! Wish You Were Here" #
! Discussion Questions#
The questions below have major spoilers for the book—please come back to this page
once you’ve finished reading and are ready to dive into a discussion.!
"#
1. What was it like to revisit March 2020 right at the moment the world changed as we entered
the pandemic? Did the author capture what it felt like when everything started? Was it
strange to think back to that time? What emotions and thoughts came up as you started to
read?""#
2. Diana was trapped in the Galápagos, unable to return to New York City due to travel
restrictions. But she managed to make friends and explore the island every day. Do you
think she would have been more or less isolated if she had stayed in the city?"#
3. Diana chooses to stay on Isabela, even though she knows it might mean getting stuck
there. Would you have made the same decision? Has there ever been a time in your life
when you made a split-second decision that surprised you?""#
4. When Diana realizes she is stuck without any resources on the island, she is rescued by the
generosity of Abuela. How does Abuela’s instinct to come to a stranger’s aid compare to
Gabriel’s instinct to preserve the needs of himself and his family first? Is one or the other’s
motivations better justified?"#
5. Think about how Diana and Gabriel’s relationship evolves over the course of the book. How
does their understanding of one another compare to the way Diana and Finn relate?"#
6. Why do you think Diana was able to form such a close bond with Beatriz? What can the
book teach us about mental health and how to help those who are struggling?"#
7. What did you think about the revelation that Diana didn’t physically get stranded on Isabela
after all? Did you see the twist coming, or did it surprise you?""#
8. Do you think unconscious, lucid experiences like Diana’s have meaning? Are these
experiences “real” in some way?""#
9. Diana insists that she must have gotten Covid and imagined her time at the Galápagos for
a reason, while Finn believes that “viruses don’t need reasons.” What do you think about
the way other people (Finn, Dr."DeSantos, Rodney, others) react to Diana’s experience?"#
10. Diana instantly connects with"Kotomi"Ito over the Toulouse-Lautrec painting, something
that held huge promise for Diana’s career. When Diana returns to New York and recovers,