It's impossible to write about Native life without humor-that's how people maintain sanity.
Louise ErdrichRead
...Grandpa's mind had left us, gone wild and wary. When I walked with him I could feel how strange it was. His thoughts swam between us, hidden under rocks, disappearing in weeds, and I was fishing for them, dangling my own words like baits and lures.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote illustrates the struggle to connect with someone whose mind is no longer present, emphasizing the complexities of communication and memory loss.
In this poignant quote, Louise Erdrich reflects on her experience walking with her grandfather, whose mind has drifted away. She describes the difficulty of engaging with him as he becomes increasingly lost in his own thoughts, likening her attempts to connect with him to fishing—an act where she tries to lure out the remnants of his consciousness through her words. This highlights the emotional distance created by memory loss and the innate desire to reach out to loved ones even when they seem unreachable.
Themes
MemoryCommunicationConnectionLossThoughts
In practice
Example use cases
During a family gathering where discussions of aging and memory arise, one might share this quote to illustrate the challenges of connecting with elder relatives.
More from Louise Erdrich
All quotes →It was just enough to sit there without words.
Louise ErdrichRead
Life will break you. Nobody can protect you from that, and living alone won't either, for solitude will also break you with its yearning. You have to love. You have to feel. It is the reason you are here on earth. You are here to risk your heart.
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The world tips away when we look into our children's faces.
Louise ErdrichRead
...which causes me to wonder, my own purpose on so many days as humble as the spider's, what is beautiful that I make? What is elegant? What feeds the world?
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Her mind was present because she was always gone. Her hands were filled because they grasped the meaning of empty. Life was simple. Her husband returned and she served him with indifferent patience this time. When he asked what had happened to her heat for him, she gestured to the west. The sun was setting. The sky was a body of fire.
Louise ErdrichRead
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