I love being a mother. I think it's the best thing I've ever done, and I personally feel that it's had a very positive effect on my work. I think it's an encouraging force for creativity, it feeds creativity - it did for me, certainly.
Growing up, I thought my grandfather was dead. Later, I learned he was alive, but my family pretended he didn't exist because of the terrible way he'd abused my grandmother and my mother. He did things like shave my grandmother's head and lock her in a closet. With my mother's help, my grandmother finally left him.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects on the painful realities of family secrets and trauma caused by abuse.
Deborah Pryce's quote sheds light on the hidden sufferings within a family marked by abuse. It reveals the complexities of familial relationships, where love can be overshadowed by pain and neglect, as seen through the narrative of a grandson coming to terms with the legacy of his grandfather's abusive behavior. The revelation of the grandfather’s actions and the family's decision to bury the truth speaks to the difficulties faced by victims of domestic violence and the enduring impact of such trauma across generations.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a family therapy session, this quote can be used to discuss the impact of generational trauma.
Similar quotes
My mother was the concert master of the symphony. Absurdity and eccentricity were not criticized.
I have a certain memory of the way in which my father loved me until I was 10, and it was unconditional and eternal. I get to carry that for the rest of my life, but on a practical level after age 10, it's just me sort of figuring it out.
Some mothers in today's world feel "cumbered" by home duties and are thus attracted by other more "romantic" challenges. Such women could make the same error of perspective that Martha made. The woman, for instance, who deserts the cradle in order to help defend civilization against the barbarians may well later meet, among the barbarians, her own neglected child.
One night, I wrote down all the things I was waiting to do with my little granddaughter, and it became a book, 'I Already Know I Love You.' It was one of those really lovely things in life.
Being a housewife and a mother is the biggest job in the world, but if it doesn't interest you, don't do it - I would have made a terrible mother.