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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. How does one of Martha's friends know so much about Down Syndrome, according to her account in the story?

2. What does John come across when he is walking one night, so he decides to lay down and sleep there?

3. What wakes Martha up the following morning, according to her story in the boook?

4. Who does Martha pray to when she is having her medical crisis? Bunraku _____________.

5. What does John leave the apartment to do, which leaves Martha in a moment of despair?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happened to Martha when she first arrived at the hospital with John?

2. What did Martha recall happening when she asked for someone to help her save her baby?

3. What was the magical experience that John has which caused him to be supportive of the pregnancy?

4. Why couldn't Martha and John see Adam when he was first born, according to her description?

5. What began to happen when John was in Asia for his consulting job?

6. What did Martha learn on the phone call that makes her stay on the phone until John arrived home?

7. What did Martha and John learn from their parents when they talked to them about the diagnosis they learned?

8. What was the negative experience that Martha has in one of her classes, causing her to not doubt what others thought of her decision to have the baby?

9. What made it easier for Martha to grieve the loss of her normal child when she was visiting family?

10. What was Martha surprised to see when Adam was introduced to the therapist who worked with certain animals?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Martha, at first, decides that she will hide her pregnancy from others since she's not sure how she feels about it either, it seems.

Part 1: Do you think Martha should have told more people about her pregnancy?

Part 2: Why do you think Martha might have thought hiding her pregnancy was the best idea?

Part 3: How do you think Harvard might have reacted to learning about Martha's pregnancy?

Essay Topic 2

Martha Beck decided not to leave her apartment, even as there was a fire below her apartment, even though she had her daughter with her.

Part 1: Why do you think that Martha decided to wait to leave the apartment?

Part 2: How would you have responded to the fire that was below your apartment?

Part 3: What seems strange to you about this moment in Martha's life?

Essay Topic 3

The book itself is a memoir, told from the perspective of Martha as she learns about giving birth to a child who has Down Syndrome.

Part 1: Why do you think bringing up a child with Down Syndrome is more difficult?

Part 2: How might you respond if you heard your child was to be born with Down Syndrome?

Part 3: Do you think a person should abort a child if they know they're going to have developmental disorders?

(see the answer keys)

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