Journal Prompts

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Writing Prompts

1. The author relies on memories from childhood. What are your earliest memories?  Write briefly about one happy memory and then one distressing one that shaped you.  Which is easier to remember? To write?
2. The author describes watching her son play baseball and her daughter sing in a choir.  She asks, “Is this what they call nostalgia for the present? This recognition of your own fleeting joy?”  What is she feeling and thinking?  Write a paragraph about a time when, during an experience, you understood it was both precious and fleeting. 
3. The author when young feels that her mother is the most capable person in the world, despite or, perhaps, in light of, her disability.  What establishes that understanding?  Are there people you believe are completely capable?  Write a short profile. Include the actions they took to give you that perspective.
4. Mort and Janet spend time together at the end of the book. What do they do that brings them closer?  What do they say to each other?  Who learns what from the exchanges? Write a scene with a conversation of reconciliation.
5. Think about your losses: physical losses, career disappointments, family or relationship losses. How did you cope and how did you transform? Select one loss and write about whether you experienced regeneration or transformation.
6. Brian Greene, professor of physics and author of many books wrote, “My best teachers were not the ones who knew all the answers, but those who were deeply excited by questions they couldn’t answer.”  Write about a teacher who helped you with important questions.