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Writing A Biography About Your Mother

Writing a biography about your mother is a great way to honor her life and share her accomplishments with the world. It can be a daunting task, however, as you may feel overwhelmed trying to capture her life in words. When writing your mother’s biography, the most important thing is to remember that your focus should be on the facts rather than the emotions. Begin by gathering information about her life, such as the date and place of her birth, her education, her career, her hobbies, her travels, and her relationships. Then, use that information to create a timeline of her life. Once you have the facts, you can craft the biography. Start by introducing your mother and her life in an engaging way. Then, give the reader a glimpse into her life, her personality, and her impact on the world. Finally, conclude by summing up her life and her legacy. Writing a biography about your mother is a great way to celebrate and remember her life.

Gathering Information

Writing a biography about your mother can be an incredibly meaningful and rewarding experience. It can also be a daunting task, especially when it comes to gathering information. While it may be difficult to ask your mother direct questions about her life, there are many ways to gain insight into her life and experiences. Taking the time to research family documents, interview family members, and explore her past can help you gain a deeper understanding of your mother’s life.

Start by gathering any information you may already know about your mother’s life, such as her place of birth, early childhood memories, and education history. You can also research your mother’s family tree, which may give you clues about her ancestors and any interesting stories that may be connected to them. Interviewing family members who knew your mother is another great way to gain insight into her life. Ask questions about her childhood, her hobbies, and her favorite memories.

Finally, look for any documents, photos, or other mementos that may provide further information about her life. Exploring your mother’s past will help you gain a better understanding of her life, allowing you to write a meaningful and accurate biography.

Crafting an Outline

Creating a biography about your mother is a special way to honor her life. To ensure that her story is told in the best way possible, it is important to create an outline that allows you to organize all of your information in a logical way. By crafting an outline for your biography, you can ensure that your mother’s story is told in a meaningful and effective manner.

Before beginning to write, it is important to research and gather all the facts and information about your mother’s life. This can include interviews with family members, research into her childhood, and any other relevant information. Consider the most important aspects of your mother’s life that you want to focus on, such as her career, relationships, or accomplishments. Once you have a full understanding of your mother’s story, you can begin to craft an outline.

Start by making a list of the main points you want to include. Once you have outlined the main points, you can begin to flesh out the details. Think about the details that will help to bring your mother’s story to life and include relevant quotes, stories, and anecdotes. Additionally, consider the structure of the biography and decide on a timeline or other logical order for the points. Once the outline is finished, you can begin to fill in the details and write the actual biography.

Crafting an outline for a biography about your mother will help to ensure that her story is told in an organized and meaningful manner. With the right research and a thoughtfully crafted outline, you can create a biography that honors your mother’s life.

Writing the Introduction

When it comes to writing a biography about your mother, the introduction is perhaps the most important part of the entire piece. It should capture the essence of your mother’s life and draw the reader in. It should provide an overview of her life and prepare the reader for the rest of the story.

When writing the introduction, it’s important to include key elements such as her name, date of birth, and the most important details about her life. Depending on the length of the biography, it may be necessary to include her personal life as well, such as her job, family, and any hobbies she had.

It’s also important to provide a timeline of her life, as this will allow the reader to follow her life story more easily. Additionally, an introduction should provide the reader with a sense of who your mother was and the impact she had on the world.

Finally, it’s important to write an introduction that grabs the reader’s attention and compels them to read the rest of the biography. A great introduction should be concise, informative, and engaging in order to provide the reader with a brief overview of your mother’s life and draw them in for the rest of the story.

Capturing Her Life Story

Writing a biography about your mother is not an easy task. It requires a certain level of research, creativity, and patience. It is an opportunity to capture her life story, and tell it to the world in an engaging and informative way. When writing a biography about your mother, it is important to consider her life in its entirety. This includes her family history, her childhood, her education, her career, her hobbies and interests, and her relationships. It is also important to consider the different themes that have been present in her life and how they have impacted her life choices. Additionally, it is important to include meaningful anecdotes and stories that provide insight into her personality and her views on life. Finally, it is important to make sure that the story is told in an accurate and respectful manner that honors her life and legacy. Writing a biography about your mother is an important task that requires a great deal of time and effort. It is an opportunity to capture her life story and tell it to the world with clarity, accuracy, and respect.

Honoring Her Legacy

Having a mother is an extraordinary gift and writing a biography about her is a fantastic way to honor her legacy. Capturing the details of her life in a written form is a great way to cherish her memory and learn more about her. It can also be a meaningful way to remind friends and family of her life and all that she has done.

Writing a biography about your mother may seem like a daunting task. However, it can be made easier by breaking down the process into small, manageable steps. Begin by gathering information from family members, friends, and other sources. It is important to ask questions and listen carefully to the answers. Taking notes along the way is also a great way to ensure that all details are recorded.

