As we read through Part Three, we start to realise that what Natalie was going through in “the past” was her actual current timeline. Were you shocked to realise this? What do you think of Caleb sticking with her?
Why do you think Clementine decided to see Natalie now besides Stetson’s phone call?
Do you think Natalie’s measures were extreme?
What do you make of the epilogue?
Towards the end of the book, we get an excerpt from Mary’s book. What do you think she writes about?
5 responses to “Yesteryear Day Eight”
-
1. Absolutely blown away! It’s been a long time since a book had me so completely duped, and dumbfounded. What a bonkers thing for her to have done. How bonkers for Caleb to go along with it. Even now, it’s difficult for me to wrap my head around the situation.
2. Multiple reasons. On a practical level she probably needed the kids to know how she’s connected to the family for them to go with her. On an emotional level, she probably needed to give Natalie one more chance to come to her senses. On a legal level, this was the first moment she felt she could rescue the kids so she took it.
3. YES! To regress into the past to ‘prove the haters wrong’ is beyond irrational. It’s so sad no one was able to step in and get her help before things escalated.
4. Oh, Natalie, forever picking on Reena to make herself feel better. It’s such a clever inversion of the growth we usually see a protagonist go through. In Yesteryear, it’s Clementine that has a hero’s journey off-screen while Natalie stagnates as who she is at her worst. She’s a wonderfully written love-to-hate kind of character!
5. Mary’s autobiography excerpt felt like a subtle nod to how the grift can continue. Some passages really felt like it was setting up to be part memoir, part Christian self-help. Something Mary could perhaps monetize into public speaking engagements or a podcast where she interviews the kids of other family vloggers…? There’s a fine line between raising awareness and exploiting trauma. I like that it’s ambiguous as to how Mary’s book/life will go.
-
1. Yes, that reveal completely surprised me. Caleb staying with her showed how he’d grown to love Natalie for who she really was, not just the version she presented but I still don’t like nor trust Caleb.
2. I think Clementine was finally ready for answers. She’d had time to process everything and wanted to understand her mother rather than keep avoiding her.
3. Yes, but I could understand why she felt driven to them. She had lost control of her own story and was desperately trying to regain control.
4. Still a bit unsure as to how I feel about the epilogue but it gave the story a sense of hope and showed that healing doesn’t erase the past, but it can change how you move forward.
5. I think Mary writes about the truth behind their lives rather than the romanticized version. It felt like the perfect contrast to Natalie’s curated story and a reminder that history is made up of real people, not perfect ones.
-
As we read through Part Three, we start to realise that what Natalie was going through in “the past” was her actual current timeline. Were you shocked to realise this? What do you think of Caleb sticking with her? – I was honestly shocked and didn’t expect that at all, and also Caleb sticking around. My jaw dropped. I really thought that he would leaver her.
Why do you think Clementine decided to see Natalie now besides Stetson’s phone call? – I think she had to see how far her mom lost the plot and that she wanted to convince herself that the change she made in leaving them was the right one.
Do you think Natalie’s measures were extreme? – Oh most definitely. There is something so wrong with how she perceives reality and then you think you could feel sorry for her and then you realize just how far gone she is and what she did to her family that it is just crazy.
What do you make of the epilogue? – The fact that she still asked her friend Reena to do the interview just shows you that she hasn’t and will not change. I think she wants to think that she changed but ending up in prison for child neglect was very satisfying.
Towards the end of the book, we get an excerpt from Mary’s book. What do you think she writes about? – This was very insightful to read and I think it would give the reader a front row seat of just how far Natalie when and how dysfunction their family really was.
-
1. I did not expect that. It seemed cruel that they did it and everyone let them do that, especially to the children.
2. Obviously she had felt the need to check up on the kids and make sure they are okay. But on a deeper level, I think she needed closure that she can be satisfied with the decision that she made to leave and also maybe just to give them another chance, to see if her mother changed.
3. 100% yes. It is cruel to let your children suffer like that, just to prove a point to people that don’t even know you. Till the end, she always wanted to be in control.
4. It gave hope for the future, but I don’t know if I have hope for Natalie.
5. I think Mary will write the truth about their lives and struggles, not holding back and romanticising living in those circumstances. -
1.So insane!!! Caleb is insane and so is Natalie!! SO crazy.
2.I think Clementine wanted answers and felt as if this was the right time to talk to her mother to understand her better.
3.It was extreme and quite honestly insane. However, I think in some way I do empathise with Natalie so I can see why she went to such extremes. Does it make it right. Not at all. But she was looking for a way to gain some control back and unfortunately it turned to such extremes.
4.Marys books will be about her experience and her truth. Something completely different to what Natalie embodied.
Leave a Reply