Answer: lacking strength
Explanation:
The highlighted word is ''frail''.
The definition of frail in relation to a human being is someone who is physically weak and fragile.
In this context therefore, it is logical to assume that the word means that the person being referred to (the mother) is lacking strength. This would make sense because the mother is getting old and people get weaker as they age.
Vinegar, bicarbonate soda, and cornstarch are used.
The author would describe this moment in her life as one of discovery, a point in which she became aware of things that as a child she could not understand. A time of putting pieces of information, that did not seem to be related, together.
She conveys this perspective through her language by, first, establishing the moment: she is staring at her father after he reveales something she was not aware of, but it is evident by her father's answer that it was not hidden from her, she just didn't understand. Then she uses the phrase "the moment that I realized the deceit I had been living under" and relates it to childhood. Lastly, she presents several images that seem to be coming together: children drinking milk, contaminated cows, contaminated breasts, one breasted-women...
