Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. What stressful events and situations do nursing home residents often face? What is the connection between physical health and depression? What factors might be essential for people’s quality of life in a nursing home? What are some ways people in the surrounding community can help in nursing home facilities?

Teaching Suggestion: It might be beneficial to connect to and introduce the protagonist’s central conflict via this prompt. Alex is assigned to care for a nursing home resident, Sol. Alex has difficulty connecting with Sol because of Sol’s combative and insulting demeanor. While Sol is not described as having a mental health condition, he has been diagnosed with emphysema prior to the events that take place in the novel. Much later in the novel, Sol informs Alex of his estranged relationship with his daughter. Consider discussing the various difficulties nursing home residents face and how these difficulties affect their mental and emotional well-being, as well as the benefits nursing home residents receive from positive peer and family relationships.

• This article describes some of the mental and emotional hardships faced by people who enter nursing home facilities.