, alcohol, death, and divorce. But laced amid the daily chaos, shines a faith so strong and friendships so resilient it will forever change the way you see the world. While Patsy’s life is anything but a fairy tale, its ending rings with transformation and redemption so real it will stir even the cynical to great hope.
To quote Patsy herself: The end of her days has turned out to be better than the beginning.
Those who have read the manuscript have responded with unusual enthusiasm. When asked whether or not there were enough inspirational books out in the marketplace, Cave Henricks Communications’ owner and President Barbara Cave Henricks quickly replied, “No, not enough riveting, well-written ones with broad appeal like this one. This is ‘Tuesdays with Morrie’ meets Annie Lamott and I think it has that same kind of potential.”
Because Patsy also has a very keen sense of humor and a Lucille Ball-like life sometimes, there are “Patsy Moments” every few pages, stories about her frantic and often hilariously funny escapades.. These short 1-page glimpses into Patsy’s life keep the book and the subject matter from getting too ‘heavy’. Rich People Shop Here will inspire and encourage people, no matter what their circumstances.
My first book, Rich People Shop Here, is about to publish, and nobody is more surprised about that than me.
This all started a few years ago when I wote a series of guest columns for the Houston Chronicle. One of those columns was a story about how when we were boys we were kind of poor and my mom would take us to the thrift stores to buy our school clothes. She would always preface these little shopping sprees with the admonition that we “shouldn’t feel bad about shopping in these places because a lot of rich people shop here.” I noted in my guest column that if the definition of wealth was having a good reputation and friends and family who love you, then she was and still is one of the wealthiest people I know, and yes, rich people DID shop there after all.
The story was very well received and I thought often about expanding the story and writing it down so that it wouldn’t be lost forever. After a three year stint in Georgia with The Gallup Organization, I came back to Texas and decided that the the time was right for me to write mom’s life story and go down to Kinko’s and print it off for the kids and grandkids.
But then, a good friend in the publishing biz started reading chapters as I finished them, and after the book was completed she strongly encouraged me to try and get it published, that this story had great potential to inspire and encourage others.
So, I’m holding the first official copy of Rich People Shop Here in my hand. George Gallup, Jr. wrote the forward, and it has been endorsed by best-selling authors Bob Beaudine and Carolyn Castleberry. We had a book release party last Sunday with a hundred or so of our closest friends and family. I’ll talk more about that in my next post, but suffice it to say it was one of the highlights of my life.
“Rich People Shop Here is inspiring and well-written and I believe it has the same kind of broad appeal as Tuesdays With Morrie or Annie Lamont. Oh, and amid all that was going on with Patsy, there is a lot of fun and funny moments that make this a terrific read.”
“I love this story! Rich People Shop Here is an amazing but true-to-life Power of WHO story. Patsy’s ‘WHO’ came to her aide and helped her forever change the trajectory of her life. In the same way she teaches us how to be ‘Moment Makers’ for our friends and family.”
Bob Beaudine, Best Selling Author, “The Power of WHO”
“As a reporter and financial author, every day I hear stories of poor choices, discouragement, and disaster. In Rich People Shop Here, the story of Patsy and Boots reminds us that no challenge can extinguish hope. No hardship can separate you from the Author of that hope, your loving Father, Who will never fail you. Read this, and be encouraged to take one more step! Just like rich people.”
Carolyn Castleberry, CBN News Reporter and Author of “It’s About Time” and “Women, Take Charge of Your Money” .
“Rich People Shop Here is the gripping account of one woman’s long and desperate struggle with hardship and misfortune. It is at the same time a testimony to the power of faith and healing in redirecting a person’s life. It is a story of ultimate triumph and hope. ” George Gallup, JR.
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