12. Link says that if there was a single mantra in her childhood, it was “accountability.” What does she mean by this? Does Link ever ask for help or assistance? Why or why not?
13. What dialogue does the book offer about common experience? Does Link, for instance, compare her plight to others, or does she believe it to be her own personal tragedy? How does she link to the thoughts and experiences of others over time throughout the book? Even to the animals found in nature? How would her experiences perhaps have been different if she were facing her problems alone and not living in a pack, as she might call it, with three sons? Alternatively, what is her reaction to her realization of the distinction between her life and that of her parents?
14. There are many symbols throughout the book, but does Link find or create meaning in what she sees around her? What does she mean in chapter 9 when she says that “you’d better just go on and grab some meaning wherever you can find it” (this page)? What examples of irony are present in the book? Do these examples comment on fate or coincidence?
15. How does Link change from the start of the story to its conclusion? How do we find her in the first chapter? Why doesn’t she choose to present herself—especially at the start as readers as just meeting her—in a better light? Was this presentation of herself a good or faulty tactic? Explain.
16. Though Link’s book is a work of nonfiction, she is not unlike many characters in world literature. How does Link’s character compare to other protagonists or heroines in literature? What do they share in common? What sets her apart? Consider her role as wife, mother, farmer, woman, head of household, etc.
27. At the conclusion of the book, what is it that Link sees as her greatest victory? Do you agree?
Suggested Reading
Agee, James, and Walker Evans. Let Us Now Praise Famous Men.
Alexander, Caroline. The Endurance: Shackleton’s Legendary Antarctic Expedition.
Cather, Willa. O Pioneers!
Crace, Jim. Harvest.
The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson.
Ehrlich, Gretl. Facing the Wave.
Elder, John, and Robert Finch, eds. The Norton Book of Nature Writing.
Emerson, Ralph Waldo. “Nature” and “Self-Reliance.”
Finnamore, Suzanne. Split: A Memoir of Divorce.
Foer, Jonathan Safran. Eating Animals.
Gibbons, Stella. Cold Comfort Farm.
Hanh, Thich Nhat. Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life.
Klinkenborg, Verlyn. Making Hay and The Rural Life.
Muir, John. Nature Writings.
Olds, Sharon. Stag’s Leap.
Orlean, Susan. Free Range blog at The New Yorker
Sandburg, Carl. Harvest Poems.
Silver, Marisa. Mary Coin.
Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath.
Swallow, Wendy. Breaking Apart: A Memoir of Divorce.
Thoreau, Henry David. Walden.
Whitman, Walt. Leaves of Grass.
Bootstrapper Page 24
