Our lives are shaped as much by those who leave us as they are by those who stay. Loss is our legacy. Insight is our gift. Memory is our guide
Hope EdelmanRead
I am fooling only myself when I say that my mother exists now only in the photographs on my bulletin board or in the outline of my hand or in the armful of memories I still hold tight. She lives on beneath everything I do. Her presence influenced who I was and her absence influences who I am. Our lives are shaped as much by those who leave us as they are by those who stay. Loss is our legacy. Insight is our gift. Memory is our guide.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the lasting impact of loved ones who have passed away and how their influence continues to shape our lives.
In this quote, Hope Edelman reflects on the enduring presence of a lost loved one, particularly a mother. She suggests that although her mother may no longer be physically present, the memories and influence of her life remain integral to her own identity. The quote suggests that loss is not just an absence but a complex legacy that shapes our experiences and relationships. Through memories, we find guidance and insight, acknowledging that those who leave us profoundly affect who we become.
Themes
LossMemoryInfluenceFamilyLegacyGrief
In practice
Example use cases
In a eulogy for a loved one, one might say, 'Although they are gone, their influence will forever guide us.'
More from Hope Edelman
All quotes →When a daughter loses a mother, the intervals between grief responses lengthen over time, but her longing never disappears. It always hovers at the edge of her awareness, prepared to surface at any time, in any place, in the least expected ways.
Hope EdelmanRead
a mother's death also means the loss of the consistent, supportive family system that once supplied her with a secure home base, she then has to develop her self-confidence and self-esteem through alternate means. Without a mother or mother-figure to guide her, a daughter also has to piece together a female self-image of her own.
Hope EdelmanRead
Similar quotes
My family’s said to me from the beginning, ‘People are always going to tell you to pick what you want to be when you grow up. You take that and throw it out the window, that’s garbage. People are complicated and we love many things and we’re passionate about many things. You can be a human rights activist and also be doing these comedy plays in your community and that’s OK. All those things are a part of who you are and you can love them equally.
Hannah SimoneRead
The abused children are alone with their suffering, not only within the family, but also within themselves. They cannot crate a place in their own soul where they could cry their beart out.
Alice MillerRead
Family dramas are tough, as a playwright. Most stories are about characters going on a trip or a new character coming to town, because that's how you learn information about them. But with family, they all know each other already. There's years of history in every interaction.
Branden Jacobs-JenkinsRead
All happy families resemble one another, each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.
Leo TolstoyRead
When my children wake up in the morning they know they will eat breakfast, get hugs from their parents, go to a good, safe school. Plates are full and store windows are glittering. But at the same time the great majority of the world's children and women stand - no - shiver on the precipice
Susan SarandonRead
As a parent, you have to be good coach and bad coach, and I think in the college-application process, I didn't want to be bad coach. 'This is amazing! I'm so proud of you!' That's the role I wanted with my kids.
Laurene Powell JobsRead