This is Miss Ona Vitkus. This is her life memories and shards on tape.

[Brantford]

Ona and the boy develop a strong friendship over the few visits they have together. During these visits, the boy interviews Ona about her past. Ona, for the first time in her life, reveals her secrets to the boy – one being that she had a baby when she was 14. A secret she never even told her husband.

Why do you think that Ona is now choosing to share an honest recounting of her past? What is it about the boy that makes Ona trust him and share her secrets with him?

Did you enjoy these sections where the boy is interviewing Ona about her past? Did it help you to understand Ona and see her as more than just an old lady?

[Karen]

I think Ona trusts the boy because of his innocence, his openness; he is pure and without guile. Ona shares her secret because she wants someone to know she was a Mother, that she gave life. This is taking it down to the basic level....I'm trusting you with a life secret, don't betray my trust. Can you be a true friend? But, the reader knows the boy won't betray Ona. He is so sweet. The boy reminds me in so many ways of The Little Prince, it's uncanny. They share character traits but mostly the need and desire to give love. Pure, unconditional love. I think that's why I was doubly heartbroken at the end. I re-lived the scene when The Little Prince is bitten by the snake and falls softly to the ground, arms outstretched. The boy dies in the same way, arms outstretched. In both novels birds play a part.
I loved the shared storytelling. Each time you share a story, a part of you and your history is entrusted to another to take, process and hopefully accept in a kind , nonjudgmental manner. I believe a piece of your spirituality is shared.
What is also important in the shared storytelling is the reminder we all have a past with a secret or two and we all were young. We all once had flawless, skin, shining eyes, small waistlines and a spring in our step. We all loved and lost; we all have history. Ona may be old in years but she is still young at heart.

[Anna]

Karen wrote: "I think Ona trusts the boy because of his innocence, his openness; he is pure and without guile. Ona shares her secret because she wants someone to know she was a Mother, that she gave life. This i..."

"Each time you share a story, a part of you and your history is entrusted to another to take" - Lovely thought Karen, and nicely put. Maybe you should be writing a book :)

[Anna]

I really enjoyed the way the interviews revealed pieces of Ona's past. I like any kind of story where you get to see an elderly person for who they really are inside the aging tired body that we see on the outside.