Discussion Questions
Reading guide questions for At the Narrow Waist of the World.
Mother, Child, and Family
What do children need from their mothers at a young age?
In what ways did the author as a young child demonstrate the need for connection with her mother?
Do you think Marlena’s mother loved her? Why do you think this?
What role did Marlena’s many tios and tias play in her life?
Do you think being “a small star in the galaxy of family” is a good thing or bad?
How sick was Marlena’s mother? Could she also function in a more normal way?
What does this say about mental illness?
Have you experienced mentally ill people?
What difficult relationship in your life still affects you today?
Would you read this book with your mother? Why or why not?
Insider/Outsider
Have you ever felt like an outsider?
Do you remember the story of “Goldilocks and the Three Bears?” How does the author use the Goldilocks story as a metaphor? What feelings does she describe by imagining herself as Goldilocks?
The author writes about feeling like an outsider as a Jewish girl in a Catholic school. How does she describe this? Does she see any benefits to this?
When the author first moves to school in the United States, she is excited. What things are new to her?
What are some of the first English language books she reads?
When does she encounter difficult moments? What are they? Why do you think they happened?
Does she want to be an Americana or a Latinoamericana? Does she have to choose?
How does she see her small country versus what she calls the Colossus of the North?
Why do people sometimes feel different, or an outsider in a bigger group?
What do you see as possible benefits of being in a minority?
What are benefits of being part of the majority?
Why did the author leave Panama? Can you think of at least three reasons?
Why do people leave one homeland for another?
The U.S. is a nation of immigrants. Do you know why your parents or your ancestors moved to the United States?
What difficulties did they experience?
Change and Healing
The author uses certain letters from the past. There are letters from her mother when the author is away at school, another letter from Mami when she is at a psychiatric institution, and letters to and from her uncles.
How do these contribute to the story?
How are letters from the past different from memory?
The author says “Mental illness is a chameleon. Sometimes you see it, sometimes you don’t.” What does she mean by this?
The author returns to Panama for a while after feeling deeply unhappy in college.
What does returning do for her? What is she able to do after that?
When her mother dies, is the author able to say goodbye to her?
What does the author discover about her mother by the end of the book?
Why do you think writing a memoir can be healing?
Panama
Where is Panama?
Why do you think it was a crossroads of trade?
What language(s) are spoken in Panama? Why do you say this?
What are some ways the author describes the country in the 1950s and 60s?
Has it changed according to the author? If so, how?
Writing a Memoir
How do you think the author went about writing this memoir?
Do you like the collage style in which she did this? Why or why not?
The author writes in English with a significant number of Spanish phrases. Why did she do this? Do you think it makes for a stronger story? Why or why not?
The chapter titles have a certain meaning. Think back to the content. What do these chapter titles refer to:
Centro del Mundo
Your Papi is Really Your Mami
Whose Crazy Genes?
October 3
Other Galaxies
How does the author use these metaphors in the book? What do they mean?
Concolón
Matraca
La Cigüeña/The Stork
Galaxy
The Puzzle of the World
Paper Dolls
Flypaper
Helium
Can you think of some metaphors that might describe your own story?
What other memoirs have you read?