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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. Ann and Lucy decided that once Lucy got better, they could call these years the _________________.

2. Ann felt that Lucy died _____________________.

3. What name did Ann use to refer to Lucy?

4. What did Ann do for Lucy that made Lucy happy?

5. What promise did Lucy make to Ann?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did Ann naively view Lucy's drug addiction and suicide attempts?

2. What was the content of Ann and Lucy's last phone conversation?

3. How did Ann show that she was the ultimate mother figure to Lucy after her radical surgery?

4. Why was Lucy so pleased when Ann began to date a doctor in Nashville?

5. Why did Ann not tell Lucy she was coming to New York for a movie premiere and book party?

6. Describe Lucy's health in Chapter 15.

7. How did suicide become top-of-mind for Lucy?

8. What were the circumstances of Lucy's death?

9. Even though she had career success, Lucy felt that romantic love was missing in her life. What did she do to try to remedy that situation?

10. What happened with Lucy's job in Bennington, and what did she do when she moved to Brooklyn?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The author tells her story through a series of flashbacks. Why did she choose to tell her story this way? In what way is a flashback technique more interesting for a reader? In what ways is it more complicated? Is there any other way to write a memoir?

Essay Topic 2

Explain the concept of loneliness as it exhibits in the book. Why would writers have a lonely life even though it may have seemed exciting and glamorous to other people? Why would Lucy have had an especially lonely life because of the lack of romantic partners who were willing to see past her physical challenges? Explain the loneliness and the methods and attempts to overcome it.

Essay Topic 3

Compare and contrast Ann and Lucy. In what ways were they alike? In what ways were they dramatically different? What drew them together initially? What was the basis of their long-term friendship? Was the friendship an equitable one? Explain.

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