Next, it is important to organize the information into a timeline. This should include the dates of her birth and death, as well as other important events in her life. Additionally, it is important to include information about her hobbies, passions, and achievements.

Once the biography is written, it is important to edit it carefully. This is the time to ensure that the writing is cohesive and flows naturally. Additionally, it is a good idea to consult with other family members to make sure that the biography is accurate and complete.

Writing a biography about your mother is a wonderful way to honor her legacy and share her life with generations to come. By following the steps outlined above, it is possible to capture the beauty of her life in a written form.

Editing and Finalizing the Biography

Editing and finalizing a biography about your mother is the crucial last step in the process of capturing her life story for future generations to enjoy. It is the time to ensure that the facts are correct and the narrative is cohesive and compelling. It is also the time to ensure that the biography is optimized for search engines and formatted correctly for readers.

When editing a biography, it is important to read through the entire document multiple times to spot any errors. This includes typos, punctuation issues, incorrect facts, and anything else that needs to be corrected or improved. As you read, it is also important to ensure that the tone and style of the writing is consistent throughout, and that the narrative flows naturally.

Once the biography is edited, it is time to finalize it. This involves formatting the document correctly for readers, ensuring that the text is engaging and SEO friendly, and that the content is optimized for search engines. This means adding relevant keywords and phrases, using the right headings and subheadings, and linking to other resources.

Editing and finalizing a biography about your mother is an important and rewarding task. With the right approach and attention to detail, you can create a lasting legacy that your family can cherish for years to come.

FAQs About the Writing A Biography About Your Mother

Q: What information do I need to include in a biography about my mother? A: When writing a biography about your mother, it is important to include information about her life, including her childhood, education, career, interests, hobbies and any other information you can gather. Additionally, it’s important to include any stories or memories that you have of her that you would like to share.

Q: How long should a biography about my mother be? A: The length of a biography about your mother will vary depending on the amount of information and stories you have to share. Generally, a biography should be at least a few pages long, but could be longer depending on the depth of information you wish to include.

Q: How can I ensure that my biography is accurate? A: To ensure accuracy in your biography, it is important to use reliable sources of information. You can speak with family and friends of your mother or research public records. Additionally, if you are including stories or memories, it is important to make sure they are accurate and verifiable.

Writing a biography about your mother can be a rewarding experience. It gives you the opportunity to learn more about her life and to understand her better. You get to piece together the story of her life and share it with others. It is also a great way to honor and remember her. Writing a biography about your mother is a gift that will last for generations.

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How to Write Your Parents’ Life Story in 3 Steps

Have you ever wondered what your parents dreamed about as kids?  

Imagine you grab a book that describes the story of your life long before you were born. The words introduce you to a decade in which you didn’t yet exist, and the paragraphs move you to places where you’ve probably never been.

And you can’t put it down, because the principal characters of that breathtaking story are your parents.

As you read, you discover who they were before they met, how they grew up, and how their lives had the fortunate twist of crossing their paths. In a nonfiction book that describes your parents’ life, you can preserve those invaluable memories and connect, over and over, with your loved ones.

Writing your story and preserving your heritage not only offers benefits for your mental health , but it's also an excellent way to strengthen your relationship with your family and an admirable gesture to honor your parents.

But how do you get started?  Writing your parents’ life story from scratch is a big task, but you can make it manageable by following three simple steps.

Photo credit: Pixabay

1. Start a Five-Sense Conversation

The first step is to gather all the interesting stories of your parents’ lives. The research phase can be easy for you, but it might overwhelm your parents. Sit with them and listen carefully to their story. Enjoy that pleasant conversation — it’s not an interrogation! As they talk, hand them photo albums, old letters, or objects with sentimental value to prompt their memories.  

As you talk, focus on having a  five-sense conversation .  Your goal isn’t just to know the facts about dates and places. You also want to awaken emotions that were asleep in a hidden memory. To do that, the storytellers must work with their senses to access the best of their memories and speak from their hearts. In that way, you capture their authentic voices when it’s time to type those words on the computer.

To touch on the five senses, ask for details about what things looked like — colors, textures, shape and size. If there’s a song they love, play it, and maybe even dance or sing together. If there’s a meal your parents enjoyed as kids, try to cook that meal with them. Spend time with them and enjoy the process together, doing all you can to gather rich details about sight, sound, taste, touch and smell. 

Photo credit: Burst

Don’t be afraid to ask about everything that intrigues you. Invite your parents to talk about their dreams and downfalls, their struggles and efforts, their progress and their mistakes. Ask them which crisis made them grow, the happiest moments of their life together, and what advice they would offer to the future generations of your family — or the world.

If there are gaps in their stories, you can call on other relatives or family friends for additional information. Those supporting characters in the story can offer another perspective or a more detailed description of an anecdote.

