Sarah Bilston: September 2009

September 24, 2009

Questions on chs. 21-end:

1. What do you think Q and Jeanie find appealing about the new work opportunities they stumble across? What does this tell us about them as people?

2. Why does Jeanie find Sue-Ellen so interesting? Do you think young adults are more likely to listen to older people these days, or less likely?

3. How much do you think Q and Tom guess about Jeanie's love life?

4. How well did you think Jeanie handled her romantic problems? Is Jeanie ready for a relationship with Paul by the end of the novel?

5. Do you think Jeanie changes? Does she grow up?

6. Do you think Q and Tom make the right decisions at the end of the novel? What would you have done in their situation?

7. Do you think Q was irrational to worry about Samuel so much? What made her so anxious, do you think?

8. Do you think Q changes? If so, what changes her?

9. What are the different causes of sleepless nights in the novel? Who can't sleep, and why? What different themes and issues does the novel take on?

10. (By the end of the novel, the very last line:) Is this 'happy ever after'? If not, why not?

September 24, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Real-Life Parenting Stories

I'm putting together real-life stories about the first year of mothering. Click on the blue link above to read the whole archive.
If you'd like to send me a story yourself, I'd love to read it: either add your story as a comment or write to me directly at Sarah DOT Bilston AT Yahoo DOT com. Don't worry about grammar, this doesn't have to be a work of art! I'm just interested in hearing other people's experiences of, for example, - Colic - Sleep Deprivation - Mother's (or father's, or sister's) interference - Managing a marriage and a new baby - Mixed feelings about going back to work - The best thing about having a brand new baby.

Sleepless Nights - The Story Behind

The story behind the story:
Sleepless Nights is partly about my own experience adapting to being a mother. I have three children now, so I like to think I know what I'm doing... But when my first child came along I was completely, utterly clueless. I already had a job, I had a house, I was turned thirty; I was supposed to be a proper grown-up. But when my daughter came along I was thrown. I remember in the hospital praying that the nurse would keep on changing my daughter because I couldn't figure out which way round the diapers went. And it went on from there... So the novel is partly about the millions of small surprises, and partly about the 'bigger' issues most of us face - like, how on earth can I still have a life of my own and be a good mommy?

Sarah Bilston