18. The Descendants by Kaui Hart Hemmings

1.  After reading Kaui Hart Hemmings' The Descendants:  what was the main theme that you took away from it?  Forgiveness, the importance of family, and dealing with loss.  

2.  What was your favorite instance/scene in the novel vs. in the film?  Did your favorite scene change from book to movie?  No, my favorite scene is the same in both the novel and the film.  It is when Matt says goodbye to his wife telling her that she was his pain and joy.  Very touching scene.  

3.  Was a pivotal piece/scene left out of the movie that you wish had been included?  I think The Descendants movie portrayed the book pretty accurate.  The only big difference is Sid telling Julia about the affair instead of Brian.  Sid had a bigger role in the book but the exclusion in the movie is not a big deal.

17. The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didon

1.  Consider the four sentences in italics that begin chapter one.  What did you think when you read them for the first time?  What do you think now?  When I first read those first sentences about how life changes so fast; my first thought was those statements are so true.  Life changes so fast that before you know it you are somewhere you never expected to be. You get so use to going through the motions that you forget how delicate life is until you get a reminder.

 2.  In particular, address "The question of self-pity."  Does Didion pity herself?  In what ways     

does she indulge that impulse, and in what ways does she deny it?  She allows her self to dwell on  the loss of her husband instead of moving on.  She thinks if she doesn't do things like throw out his shoes he still will be around.  She denies this by dealing with husband death by not falling apart.