1. In the course of Phoenix Rising, Jessie has a number of bizarre dreams.

What do they mean? How would a psychologist "interpret" each?

2. Grant speaks of herself as a "feminist." Does Phoenix Rising have a feminist bias?

3. The members of Jessie's family are clearly having trouble functioning.

Imagine you are a psychologist studying them. Using your own terms, write a "psychological evaluation" of each character, based on specific words and actions from the novel.

4. Phoenix Rising ends with at least five "releases": (1) Jessie's decision to go down and eat dinner with Bloomfield and her family, (2) Jessie's dream about leaving the hospital with Helen, (3) Helen's death, (4) Jessie's decision to go out to play with Sara Rose, and (5) Helen's final journal entry. Does the order in which these "releases" are placed make sense, or would you order them in a different fashion? Why?

5. Discuss Bambi and...