Lying Awake Quizzes

1 What do the chapter titles refer to?

Feast Days

people in the Bible

names of random saints

historical figures from the Discalced Order of the Carmelites.
2 What is Sister John's birth name?

Helen

Mary Joseph

Teresa

Miriam
3 Who is John of the Cross?

John the Baptist, one of Jesus' disciples

the priest who gives the sacraments to the nuns

founder of the Discalced Order of the Carmelites famous for writing a poem called "The Dark Night of the Soul."

the person who made Jesus' cross
4 What is the reason for Sister John's visions?

drug overdoses

epileptic seizures

poison

snakebite
5 What is the name of Sister John's doctor?

Dr. Sheppard

Patricia

Father Aaron

Mr. Yoshinobu
6 Who is the famous novelist who had the same kind of epilepsy Sister John does?

Dickens

Faulkner

Tolstoy

Dostoevsky
7 Why does Sister John's mother come see her in the monastery?

to tell her about her half-siblings

to sever ties with Sister John

to apologize for how she treated Sister John

to ask Sister John to leave the monastery
8 When does Helen first start realizing she wants to become a nun?

when her grandmother died

when she was watching the moon landings

when Sister Priscilla made her run the lap around the school a second time

after Christmas Mass, when she talks to Sister Priscilla
9 Why does Sister John ultimately decide to go through with the surgery?

because she doesn't want the visions anymore

because she is afraid of death

because she does not want to be a burden to her sisters

because the pain is too severe
10 Why does Sister Miriam's father want her to leave the monastery?

because he wants her to get married

because he thinks it's a cult

because he is controlling

because he thinks she is seeking attention
11 Why is the diagnosis of epilepsy so severe for contemplatives?

because it prohibits them from fulfilling their duties

because epilepsy is a curse

because epilepsy can cause seizures that seem like visions from God

because you can't cure it
12 Why does Sister John keep vigil?

to see if God will speak to her

to pray all night with her sisters

to see if she can have another vision

to decide whether or not to do the surgery
13 What is Sister John's book based on?

Her visions

life in the monastery

St. Teresa

different saints
14 What do the proceeds from Sister John's book go toward?

a selection of juices

a trip to Italy

a new roof for the monastery

supporting her grandmother
15 How does Father Aaron advise Sister John?

You are probably closer to grace now than ever before because you are learning that loving God is about following Him, not the benefits you get out of it.

Seek alternative methods. Make surgery your last option.

Don't do the surgery. These visions are a gift from God and to get rid of them would be scorning God's plan for your life and for how he wants to use you.

Do the surgery. Your job is to be faithful at all times even if you feel like he is far away.
16 Why does Mother Emmanuel want Sister John to be Claire Bours' novice mistress?

because Sister John has a Master of Fine Arts like Claire does

because Sister John knows what it's like to try to do God's will even when she doesn't know what it is

because Sister John and Claire are related

because Sister John has not been anybody's novice mistress yet
17 On what Feast Day does Sister John first come to the monastery?

Triumph of the Cross

Beheading of John the Baptist, Martyr

Our Lady of Mount Carmel

Holy Thursday
18 Who is Sister Teresa?

Sister John's aunt

the prioress of the monastery

the saint that Sister John was asked by the Vatican to write a poem on and present in person

Sister John's novice mistress
19 How does Helen's mother end all her letters?

Write soon!

I love you!

Tell your grandparents hello for me!

Come visit me!
20 What does Sister John see in her last vision?

her mind becoming like broken glass

the voices of the saints and contemplatives as a tapestry through time and space

a hand trying to grasp itself

an ember carried upward by the heat of an invisible flame
21 What is the Miserere?

an illness

a solemn piece of music composed by Mozart

depression

an ancient psalm of repentance that the sisters recite weekly, accompanied by flagellation
22 Where and when is Lying Awake set?

A monastery in the heart of Los Angeles, 1997

A monastery in the heart of Carmel, 1969

The Vatican in Italy, 1984

A monastery in Rome, 1995
23 What does Helen daydream about doing for the chickens entrapped in the farm?

Cutting their nails, because they kept scratching her

Eating them. Helen's favorite food is fried chicken.

Giving them names.

Setting them free. Later they will worship her as a goddess.
24 What realization does Sister John have that breaks her out of her period of drought?

that faith is the evidence of things hoped for, of things not yet seen.

that God will never stop loving her, even when she doesn't feel it.

that her community provides all the grace she needs.

God is present everywhere. Therefore he can never and has never been absent.
25 Who shares Sister John's recovery room at the hospital?

Mother Emmanuel and Sister Mary Michael

Sister Teresa, whose body is shutting down

A teenage girl shot in the head

Dr. Sheppard

Lying Awake

by Mark Salzman

Lying Awake Quiz 1

Lying Awake Questions and Answers

Study Guide for Lying Awake