What do you think of her father, Aaron Fisher? What are your reactions to his choices? Would you be able to defend him or his choices?

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I've grown certain that the root of all fear is that we've been forced to deny who we are. ~ Frances Moore Lappe

I found Aaron to be one of the most fascinating characters in the book. I totally could NOT identify at all with the choices he made. I would have been beside my child every step of the way defending her, loving her and supporting her. I was so upset when he got Sarah out of the car when she was leaving to go to the trial. I also would never shun a child just because they made choices I didn't agree with....especially going to college!!

BUT

......at the same time I had immense respect for him. Although I may not believe as he does or would have made the same decisions, I think that what he did showed he was a man who had strong beliefs and lived his life by those beliefs, even when it hurt him and those around him. I had to have respect for the fact that he always did what he thought was right. Again...an interesting Jodi Picoult dilemma....how I could respect a man who I could not identify with at all.

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Don't know if I could say it any differently!

However, I will add one thing.

The fact the the bishop (? is that the right title) was willing to "bend the rules", led me to believe that they do make exceptions. So why couldn't Aaron bend a little too??

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I've grown certain that the root of all fear is that we've been forced to deny who we are. ~ Frances Moore Lappe

I agree. The bishop was WAAAAY more laid back than Aaron. Of course I'm not sure there's ever been a person who wasn't more laid back than Aaron So I do think Aaron "could" have bent more. I think the point was that he didn't WANT go bend more because he thought it was wrong. So he just had his own beliefs and even if everyone didn't agree and even if it would have been easier to bend or give in....he didn't. He just kept to his beliefs.

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I didn't care for him at first. I think though being Amish was very important to him, possibly he was brought up by some extremely strict parents in the Amish sect. He wanted to do right by his beliefs and by his church, i do think he showed some tenderness towards his daughter Katie. I think he was just torn between being a good Amish man and being a good husband/father.

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"Go on, get outside, get the stink blown off ya!!"

I could not necessarily understand him because I am not a man and I am not a father. I know men think differently. A little bit of him reminded me of my father. He is a man of strong beliefs who has been known to be harsh sometimes with me and my brother. Maybe not to the extent that Aaron was, but enough to cause a wedge between my brother and him. BUT, the big difference is my father will admit when he made a mistake and apologize. I don't think Aaron would ever say he made a mistake.

He was a sad man who had lost so much, too. His children had not turned out how he expected any of them to, which is definitely a hard thing to take as a parent. He was very inflexible.