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

3. How many failed marriages did the author's mother have after his father died?
(a) 1.
(b) 3.
(c) 4.
(d) 2.

4. Losing track of our "____," according to the author, means being impoverished humanly and spiritually.
(a) Stories.
(b) Memories.
(c) Feelings.
(d) Faith.

5. What does the author describe as the "living heart and command center" of his mother's room?
(a) Bed.
(b) Chaise Lounge.
(c) Bureau.
(d) Dressing Table.

Short Answer Questions

1. What title did the author write when he was in his fifties and his mom was in her eighties?

2. 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?

3. Who tends to more publicly lose touch with themselves and with God, according to the author?

4. What was in the bowl on top of the bureau in the room of the author's mother?

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

Short Essay Questions

1. How did the author's mother's aging affect her life?

2. How did author's mom respond to his fictionalized version of his father's death and how did her reaction to this fist telling affect the author's writing about the death later?

3. Why is the author telling his secrets?

4. How does the author describe his father's suicide?

5. How is the author's story, our story?

6. How did the author's mother's aging affect her sons' lives?

7. Why/how does the author identify with one of the stained glass images?

8. Why did the author's mother have so few friends as she got older?

9. How does the author describe God loving us, and loving his daughter?

10. How do ministers lose touch with God?

(see the answer keys)

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