1. In her opening pages, Myrna Kostash describes her desire at school to be “Greek” even though she is of Ukrainian ancestry. Where does this desire and idea come from? What do Greeks and Ukrainians have in common?
  2. What inspires Kostash to begin her journey in pursuit of St Demetrius?
  3. What is an icon in the Eastern Church? Describe icons you might have seen. How are they different from the way in which saints are portrayed in Western (Italian, German) art?
  4. Why do you think Kostash titled her memoir Prodigal Daughter?
  5. How does Kostash go about travelling “to Byzantium”?
  6. Describe your own travels to “Byzantium”: Greece, Turkey, the former Yugoslavia, Ukraine, Russia, Bulgaria…
  7. How would you describe Kostash’s view of the Orthodox Church?
  8. Did Prodigal Daughter teach you anything new about European history?
  9. Did the book read like a story, a newspaper article, a report, something else?
  10. What one new fact did you learn from reading this book?
  11. Was the point of the book to share an opinion, explain a topic, tell about a personal journey, or something else? Did the author do it well? (General Nonfiction)
  12. Have you been on a spiritual journey inspired by your ethnic or cultural background?