1 What do the chapter titles refer to? people in the Bible names of random saints historical figures from the Discalced Order of the Carmelites. Feast Days 2 What is Sister John's birth name? Teresa Helen Miriam Mary Joseph 3 Who is John of the Cross? the person who made Jesus' 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." 4 What is the reason for Sister John's visions? epileptic seizures poison snakebite drug overdoses 5 What is the name of Sister John's doctor? Mr. Yoshinobu Father Aaron Patricia Dr. Sheppard 6 Who is the famous novelist who had the same kind of epilepsy Sister John does? Dostoevsky Tolstoy Faulkner Dickens 7 Why does Sister John's mother come see her in the monastery? to ask Sister John to leave the monastery to apologize for how she treated Sister John to sever ties with Sister John to tell her about her half-siblings 8 When does Helen first start realizing she wants to become a nun? when Sister Priscilla made her run the lap around the school a second time when her grandmother died after Christmas Mass, when she talks to Sister Priscilla when she was watching the moon landings 9 Why does Sister John ultimately decide to go through with the surgery? because she is afraid of death because she does not want to be a burden to her sisters because she doesn't want the visions anymore because the pain is too severe 10 Why does Sister Miriam's father want her to leave the monastery? because he thinks it's a cult because he thinks she is seeking attention because he is controlling because he wants her to get married 11 Why is the diagnosis of epilepsy so severe for contemplatives? because it prohibits them from fulfilling their duties because epilepsy can cause seizures that seem like visions from God because epilepsy is a curse because you can't cure it 12 Why does Sister John keep vigil? to see if God will speak to her to decide whether or not to do the surgery to pray all night with her sisters to see if she can have another vision 13 What is Sister John's book based on? Her visions St. Teresa different saints life in the monastery 14 What do the proceeds from Sister John's book go toward? a selection of juices supporting her grandmother a new roof for the monastery a trip to Italy 15 How does Father Aaron advise Sister John? 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. Seek alternative methods. Make surgery your last option. 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. 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 not been anybody's novice mistress yet 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 a Master of Fine Arts like Claire does 17 On what Feast Day does Sister John first come to the monastery? Beheading of John the Baptist, Martyr Triumph of the Cross Holy Thursday Our Lady of Mount Carmel 18 Who is Sister Teresa? Sister John's novice mistress the saint that Sister John was asked by the Vatican to write a poem on and present in person the prioress of the monastery Sister John's aunt 19 How does Helen's mother end all her letters? Come visit me! I love you! Tell your grandparents hello for me! Write soon! 20 What does Sister John see in her last vision? an ember carried upward by the heat of an invisible flame a hand trying to grasp itself the voices of the saints and contemplatives as a tapestry through time and space her mind becoming like broken glass 21 What is the Miserere? an illness a solemn piece of music composed by Mozart an ancient psalm of repentance that the sisters recite weekly, accompanied by flagellation depression 22 Where and when is Lying Awake set? A monastery in Rome, 1995 A monastery in the heart of Los Angeles, 1997 The Vatican in Italy, 1984 A monastery in the heart of Carmel, 1969 23 What does Helen daydream about doing for the chickens entrapped in the farm? Setting them free. Later they will worship her as a goddess. Giving them names. Cutting their nails, because they kept scratching her Eating them. Helen's favorite food is fried chicken. 24 What realization does Sister John have that breaks her out of her period of drought? God is present everywhere. Therefore he can never and has never been absent. that her community provides all the grace she needs. that God will never stop loving her, even when she doesn't feel it. that faith is the evidence of things hoped for, of things not yet seen. 25 Who shares Sister John's recovery room at the hospital? Sister Teresa, whose body is shutting down A teenage girl shot in the head Dr. Sheppard Mother Emmanuel and Sister Mary Michael