1.    The year before Robert was born, Mr. Heath freed his slaves, offering them safe passage north into Pennsylvania or Canada to begin a new life.  He hired those preferring to stay at Laurelea at a fair wage.  How do you think life changed for those who moved north?  For those who chose to stay at Laurelea?  Why do you think some chose to remain?

2.    How do you think releasing his slaves and hiring them affected Mr. Heath’s relations with members of his town and church community?  How did those actions affect Charles and Caroline Glover individually and as a couple?  Have you taken an unpopular stand against something you believed wrong?  How were you treated by your family, your peers, your church?

3.     William Henry was born free and grew up as Robert’s best friend.  Both boys lived with their parents at Laurelea and yet William Henry did not receive the same home schooling that Mrs. Laura Heath and Caroline Glover provided for Robert.  Mrs. Heath clearly loved and believed in William Henry.  She knew he could read.  Why did she not do more for William Henry’s education or do it more openly? 

4.    In the first chapter Robert is astonished at William Henry’s daring when he  outwits Jake Tulley.  Does William Henry remind you of anyone you know?  Does Robert?  How so?

5.    Robert felt trapped between the positive things his mother said about slavery and his father’s strong opposition to it, and especially between his love for them both.  Have you ever felt trapped between your parents, between authority figures, or between parties you loved?  How did you cope with that conflict?

6.    Robert resisted going to North Carolina.  Yet his travels led him to knowledge and adventures he might never have experienced at home.  How did those experiences change Robert?  Have you found yourself in a similar situation?  How did your experiences change you? 

7.    How did Jed Slocum’s beating of Jacob and Jeremiah change Robert’s viewpoint of slavery?

8.    Robert knew Miss Laura had been sick a long time.  Why do you think the telegram from Charles came as such a shock to Robert?

9.    What was it like for Robert to return to Laurelea after having lived at Ashland all those months?  Had Robert changed?  Had life at Laurelea changed?  What is it like for you to return home after having lived away?

10.    Did Robert perceive William Henry’s death as murder, suicide, sacrifice, or something else?  How do you see it?  How did William Henry’s death affect Robert’s decisions?

11.    The first person Robert confided in after William Henry’s death was Joseph, William Henry’s father.  Why was it important to Robert that Joseph know the truth as he saw it? 

12.    Robert is grieving, angry, and full of questions when he meets Rev. Goforth for the first time.  How does Rev. Goforth react to Robert’s anger and demands?  Why do you think he does not answer Robert’s questions directly?

13.    During Robert’s struggle he drew strength and direction from the characters and stories he read in the Bible.  Have you found strength or direction from characters or stories in the Bible?  From other people you’ve known or read about?  Which one/ones and how did they impact you? 

14.    What does Robert risk by helping Jeremiah run north?  What does he fear?  How does Robert determine right from wrong in making his decision? Why was it safer for Robert and Jeremiah to run together rather than for Jeremiah to run alone?

15.    The Quaker family that hid and transported Robert and Jeremiah risked much but did not want to see runaways so they could truthfully say they had not seen them.  Such decisions varied among Quakers.  What would you have done?  Why?

16.    Why do you think the boy with the sleigh helped Robert and Jeremiah but kept Stargazer?   Have you ever had to give up something or someone you loved very much to help another person?  How did you feel about that?

17.    When the boys finally reached Effie Burton in Washington City Robert was determined that he and Jeremiah would not be separated until they reached Canada.  After all they’d been through together why did Jeremiah choose differently?

18.    Rev. Goforth told Robert that our choices determine who we are and decide the path we walk for a very long time.  Robert decided that, for him, liberty was the freedom to make his own choices and to live with the consequences.  Do you agree or disagree?  Are you free to choose what you believe and how you act upon those beliefs?  Who is responsible for how you live your life?  Do your choices affect the lives of others?

19.    Robert said that his mother wrote that she could “not consider returning to Laurelea for a long time, that without Miz Laura, life there was just too harsh, too lonely, and that Grandfather needed her.”  How did Caroline’s choice to stay in North Carolina affect Robert?

20.    In the end Jeremiah wrote Robert a letter from Canada.   Why did it’s message mean so much to Robert?  Imagine if William Henry had been able to write a letter to Robert at that point.  What might he have said?

21.    What does Robert carry with him from this chapter of his life?  What do you carry from the book?