Discussion questions for Jim Henson's Pee Up A Tree: A Mental Health Memoir

       As I read Barbara Kingsolver's novel The Lacuna I became fascinated not only with the story but the history and when she got to the times in which I was young and became a student in college and the House Un-American Activities Committee was in full swing my curiosity of at full mast. Out of curiosity I turned to the end of the book to see read her author's comments and to my delight I found a rather extensive section, an actual discussion guide for book clubs who might be using the book as their monthly selection. The points it raised added depth to the understanding of the story and of the times in which it was set.

      The publisher of the edition I read also printed an interview with Ms. Kingsolver answering some of the questions I had about her research and the characters.

      The data on some of our well known historical figures, some that have become "heroic" was dismaying. Not common information in our history books, or not at least in the ones I had read.

      The point I'm working toward is the value that a simple discussion guide can play in the back of a book. It is to this point that Jim Henson has directed his attention in submitting the following to go along with his non-fiction book: Pee Up a Tree: A Mental Health Memoir. It has been chosen by several book clubs and he has developed a set of questions that he is sending along with the book. I suggested that he share the questions here for those who have already read the book, may be in the midst of reading it or who might be contemplating reading it.

      If you have read Jim's book and would like to submit a thought to add to the list then feel free to contact us at Arborwood Press and we will pass it on to Jim.

PEE UP A TREE

Book Group Discussion Questions

1. Has 40 years of the feminist movement eliminated or reduced the male child bias in our culture?
2. How important is mentoring to the task of professional development?
3. What is it about human personality or human nature that makes it easier to see the imperfections of others more easily than our own?
4. What do you think the most pressing mental health issues in your own community might be?
5. What is the good news and the bad news about addiction?
6. What has been your own experience with regard to the value and meaning of dreams?
7. Do people usually reach their counseling goal as rapidly as it appears a couple of characters do early in the book?
8. Is there a place for humor in the counseling setting? If so, what is it?
9. Having read this book, do you have a more or less favorable view of the mental health profession? What passages nudge you in that direction?
10. If you decided that you wanted to see a mental health professional, how would you go about selecting one?

Respectfully submitted,

Kenneth Fenter

Arborwood Press