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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. Who was Viorst describing when she said they fought death like a championship game?

2. In Chapter 16, Viorst quotes which psychologist who wrote the book Loss?

3. What's the title of the book?

4. A man in his forties confessed to Viorst that he reviewed his life insurance policy after he was diagnosed with what?

5. How did Cecil and Julia Saunders die?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Freud say about religious thoughts of an afterlife?

2. Other than a parent, what other things impact who a child becomes?

3. According to the book, why are friends so important?

4. Name two of the stages of mourning that Viorst describes in Chapter 16.

5. What are some of the different types of loss and mourning discussed in Chapter 16? Do we experience them all in the same way?

6. In thinking about losses as a lifelong theme, name some of the juxtapositions that Viorst discusses in Chapter 20.

7. Viorst describes a sort of "opposites attract" type marriage relationship where each party meets a neurotic need of the other party. What did she call this type of arrangement?

8. Name the five stages of dying described by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross. Briefly describe each stage.

9. What is described as the ultimate separation in Chapter 18?

10. How does baggage from childhood put pressure on a marriage?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Using support from the book, explore the poem by Maxine Kumin entitled, "After Love." How does this poem support the author's stance that we all seek a substitute for the loss of oneness with our mother through other means? How does a moment like the one the poet describes fulfill our need, though temporarily, to feel oneness again?

Essay Topic 2

Compare and contrast the different times of life that are covered in the book. What is similar about them? What is different? What are some life lessons you can take away that may help you navigate the developmental stages you have yet to experience?

Essay Topic 3

Chapter 14 discusses the theory that parents will do anything to protect their children and try to give them a better life than they themselves had. Discuss the various ways in which mothers, especially, try to make their children better people than themselves. Use examples from the book for support.

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