Need some help.

1. On page 37 when Grealy states, “that feeling was about as different from embarrassment as a patch of soil is from a tree, an egg case from a spider, a lump of stone from a sculpted hand lying heavily on an even stonier lap. It was the moment when I understood unequivocally I was in this alone”. What does the author mean by this statement?

2. Lucy Grealy describes her family as dysfunctional. Do you agree or disagree? Why or why not? Describe briefly all of Grealy’s family members. What are they like?

3. In chapter 2 Grealy recalls being told that she has a “malignancy”. Why do you suppose neither she nor her family could discuss the “malignancy” as cancer? By not discussing or saying the word “cancer”, did her family help Grealy deal with her illness better?

4. Why is it that Grealy recalls her adventures in the hospital with Derek as nostalgic? Why would a child find an indefinite stay in the hospital as nostalgic?