Epiphany

True stories of sudden insight to inspire, encourage, and transform

Elise Ballard
READING GROUP GUIDE

ABOUT THIS GUIDE
The questions and discussion topics that follow are
designed to enhance your reading of Elise Ballard’s
Epiphany.
INTRODUCTION
Inspiring, thought-provoking, and eye-opening,
Epiphany shares deeply intimate stories of people
from all walks of life, from public figures like Maya
Angelou, Deepak Chopra, Ali McGraw, and Barry
Manilow, to the author’s personal acquaintances and
lifelong friends, to new contacts made in the most
unexpected and serendipitous of circumstances.
Whether discovering purpose in life, awakening to
new possibilities, or finding a new direction after a
catastrophic setback, each person’s epiphany is a gift,
providing new insight into these remarkable lives and
a window into the universal truths that connect us all.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Elise Ballard defines an epiphany as “a mo-
ment of sudden or great revelation that usu-
ally changes your life in some way.” Several
other definitions are shared in the book,
including Maya Angelou’s that an epiphany
is “when the mind, body, and soul come
together and see an old thing in a new way.”
How would you define an epiphany?
3. Do you feel a person needs faith in God, the Di-
vine, or a Higher Power to have an epiphany?
4. Did reading this book help you remember or real-
ize your own epiphanies? Did it spark any new
epiphanies for you?
5. According to Elise, every epiphany involved
listening, belief, action, and serendipity. If you’ve
had an epiphany, were these elements present in
the experience?
6. Which stories in the book resonated the most with
you? Surprised you? Shocked you? Disappointed
you? Inspired you? Why?
7. The book is divided into six categories. Do you
find one of the categories more interesting or com-
pelling than the others?
8. How would you categorize your epiphany? Could
your epiphany fit into more than one?
9. Do you agree with Elise that it is very important to
ask your loved ones and those closest to you about
their epiphanies? Whose epiphany would you
most like to know? Could you open the subject
with him or her?

2. Have you ever had an epiphany? Did it change 10. If you could ask anyone about their epiphany, who
your life? would it be? Why?

Reading group guide for Epiphany by Elisa Ballard. Copyright © 2011 by the Crown Publishing Group. Distributed by permission of the Crown
Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this reading group guide may be reproduced or reprinted without
permission in writing from the publisher.