2. Gifty says that the community turned on Nana once his addiction became apparent. Who was among the crowd of those booing him at his final basketball game?

3. How did Anne react when Gifty told her how her brother died?

4. Where did Gifty volunteer though she was not old enough?

5. During the fight that Gifty discusses in Chapter 37, what did her mother say while he tried to ram the door open?

Short Essay Questions

1. After Nana’s relapse following rehab, Gifty says she “went quiet and [her] mother went insane” (171). How did her mother behave in church that made Gifty feel she had gone insane?

2. In Chapter 49, after Gifty could not sleep for a week and her mother found her up in the night watching T.V., who did Gifty tell her mother she talked to and how did her mother react?

3. When Nana was withdrawing at home in Chapter 31, how did their mother treat him?

4. How did Gifty feel when she saw her father in his home in Ghana?

5. In Chapter 37, what does Gifty say is useless about her journal entries during Nana’s addiction?

6. What conversation about Nana did GIfty overhear between her mother and father in Chapter 37?

7. Though they knew of Nana’s addiction, why did they feel so surprised when the police officers told them that he had died of an overdose?

8. At what point did Gifty’s mom suspect Nana’s addiction?

9. Describe the moment, which Gifty says is the closest thing her mother came to an apology to her children?

10. What does Gifty’s mother tell her on the stretcher that Gifty did not know before?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay about Gifty’s ongoing conflict between science and religion. When did it begin and how did it manifest over time? Discuss her brother’s death, her experience in college, and her work.