Bring the Wilderland to Your Group

A Note from Bob

Dear fellow readers,

I wrote The Mingles in Wilderland to be read aloud, discussed around a table, and lived with — not rushed through. The story was born around conversations with friends, and it feels right that it should find its way back to conversations.

If your reading group, book club, church group, library circle, or homeschool co-op has chosen to spend time in the Wilderland, I am genuinely grateful. The questions below are designed to open the kind of conversations that make a story matter long after the last page.

If you have questions, want to share what your group discussed, or would like me to join your group by video call — write to me. I would be honored.

Bob Massie
hello@theminglesinwilderland.com

Courage and Smallness

The Wilderland doesn't need a hero. It needs a Mingle.

1. Captain Horatio tells the Mingles, "Your problem isn't the size of your body. It's the size of your thinking." What does he mean? Do you agree?
2. When did Timbit show courage that surprised you? Was it the kind of courage you expected from a leader, or something else?
3. Are there moments in your own life where smallness — of influence, resources, or position — turned out to be an advantage?

Belonging and Identity

The name "Mingles" is born on the trail — not assigned, but discovered.

1. The travelers don't start as a group with a name. The identity of "Mingles" emerges along the way. What brought them together? Was it choice, circumstance, or something deeper?
2. Think about a community you belong to. Did you choose it, or did it form around you? How is that similar to what happens in the story?
3. Smudge's role in the group changes as the journey unfolds. What does her arc say about how belonging changes a person?

Stewardship and the Natural World

The Aridites threaten the Wilderland not with weapons, but with drought.

1. The central threat in the story is environmental — a drought-scourge. Why do you think the author chose this kind of danger instead of a traditional battle?
2. Caelum Ventorum is an Aridite who studies the very phenomenon his society is using as a weapon. What does his character say about complicity and conscience?
3. The Wilderland is full of natural detail — birds, streams, light, seasons. Did any passage make you notice something in the real world differently?

Trust and Unlikely Allies

Marlowe appears as a stranger in the Tanglewood. The Mingles must decide whether to trust.

1. When the Mingles first encounter Marlowe, what makes them hesitate? What makes them trust? Was their instinct right?
2. Proudfoot the otter operates alone as a northern scout. What does his loyalty look like compared to the group loyalty of the Mingles?
3. In your experience, what makes you trust someone you've just met? How does the story handle this question?

Sacrifice and What It Costs

1. Several characters in the story make sacrifices — some obvious, some quiet. Which sacrifice moved you most?
2. Is there a difference between sacrifice that is chosen and sacrifice that is thrust upon someone? Where do you see both in the story?
3. The story doesn't resolve every thread neatly. Did that feel honest, frustrating, or both?