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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What did the author's mother use when she "struck to kill?"
(a) Cane.
(b) Tongue.
(c) Book.
(d) Chair.

2. In Part One of the book, what was not a tradition in the Buechner family in relation to death?
(a) Ministers.
(b) Last rites.
(c) Funerals.
(d) Churches.

3. According to the author, what does God give us that helps us finish with the past and remove the power of the past to hurt us?
(a) Love.
(b) Strength.
(c) Memory.
(d) Faith.

4. In what language is the dedication written in "Godric?"
(a) French.
(b) Latin.
(c) English.
(d) Italian.

5. How old was the author when his mother made him feel like a traitor for writing the fictionalized "Ansel Gibbs" about his father's death?
(a) 52.
(b) 32.
(c) 40.
(d) 35.

6. What was in the bowl on top of the bureau in the room of the author's mother?
(a) M & Ms.
(b) Gum.
(c) Licorice.
(d) Peppermints.

7. In the room in which the author writes, how many pieces of stained glass sit in his windows?
(a) 3.
(b) 1.
(c) 2.
(d) 4.

8. In what month during1936 did the author's father commit suicide?
(a) February.
(b) January.
(c) December.
(d) November.

9. In the Introduction, who does the author quote regarding the definition for "story" versus "plot?"
(a) R. Kipling
(b) E.M. Forster.
(c) C.S. Lewis.
(d) Himself.

10. After his father's suicide, where did the author's mom move the family?
(a) Bermuda.
(b) Halifax.
(c) Cape Hatteras.
(d) Miami.

11. In the mid 1970's, how may teenage children did the author have?
(a) 1.
(b) None.
(c) 3.
(d) 2.

12. Who tends to more publicly lose touch with themselves and with God, according to the author?
(a) Authors.
(b) Parents.
(c) Kids.
(d) Ministers.

13. What title did the author write when he was in his fifties and his mom was in her eighties?
(a) Telling Secrets.
(b) Now and Then.
(c) The Return of Ansel Gibbs.
(d) The Sacred Journey.

14. When the dwarves are offered food, what do they think it is?
(a) Poisoned.
(b) Spoiled.
(c) Good.
(d) Offal.

15. What condition made it almost impossible for the author's mom to walk during her last year of life?
(a) Fractured foot.
(b) Arthritic knees.
(c) Amputation.
(d) Severely bowed-legs.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the title of the book written by Kahlil Gibran that is on the table next to the chaise lounge in the author's mother's room?

2. How many years after his father's suicide did the author write "The Return of Ansel Gibbs?"

3. In complaining about her looks, what did the author's mother say "don't fit?"

4. What was the name of the woman the author's mother had trouble understanding because of her thick accent?

5. Who wrote "The Last Battle?"

(see the answer keys)

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