Karr describes her young self as “both a flincher and a fighter” (10). What examples do you see in her memoir of both these sides to her character? What in her family background do you think might have pushed her to become this way?

What are some differences between Karr and Lecia, both as children and as adults? What is Lecia’s role in Karr’s memoir? How does Karr describe their relationship?

Karr writes at one point that she felt jealous of her sister’s closeness to their mother. Do you think that Karr and her mother nevertheless have some qualities in common? If so, what do you think that these qualities are?