The Events of October Response

Gail Griffin's The Events of October has provoked a physical response from me both times I've read it.  The first time, over Spring Break, I had to literally put the book down every few pages to grapple with and attempt to digest it's content.  It made me shudder, lock myself in my room and cry, and feel sick to my stomach.  The second time I read the book, I was back on the Kalamazoo College campus and everything looked different.  For the last week, I have had a knot in my stomach that seems to tighten every time I walk by DeWaters,  or Maggie's beautiful dogwood tree, or even when I go to the cafeteria.  The story of Neenef and Maggie is everywhere I look on this campus.  This book has literally shaken how I experience "K" now.  Particularly in the context of Noah K's suicide last year, I can't help but think how tragedy can sweep like a shadow over our small community.
In terms of production, Gail's book has taken narrative journalism to an entirely new level.  She combines story, memory, interpretation, and lived experience to recreate an incredibly emotional retelling of the events of one October night in 1999.  I particularly admired her use of the "I character," inserting herself when necessary but humbly backing off to tell the larger story.  She did not use her personal experience to dictate or recreate the story, rather her experience supplemented the stories and realities of others.  This book was incredibly moving.  I am very much looking forward to our discussion in class today.
Some questions I hope we can address are:
1)  How did the author navigate the emotional challenges of producing this book?  What was it like to speak to Maggie's family and friends?  Who was willing to talk and who wasn't?  How did the author separate or compartmentalize her own emotional experience to effectively write this text?
2) What was Maggie's family's response to the book?  Her friends?
3) Who are the audiences for this text?  How can various readers experience this story differently?