The Ex-Debutante A Novel [Paperback]

When Carlisle Wainwright Cushing, of the old-moneyed Texas Wainwrights, moved to Boston three years ago to work at one of the city's most prestigious divorce law firms, she thought she had escaped the high society she'd grown up in  after all, no one in Boston, not even her fianc?, knew she was an heiress. But now, Carlisle has been lured back to Texas to deal with her mother's latest divorce and the family-sponsored 100th annual debutante ball, which is on the verge of collapse. She's afraid she'll never get back to Boston, at least with her reputation intact, especially when good 'ole Southern boy Jack Blair shows up on the opposite side of the divorce court, making her wonder if he's going after her mother in the proceedings--or her.

Carlisle's trip home challenges her sense of who she really is and forces her to face her family's secrets. Funny, smart, and poignant,The Ex-Debutanteis a story about the risks one woman must take if she stands a chance of finding herself, real love, and her place in that crazy thing we call family.

1. How do you think Carlisle's mother's pending divorce affects her relationship with Jack?

2. According to Ridgley, there are three types of women: Those born fabulous, those who learned to be fabulous, and those who would never, no matter what, be fabulous. How do you think Carlisle brought out the fabulousness of her less than fabulous debutantes?

3. How does Carlisle grow into her own fabulousness? Does she redeem herself for her first attempt at being a debutante?

4. Throughout the novel, Carlisle pits her Texas upbringing and her newfound Eastern brashness against each other. When have you ever had to shift between two worlds?

5. Willow Creek is vividly divided by the Haves and Have-nots. How does the debutante ball bring the town together? How does it pull it apart?

6. If you had to choose between the worlds represented by Jack and Phillip, which would you pick? Whylcï