Lying Awake Quizzes

1 What do the chapter titles refer to?

people in the Bible

Feast Days

names of random saints

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

Teresa

Helen

Mary Joseph

Miriam
3 Who is John of the Cross?

the person who made Jesus' cross

John the Baptist, one of Jesus' disciples

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

the priest who gives the sacraments to the nuns
4 What is the reason for Sister John's visions?

poison

drug overdoses

snakebite

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

Mr. Yoshinobu

Father Aaron

Dr. Sheppard

Patricia
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

after Christmas Mass, when she talks to Sister Priscilla

when her grandmother died

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 the pain is too severe

because she doesn't want the visions anymore

because she does not want to be a burden to her sisters
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 wants her to get married

because he is controlling
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 you can't cure it

because epilepsy can cause seizures that seem like visions from God
12 Why does Sister John keep vigil?

to pray all night with her sisters

to see if she can have another vision

to decide whether or not to do the surgery

to see if God will speak to her
13 What is Sister John's book based on?

life in the monastery

Her visions

different saints

St. Teresa
14 What do the proceeds from Sister John's book go toward?

a selection of juices

a trip to Italy

supporting her grandmother

a new roof for the monastery
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.

Do the surgery. Your job is to be faithful at all times even if you feel like he is far away.

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.
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 and Claire are related

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 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?

the prioress of the monastery

Sister John's novice mistress

Sister John's aunt

the saint that Sister John was asked by the Vatican to write a poem on and present in person
19 How does Helen's mother end all her letters?

I love you!

Tell your grandparents hello for me!

Write soon!

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

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

her mind becoming like broken glass

a hand trying to grasp itself

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

an ancient psalm of repentance that the sisters recite weekly, accompanied by flagellation

an illness

a solemn piece of music composed by Mozart

depression
22 Where and when is Lying Awake set?

The Vatican in Italy, 1984

A monastery in the heart of Los Angeles, 1997

A monastery in the heart of Carmel, 1969

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

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

Setting them free. Later they will worship her as a goddess.

Giving them names.

Cutting their nails, because they kept scratching her
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 God will never stop loving her, even when she doesn't feel it.

that her community provides all the grace she needs.

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

Dr. Sheppard

Mother Emmanuel and Sister Mary Michael

A teenage girl shot in the head

Lying Awake

by Mark Salzman

Lying Awake Quiz 1

Lying Awake Questions and Answers

Study Guide for Lying Awake