Strapped into the massive white donut of a machine, I prayed the images it produced would be tumorless.
Mesmerized by the television sets in the waiting rooms, I prayed the images they transmitted were exaggerated.
(pages 240-241: from the last paragraph on 240)
I absolutely love this transition. I think this paragraph break is particularly effective because of the way that she juxtaposes her CT scan images with what she has to witness on her television on 9/11. It’s such a relevant comparison. She goes through the worst, most traumatizing experience of her life, having a near-death experience and being misdiagnosed. In that last line on page 240, readers can clearly visualize the state that she’s in and identify with her feelings, considering the fact that she already lost so much. She prays that the images her CT scan produces are good. And then she successfully shifts to the equally tragic event of 9/11 by praying that the images transmitted on television of that disaster are not real, but exaggerated. It’s almost as if there’s a deeper connection between these two events, and as a reader I feel like the writer somehow identifies with the people who were affected by that tragedy. She may not have lost a loved one in the literal sense, but her experience was just as painful and her life drastically changed. She also pointed out that no amount of money could make up for what she had to endure, and I feel like several victims of 9/11 had a similar mindset. Also, I love that she uses repetition as well; from I prayed the images it produced to I prayed the images they transmitted. That method also makes this paragraph break very effective. I really like the connection she makes here.
