Book Club Night Kit
Welcome To The Afterlife
Taryn Delanie Smith
Cozy night
A debut novel about the strange, tender business of what comes after, told with enough humor and heart that it feels less like a ghost story and more like a long hug. It is the rare afterlife book you can read under a blanket.
Welcome To The Afterlife (Bring A Blanket)
Casseroles, a hot chocolate bar, and a very soft conversation about what comes next. Come in your comfiest clothes, no need to have finished every chapter.
Reading level: Easy
Best for: A club that likes feelings over footnotes, and would rather cry a little on a couch than argue over a table
Discussion
Warm-up
- 1.Where were you when you read most of this one, and did you end up reading it in one cozy sitting or in small sips before bed?
- 2.Before you opened the book, what did the words 'welcome to the afterlife' make you picture? Did the book's version feel warmer or stranger than the one in your head?
Digging in
- 1.The book treats the afterlife as a place you arrive at rather than vanish into. Which detail of that arrival made you feel oddly looked after?
- 2.Was there a moment where the writing made you laugh when you expected to be sad? What did that mix of humor and grief do for you as a reader?
- 3.The idea of unfinished business runs through this story. Without getting too heavy, what is one small loose end of your own you were reminded of while reading?
- 4.If this book is partly about being welcomed somewhere new and frightening, who in your real life has been that welcoming presence for you?
Going deep
- 1.Did reading this shift anything about how you think of the people you have lost, even slightly? You can keep your answer as private or as small as you want.
- 2.By the last stretch of the book, did you feel released or did you feel ache? Try to describe the feeling you were left holding without saying what caused it.
On the table & to sip
To eat
Comfort casserole bar (one bubbly baked pasta, one cheesy potato bake)
The classic dish people bring to a grieving house, which makes it quietly perfect for a book about what comes after. Low effort, scoops warm, feeds a crowd.
Warm honey-butter biscuits with jam
Soft, golden, and a little indulgent: the edible version of being welcomed in. Bake from a tube if you want, nobody will know.
Milk and cookies, served late
A nod to childhood ideas of heaven and comfort. Set them out in the final half hour when the conversation turns tender.
To sip
Cloud Nine hot chocolate bar (no alcohol)
Big pot of cocoa with marshmallows, cinnamon, and whipped cream so everyone can build their own soft cloud. Non-alcoholic and the heart of the night.
Spiced apple cider, warm in a slow cooker (no alcohol)
Smells like someone's kitchen the second guests walk in, which is exactly the welcome the title promises.
Hot toddy with lemon and honey
A soothing nightcap for the bittersweet stretch of the discussion. Keep the kettle out so anyone can make theirs without the whiskey.
Run of show
7:00
Arrive and get warm
Blankets on every seat, cider going in the slow cooker, playlist already on. No name tags, no agenda.
7:20
Plate up
Casseroles and biscuits out buffet style. Let people eat and chat before any book talk starts.
7:40
Warm-ups from the couch
Ask the two warm-up questions while everyone still has a fork in hand. Keeps it low pressure.
8:00
The middle of the book
Work through the theme questions. Pass a question card around instead of calling on people.
8:40
Cocoa and the tender part
Set out the hot chocolate bar, milk, and cookies, then move to the two deep questions. Lower the lights a notch.
9:10
Scorecards and soft landing
Fill out scorecards, read a few out loud, pick the next book. Send leftovers home in foil.
Host tips
- Say out loud at the start that anyone can pass on a question. A book about loss will land differently for different people, and permission to skip makes everyone more honest.
- Do not sit in a circle of chairs. Couch, floor cushions, and side tables let people look at the cocoa instead of each other during the heavier questions.
- Keep one food item uncooked until guests arrive (biscuits in the oven, cookies baking). The smell does more hosting work than you will.
Playlist
Hushed, hopeful, slightly celestial: soft piano, airy vocals, and songs that feel like light coming through curtains
- 01 Heavenly - Cigarettes After Sex
- 02 To Be Alone - Hozier
- 03 Pink + White - Frank Ocean
- 04 Dreams - The Cranberries
- 05 Vienna - Billy Joel
- 06 Spirit Cold - Tall Heights
- 07 Beyond - Leon Bridges
- 08 Ribs - Lorde
Trivia
- 1.Who wrote Welcome To The Afterlife? (Taryn Delanie Smith.)
- 2.The author first became widely known through a very different kind of stage. What title did she hold? (Miss New York, and she went on to compete in the Miss America competition.)
- 3.Before publishing fiction, Smith built a large audience on which platform, known for her comedic videos? (TikTok (and social media more broadly).)
- 4.Is Welcome To The Afterlife Smith's debut novel? (Yes, it is her first novel.)
- 5.What broad genre does the book's premise place it in? (Speculative or fantasy fiction with a contemporary, humorous voice, often shelved as upmarket or book club fiction.)
- 6.The title promises a 'welcome.' What narrative device does that phrasing set up from page one? (An arrival story, where a newcomer and the reader learn the rules of a strange place at the same time.)
- 7.Stories about bureaucratic or organized afterlives have a long tradition. Name one well-known earlier example. (Answers vary: The Good Place, Beetlejuice, or The Lovely Bones all play with structured afterlives.)
- 8.What is the author's full name as it appears on the cover? (Taryn Delanie Smith, using her middle name Delanie.)
Bookmarks
Print, cut, and tuck one at every seat, a small keepsake from the night.
Rate the book
Comfort factor☆☆☆☆☆
Made me feel something☆☆☆☆☆
Warmth of the voice☆☆☆☆☆
Would reread under a blanket☆☆☆☆☆
Made me laugh☆☆☆☆☆
One word for how this book left me: ______________________
The page I want to go back to: ______________________
Who I thought about while reading: ______________________
That's a wrap
Thank you for coming
We hope the company was good and the conversation even better. Until the next chapter.