Date
Thu July 31, 2014
Few permanent wounds
View more items filed under “Autobiography & Biography” in our Open Book Archives.
The Proust Questionnaire, with Cathie Borrie
Submitted by kateburgess on January 22, 2015 - 12:44pm
Caring for aging parents is a difficult right of passage that many of us will go through at some point in our lives. The experience is often a struggle, but not without its emotional rewards, as author Cathie Borrie explores in her memoir, The Long Hello (Simon & Schuster Canada). Cathie details the emotional journey of caring for her mother, who was living with Alzheimer’s disease, for seven years. She shares the beautiful and intimate dialogue that develops between them, illuminates on her childhood memories and depicts the struggle to maintain a life outside of her caregiving duties. Today we speak to Cathie as part of our Proust Questionnaire series, where she tells us about her desire to be a jazz/blues singer, her admiration for Charlotte the spider and peanut butter and strawberry jam sandwiches. The Proust Questionnaire was not invented by Marcel Proust, but it was a much loved game by the French author and many of his contemporaries. The idea behind the questionnaire is that the answers are supposed to reveal the respondent's "true" nature. _________________________________ What is your dream of happiness? What is your idea of misery? Where would you like to live? What qualities do you admire most in a man? What qualities do you admire most in a woman? What faults in others are you most tolerant of? What do you value most about your friends? What characteristic do you dislike most in others? What characteristic do you dislike most in yourself? What is your favourite virtue? What is your favourite occupation? What would you like to be? What is your favourite colour? What is your favourite flower? What is your favourite bird? What historical figure do you admire the most? What character in history do you most dislike? Who are your favourite prose authors? Who are your favourite poets? Who are your favourite heroes in fiction? What is your favourite food? What is your favourite drink? What are your favourite names? What is it you most dislike? What natural talent would you most like to possess? How do you want to die? What is your current state of mind? What do you consider your greatest accomplishment? Related item from our archives |
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