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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. Viorst references The World According to Garp and a mishearing of this term by a child.

2. What are we often unaware of that we bring with us into a marriage?

3. Levinson calls a mid-life crisis what?

4. Simone de Beauvoir once said, "Old age is life's ___________."

5. Viorst details which famous baby doctor in Chapter 18?

Short Essay Questions

1. What types of unexpected emotions can we feel towards friends? How do they impact our friendships?

2. What can happen as a result of a mother's fear that her child's psyche is fragile? How can this affect the child?

3. What are some of the different types of loss and mourning discussed in Chapter 16? Do we experience them all in the same way?

4. What does Freud say about religious thoughts of an afterlife?

5. How does baggage from childhood put pressure on a marriage?

6. In thinking about losses as a lifelong theme, name some of the juxtapositions that Viorst discusses in Chapter 20.

7. Why does our focus shift in middle age to discovering our family's history?

8. Viorst describes a sort of "opposites attract" type marriage relationship where each party meets a neurotic need of the other party. What did she call this type of arrangement?

9. Which necessary loss is discussed in Chapter 12?

10. According to Freud, is it unusual to have sexual feelings toward friends? How does this impact our friendships with the opposite sex?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compare and contrast the different times of life that are covered in the book. What is similar about them? What is different? What are some life lessons you can take away that may help you navigate the developmental stages you have yet to experience?

Essay Topic 2

Examining the many negative traits of marriage discussed in Chapter 13, arrive at a personal conclusion as to whether the marriage relationship is worth the effort or not. Support your stance with examples from the book and your real life experiences.

Essay Topic 3

Using support from the book, explore the poem by Maxine Kumin entitled, "After Love." How does this poem support the author's stance that we all seek a substitute for the loss of oneness with our mother through other means? How does a moment like the one the poet describes fulfill our need, though temporarily, to feel oneness again?

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