"The Power of Half" by Kevin Salwen and Hannah Salwen
Discussion questions:
- What did you like best about this book?
- What did you like the least?
- Did this book challenge you to make downward changes in your own lifestyle? Why or why not?
- Was this family's approach realistic? Or foolish?
- Did the book make you uncomfortable? If so, why?
- Discuss the family's selection process for the target organization for their donations. Was this a good approach?
- Do you think that this family was able to make a difference in the world?
- What was the real goal of this project? Family unity or philanthropy?
- Did this family take too much risk in order to help others or too little?
- How does one decide how much to give for the benefit of others? Is there such a thing as giving too much?
- What did each family member learn or gain individually from this experience?
- Although written from a secular perspective, what role did God and prayer have in this project - and especially in the sale of the family's house?
In the book, a video made by Hannah's younger brother, Joseph, is mentioned. You can see the video, called "Hannah's Lunchbox" below:
If you are intrigued by this family's experiment with downsizing, you may also want to check out this video interview of Kevin Salwen on Fox News: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xhmmxy_kevin-salwen-talks-about-the-power-of-half_news.
In addition, the family has a website, blog, and has created a "Power of Half School Initiative" to encourage student philanthropy across the nation: http://www.thepowerofhalf.com. It is good to note that 50% of the book proceeds are also donated by the family.
Finally, there is a set of book discussion questions on the family's website at http://www.thepowerofhalf.com/readers-guide.
