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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. Who flies east with Nic to help him get settled at Hampshire College?

3. About how many people does David say attend the first Al-Anon meeting that he and Karen attend?

4. While attending Hampshire College, Nic finds a sponsor who is a graduate student attending what college?

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. How late is Nic when he sets a lunch date with his father at the restaurant Steps of Rome?

2. In what way is the theme of hope demonstrated in David's mention of St. Helena Hospital?

3. What major medical emergency befalls David Sheff just before Nic's eighteenth birthday?

4. For what reason does Sheff warn the parents of addicted children to avoid certain music?

5. What distinction does Sheff make between useful guilt and guilt that is not useful?

6. How much more likely are addicts to have underlying mental health issues, in relation to the general population?

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

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

9. 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?

10. Discuss examples of contingency management strategies that have been shown to be effective in managing addiction.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the connection Sheff draws between his own experiences as the father of an addict and the state of the opioid crisis plaguing twenty-first century America.

Essay Topic 2

How does David Sheff’s memoir Beautiful Boy utilize irony within the text? Discuss at least three uses of irony within the memoir and explore each instance's connection to larger themes contained within the piece.

Essay Topic 3

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

(see the answer keys)

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