To get more detailed information on how to prepare to interview your loved ones, check out this guideline published by the library of UCLA. 

2. Record the Interviews

It’s important to keep proof of those stories, so don’t forget to record your interviews. This will allow you to check back as you write to make sure your details are accurate. Recording will also free you from the burden of note taking so you can concentrate while they speak and enjoy a more natural conversation. In addition to preserving facts for your book, you’ll also have a treasured keepsake that captures the tone and timbre of their voice for posterity — an incredible gift for future generations.

During the interview, there are three things you should keep in mind:

• Make sure your electronic device is completely charged and has enough storage space before the conversation starts. Once the interview begins, activate the voice recorder and place it near the storytellers. It’s a good idea to do a test first, to make sure their voices are clear.
• Listen and observe your parents as they speak. Let them talk as long as they want, and try not to interrupt them — sometimes tangents turn out to be the best anecdotes! Pay attention to how their emotions bloom as they tell about a specific moment of their past.  
• Have a pad and a pen handy, but be careful not to overuse it or let it become a distraction. Write all the questions you have, and take notes of decisive citations and revealing thoughts. 

Your smartphone provides the easiest way to record your interviews.   Voice Memos  is the best recording app for iOS users — just touch the bright red button and let it record. If you have an Android device, download Easy Voice Recorder .

If you can’t meet in person, you can record your interview on your favorite video calling app. Zoom, Skype and Google Meet all offer ways to record your call. 

3. Digitize Photos and Documents

To help bring your parents’ stories to life, you’ll want to include photos in your book. Seeing your parents in their youth will complete the portrait you paint of them as full, interesting people. 

Photo credit: Getty Images

To round out the book, collect photographs, letters and documents such as birth certificates or diplomas. There are several free, downloadable apps that make scanning and editing these images easy: 

• PhotoScan  is one of the best ways to digitize old photographs for both iOS and Android users. It also allows you to back up scans with Google Photos for sharing.
• Photomyne is also free, and you can upgrade to premium features that let you scan multiple images in just one snapshot. It's free to download for both iOS and Android.
• Genius Scan and CamScanner are useful for scanning text documents. The apps automatically crop images and allow you to share them as PDF or JPG files.

Digitizing photos and documents is a great way to preserve them for posterity, and it makes it possible to insert images into your story as you write.

StoryTerrace Can Help 

Crafting a book from scratch is a thrilling project, but it can be overwhelming. If you've thought about creating that book but are having trouble getting started, StoryTerrace can help you transform that idea into a hardcover non-fiction book  with our experienced team of editors, writers and designers. 

StoryTerrace  takes on the hard work of book production so you can relax. One of our 600 writers and journalists  will interview your loved ones and turn their words into clear, compelling prose. With our specialized Bookmaker platform, you can easily add photos to the book. When all is ready to print, you’ll receive a beautiful hardback book worthy of passing down to future generations.

If you’re worried about not having the time or the skill to do your parents’ story justice, we’re here for you! StoryTerrace makes it possible to capture your parents’ stories in a professional book that you’ll be proud to share.

To learn more about our hardback books and writing process, contact StoryTerrace today .  You can also   subscribe to our newsletter so you never miss out on helpful writing advice. 

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Essays About Your Mom: Top 5 Examples and 5 Prompts

Some of the most important memories in our lives involve our mothers . If you need to write essays about your mom , our guide will help. 

A mother is a female parent of a child. Mothers nurture their children throughout childhood and, for many, throughout adulthood as well. The desire to support and protect our children is never ending for many mothers . 

Motherhood , however, is not always a genetic role. Many people foster or adopt children or find themselves acting in a parental role for someone else’s children . What matters is the effort you put into a motherly role; for most, the instincts are all there. 

It can safely be said that a mom is one of the most significant role models one can have in life and one whose influence continues to inspire. I once read a statement that said, ‘one day, you will realize your Mom is the best friend you will ever have.’ That is certainly true for me, and I hope for many of you.

If you are writing essays about your mom , our essay examples should prove inspiring.

5 Top Essay Examples

1. story of my mom by wilbur mckenzie, 2. an open letter to my mom, and all moms by samantha wolf , 3. my mom is a movie star by dan moore, 4. leader of my life: my mother by chelsea gonzales.

• ​​5. Your Mom Doesn’t Hate You, She’s Just Trying to Help You by Carly Newberg

5 Writing Prompts On Essays About Your Mom

1. the best memory of your mom, 2. a lesson your mom taught you, 3. what is your mom’s best quality, 4. your mom as a role model, 5. who is your mom.

“My mother believes in me, in everything I do, and is always positive about it. Every decision, task, and every level that I concur, my mom is always there, believing in me that I will succeed. Graduating 5th grade and moving up to 6th grade was a big step, just like graduating 8th grade and moving up to 9th grade was. But my mother believed that I would still do well in school and would enjoy it a lot.”

