Chapters 7-8 Summary and Analysis

Alice was close to her children and adamant that she and Trillin attend all school events and other important moments in their children's lives. When Alice thought her cancer had come back in the early nineties, her first thought was that at least her children were grown and had benefited from her wealth of knowledge. However, Alice realized she had yet to see her daughters marry, and she did not want to miss that. Trillin agreed with Alice's assessment of the situation. Had Alice died during her first bout with lung cancer, he would have been lost. However, his daughters would have suffered the most. Both girls grew up to have careers in social work, a fact that Trillin believes would not have happened if not for Alice. Alice was not always close to her children, but she gave...