The great thing about all my siblings is we all agree we had a horrendous childhood. It's not like it doesn't affect us now; it affects us every day, in everything we do.
Interpretation
The shared struggles of a difficult childhood significantly impact the lives of siblings even in adulthood.
In this quote, Pat Conroy reflects on the collective experience of his siblings, emphasizing that they all recognize their challenging upbringing. The acknowledgment of a 'horrendous childhood' suggests that such experiences are not easily forgotten and continue to shape their daily lives, influencing their behaviors, relationships, and decisions as adults.
In practice
During a family therapy session, one might use this quote to highlight the lasting effects of childhood experiences.
It enclosed us in its laceries as we watched the moon spill across the Atlantic like wine from an overturned glass. With the light all around us, we felt secret in that moon-infused water like pearls forming in the soft tissues of oysters.
A recipe is a story that ends with a good meal.
Every woman I had ever met who walked through the world appraised and classified by an extraordinary physicality had also received the keys to an unbearable solitude. It was the coefficient of their beauty, the price they had to pay.
Teach them the quiet words of kindness, to live beyond themselves. Urge them toward excellence, drive them toward gentleness, pull them deep into yourself, pull them upward toward manhood, but softly like an angel arranging clouds. Let your spirit move through them softly.
I loved my parents... but that can never change the fact that my father's violence ruined my childhood.
The most powerful words in English are 'Tell me a story,' words that are intimately related to the complexity of history, the origins of language, the continuity of the species, the taproot of our humanity, our singularity, and art itself.
Your children are spiritual beings who come through you, not for you.
Within one's own family, money is not the measure of things, unless the person is an absolute Scrooge. Only the most extreme kind of monster would put a price on everything.
All Church activities, advancements, quorums, and classes are means to the end of an exalted family.
When people can't feed their children, nothing else positive happens. You don't have to look farther than the United States to see that.
Like so many American families, our families weren't asking for much. They didn't begrudge anyone else's success or care that others had much more than they did, in fact, they admired it.
Motherhood is given the brush-off in our society. 'Oh, I'm just a mom,' you hear women say. 'Just' a mom? Please! Being a mom is everything. It's mentorship, it's inspirational, it's our hope for the future.
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