Describe a few instances in the text when the past strongly informs/influences the present.

What comparisons does the author make with writing and braiding hair in the Epilogue?

What does the narrator discover about her mother in "New York Day Women"?

What is the significant of the Madonna statue in "Nineteen Thirty-Seven"?

Why do you think the author chose journal entries as the format for "Children of the Sea"?

What does the hot-air balloon mean to Guy in "A Wall of Fire Rising"?

Why is the narrator of "The Missing Peace" called Lamort? What is the significance of her name change by the end of the story?