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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. What type of clothing did Joan buy to wear in Los Angeles?

2. Where was Quintana born?

3. What book did Joan read that made her realize the significance of things she was told about Quintana's condition in California?

4. Who wrote the book John was reading the night he died?

5. How long were the paramedics in Joan's apartment?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why was Quintanna, Joan's and John's daughter in the hospital, when her father died?

2. What happened when Gerry and Quintana arrived in California?

3. Describe John's funeral.

4. Why did Joan write "The Year of Magical Thinking"?

5. In Chapter 4, what does Joan say about where and when she and John were married?

6. Who came to stay with Joan in the weeks that followed John's death?

7. Why did a woman that Joan worked with at "Vogue" have an abortion that was paid for by the attorney general's office?

8. During her reading, what did Joan learn were some means that were used to test a patient's memory and comprehension?

9. What was Joan's first column like that she wrote for "Life"?

10. Why were Joan and John evicted from their house on the Palos Verdes Peninsula?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compare how death was regarded before and after the 1930's with when Joan was growing up.

Essay Topic 2

All her life, Joan turned to literature in times of trouble and John's death was no different. Compare the different types of literature that Joan read to help her cope with her grief and why some were more helpful than others. Give specific titles and examples from the book in support of your discussion.

Essay Topic 3

Compare and contrast why some people have difficulty authorizing autopsies and why Joan did not struggle with approving an autopsy. Give examples of Joan's experience from the book.

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