Lindy Chamberlain Questions

How has Lindy suffered?

-       Lost her children (all of them in a sense)

-       Spent many years in jail for a crime she didn’t commit

-       Everyone knows her and her life wouldn’t be the same in Australia

-       Lost her husband as well

-       She feels as though she has encountered evil

How does she view the role of God in her suffering?

-       She doesn’t believe it was God’s fault but the “evil” fault

-       God forgives no matter what as long as you are honest about your intentions

-       She heavily believes that God is with her and listens and that she can make it through and cope with God

What are the outcomes of her pain and suffering?

-       She had such an emotional overload that she felt a sudden peace when she felt God with her

-       She doesn’t blame God but thinks that it was just meant to happen

-       She doesn’t think that there is a meaning to life

List interesting points that she makes

-       Why not her? Otherwise it was just going to happen to another parent

-       She was segregated because of her religion

-       By actually saying God and Jesus out loud she felt different like a weight lifted

What were your overall impressions of Lindy and what she has experienced?

-       I feel as though she has taken it well and seems quite peaceful about it now as she knew the whole time that she was being honest and knew she was right. Even though she struggled, especially in jail, she tried to cope and turning to God was one of her methods. She has every right to be angry yet she seems quite reserved and would prefer to move past it. I do think it strange though that she didn’t mention anything about her husband and her other kids as it would be hard going back to Australia after being through so much but I feel as though your kids would override that.

Isabel Allende Questions

How has the author suffered in her life?

She lost half of her assets and separated from her husband and also lost her daughter. Even though she coped well with this and did not feel the same about her husband it was still hard for her as a lot changed and she lost the feeling of belonging once she moved. She was proud to be part of the country she grew up in and struggled to adapt to a new way of life.

How has she coped with the pain and suffering?

She had a very philosophical view especially between the death of her daughter and the birth of her granddaughter. She associated the place where both her daughter died and her granddaughter was born and felt as though they were linked as she said that both experiences felt like a photograph because of the stillness and silence. With the separation she knew that it was the right thing to do no matter how hard and dealt with it maturely by simply dividing everything between her and her husband and saying that it was better for both of them. She had a positive view on the ordeal.

How has she benefited from the pain and suffering?

Personally, I think she has as she explained that she is not afraid of death anymore by being with her daughter when she passed away and is not afraid of life anymore by being in the same place when her granddaughter was born. She has a more positive view and is really calm towards pain and suffering and deals with it as it comes.

Is pain and suffering always a bad thing? Explain.

I don’t think it is to a certain extent. I think that it’s horrible if someone experiences too much of it but I do think that it can strengthen people and test their limits and their way of coping. It can bring people together in some circumstances and it can also shape someone’s personality or identity. Pain and suffering are simply a part of life because without them we wouldn’t experience joy and happiness. It’s the choices and the way you handle the pain and suffering that can really depict whether you want to feel sorry for yourself or move on because in all honesty I think that feeling sorry for yourself is a luxury that not everyone has the opportunity to have.