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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. The program into which Nic checks at Hazelden will last at least how long?

2. When David is at his wits' end with no news about Nic, who says they have been contacted by Nic?

3. In what area of the United States is St. Helena Hospital located?

4. In an excerpt from Addict in the Family, its author states that addicts inevitably take what action with respect to their parents' past regrets?

5. Once David finds out that Nic's phone has been pinging against towers in three states, whom does he call for help?

Short Essay Questions

1. Discuss Sheff's use of medical diction in order to depict the theme of family bonds.

2. Whom does Sheff list as people and organizations he at times blames for Nic's problems, before returning to the idea that Nic has a disease that causes his bad behavior?

3. What does Sheff mean when he calls addiction an "equal-opportunity affliction" (177)?

4. What element does Sheff name as "the bitterest irony of early sobriety" (228)?

5. What is the main element of twelve-step recovery programs that Nic rejects?

6. What new hobby does Nic take up around the time when David regains his memory after surviving a cerebral hemorrhage?

7. What are the definitions of priming and cuing, behaviors that can lead to relapse?

8. For what purpose does Sheff use the allusion to the film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind?

9. Discuss Sheff's use of the broken suitcase image to indicate the injured nature of his post-hemorrhage brain.

10. For what purpose does Sheff use the shark and the cormorant simile?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Read the interview included in the back of David Sheff's memoir Beautiful Boy. Write an essay explaining the connection between one of the author’s answers and a major theme presented within the text.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the motif of sound within David Sheff's memoir Beautiful Boy.

Essay Topic 3

What ultimate message is David Sheff's memoir Beautiful Boy sending about the nature and value of compassion?

(see the answer keys)

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