Week 18: Chapter 18 — Outbound Ripples

1.Mack is involved in a serious car accident almost immediately after leaving the shack. Why does Young place tragedy so close on the heels of transformation? What is he saying about the nature of the world and the nature of God's protection?

2.While recovering, Mack tells his story to those willing to hear it — Willie, Nan, his children. The responses are varied. What does this say about how the same experience of God can be received very differently by different people?

3.Mack is able to speak of Missy with grief but not with the devouring bitterness of before. What is the difference between grief that has been transformed and grief that has been suppressed? Which does Mack now carry, and how can you tell?