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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. What does the doctor at the hospital suggest that Martha do in order to save her life?

2. What was Martha bleeding from, according to her account in the story?

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

4. What does John decide to focus more on after he talks to his adviser about his dissertation?

5. What does Martha decide to order from the grocery delivery?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why didn't Adam go home in the first few days after his birth, according to the story?

2. What did Martha decide to do when she was heading over to see the nurse practitioner?

3. What was John unsure he could face every day when he is on his business trip, which caused him to question his life?

4. What did Martha begin to see in the doctor as they were talking about her pregnancy?

5. What was Martha surprised to learn about Sibyl when she told her about the diagnosis of Adam?

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

7. What did Martha discover when she returns from a trip to the mall?

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Though it is a holiday, John and Martha continue to work on their degrees while arguing about the holidays.

Part 1: Why do you think the holidays are a time of problems for many families?

Part 2: Do you think the Becks should have simply taken time to relax?

Part 3: What do you normally do when you are on vacation from school?

Essay Topic 2

On the second day of extreme nausea, Martha realized that she needed to eat something or else she could not take care of her daughter.

Part 1: Why do you think Martha waited so long to get help with her sickness?

Part 2: Do you think that Martha's daughter was ever in danger of not being cared for?

Part 3: How do you think Martha could have better prepared herself to take care of her daughter?

Essay Topic 3

During the fire, Martha feels that she is being rescued from the fire, though she never sees a rescuer when she leaves.

Part 1: What do you think happened to Martha when she was pushed from the building?

Part 2: Do you think that a person actually helped Martha?

Part 3: How do you explain the experience that Martha had? Ghosts? Angels? Luck?

(see the answer keys)

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