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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. The author's mother lived to within how many days of her ninety-second birthday?

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

3. Three acts of God mentioned by the author that appear in scripture are the Exodus, the ___, and the entry into the Promised Land.

4. In telling his father's story as a child, who does Teddy represent in this story?

5. To the author's mother, being beautiful was her ______.

Short Essay Questions

1. What did the author say he would deal with in this autobiography "Telling Secrets?"

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

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

4. Why did the author feel like a dwarf as depicted in C. S. Lewis' "The Last Battle?"

5. Why is the author telling his secrets?

6. Describe the author's mother's bedroom in her 79th street apartment.

7. Why does the author write "The Wizard's Tide" and what differs in the book from his childhood memory of his father's death?

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

9. What was on the stained glass pieces in the author's office?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The author introduces us to the Tower of London, specifically the the oldest part, the White Tower. What is the White Tower? Why does the author include this information in the book? How does the author connect the details he provided about the White Tower to himself, to his life?

Essay Topic 2

Who is Dudley Knott? What challenges did he overcome? What types of work did he do? How did he become acquainted with the author? Why was the author astonished and delighted to know Knott? How did Knott die?

Essay Topic 3

At the end of Part One of the book, the author talks about ministers losing themselves and setting aside their own experiences when they preach. Explain this position. Then discuss how the author views such behavior is detrimental not only to the ministers, but their congregations as well. Why does the author include these observations at this point in the book?

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This section contains 844 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample