1)Didion refers to the migraines of her early years as a "shameful secret." "Migraine headaches," she writes, "were, as everyone who did not have them knew, imaginary." Why would she be ashamed of migraines?(ACES form). 2) To what extent are Didion's migraines her "fault"? (Consider the notion of a "migraine personality," which Didion describes as "ambitious, inward, intolerant of error, rather rigidly organized, perfectionist." Migraine has physiological and chemical origins, but manifests in reaction to psychological stimuli and quirks of personality. How does this make it different from cancer, a flu?)

3)What is the silver lining, benefit of a migraine?

Read the excerpt from a history of the world in 100 objects. power is usually not willingly given, but forcefully taken; and in both europe and america the nineteenth century was punctuated by political protest, with periodic revolutions on the continent, the civil war in america and, in britain, a steady struggle to widen the suffrage. what would be a benefit of reading this text rather than listening to an audio version of it? the reader could analyze the text features in the excerpt. the reader could visualize the description given. the reader could set his or her own pace and reread parts for clarity. the reader could hear the sounds of the political protest.