Memory

Ultimately, this book links memory and pain. One of the most poignant cases is that of the mother who had memories of her two babies who had died shortly after birth. The narrator says, "My mother would not have lived with those shattered memories inside her, running her fingers carefully over their sharp edges" (137). The word “shattered” can evoke imagery of sharp, shattered pieces of glass. Those pieces would be sharp enough to cut, wound, damage, and even kill a person. While this book never says that the narrator’s father died, it does say that the narrator’s mother died. She may have died young, for she died even before her kids got married. It could be that the damaging, painful memories that she had inside ultimately led to her early death; they may have been too painful for her to carry, and they may...