Mckenzie writes about his mother as his greatest influence and inspiration . He reflects on how his mom always makes sure he is well and how she loves the family unconditionally. He also describes her selflessness, as she volunteers for those in need and raises money for charity. Her mother ‘s love, selflessness, and encouragement inspire Mckenzie to try his best in everything he does, and he is genuinely grateful for her. 

“All I can say is thank you for being an amazing mother and all I want for you is to keep doing what makes you happy and brightens your day. Keep creating and going to the beach just to look at the ocean. Keep running, even if it’s not in marathons and don’t forget how awesome of a mother you are. Keep collecting seashells and spreading your positive energy everywhere you go. I love you, Mom.”

Wolf’s essay is addressed to her own mother and is composed of different notes and letters. According to Wolf, her mother is hardworking, optimistic, and devoted, and she recalls several moments they shared. The moments she describes are heartfelt and profound experiences that many can relate to. 

“To this day, she wakes up every morning, marches into our living room, and talks with cancer patients on the phone, lending them her empathy and expertise. It’s amazing, and I wanted her to know I saw all that. I wanted her to know I knew she’s always been a badass. I wanted her to know she’s an inspiration to me, a dynamic, courageous, capable, remarkable person I admire and study every day.”

Moore discusses his mother ‘s life beyond her role in his life. He briefly tells her life story, then writes about her work for a colon cancer foundation. She spends most of her time consoling and caring for cancer patients; only now is Moore able to appreciate what she is doing. He is in awe at all that his mom has been able to accomplish besides being a great mother to him.

“She utilizes her wisdom by teaching me the ways of life. She rejoices as I apply her teachings in my life and she understands me. The abundance of knowledge my mother has supplied me with continuously fills my life with rare and beautiful treasures.”

In her essay, Gonzales reflects on the spiritual lessons her mom has instilled in her. Her mother is a role model of a strong, Christian woman devoted to her family and God. She is always there for her daughter, giving her advice on how to handle difficult situations. Gonzales aspires to be just like her mother in everything she does, especially when raising her own children .

​​ 5. Your Mom Doesn’t Hate You, She’s Just Trying to Help You by Carly Newberg

“I’m not a parent (yet). However, I hope that when I am, I can take what I’ve learned from the obstacles I’ve faced with my mom , to keep the generational progress moving forward. After all, that is one of the beautiful gifts we’re given on Earth; To learn from the mistakes of our loved ones, map out our route accordingly, do our best to get where we are going, and accept the detours along the way knowing those after us will use them to love harder and live wiser.”

In this essay, Newberg discusses a phenomenon we are all too familiar with: mothers arguing with us. She explains that despite their seemingly curtailing actions , mothers always want what is best for us and are even struggling with whether their decisions are correct. Newberg suggests that we should be understanding of our mothers and use these experiences as lessons for how to parent in the future. 

For your essay, reflect on an experience with your mom that you treasure. Perhaps it is a birthday celebration, a trip out of town, or simply a conversation you had. Describe the events that transpired, how they made you feel, and why you treasure them as you do. Also, consider if your perception of this event has changed. Perhaps it has taught you more than you first thought.

One of a mother ‘s primary roles is to teach her children essential skills and lessons to prepare them for the future. Think about one or more things your mom taught you, whether life skills, values, or otherwise. You can be as general or in-depth as you want regarding what you’ve learned from your mom , but be sure to explain it adequately.

For an interesting essay topic, write about a quality of your mom ‘s that you seek to emulate- her patience, kindness, or fortitude. Discuss why you have chosen it, how it is essential to who your mom is, and how you hope to use it in the future. 

Mothers are role models to everyone, not only their kids but also to others they interact with daily. In your essay, you can reflect on a time your mom did something truly admirable that cemented her position as your role model. As with the other essays, describe the events, what you learned, and why you chose this. You may also comment on how it has shaped you as a prospective or active parent . Discuss any aspects of parenthood you would like to emulate and those you would not!

This essay topic may seem simple, but one can learn much about a person from a simple biography and reflection. Give readers a general idea of what your mom does, her role in your life, and how she has made you who you are today; paint a picture of this fantastic woman and why she is so important . You can include something about her background and note how it has influenced her, making her the mom she is. Also, you may consider whether any of her inherited traits have been passed to you. 

For help with your essays, check out our round-up of the best essay checkers . For help picking your next essay topic, check out our 20 engaging essay topics about family .

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How To Write About Your Mother

Terry mcdonell: “i did not set out to write about irma.”.

Mother’s Day was never a real holiday to my mother—more about marketing than raising me. No white carnations or special dinners for her. But that my memoir about her, Irma: The Education of a Mother’s Son , was published just before this Mother’s Day would make her smile. Likewise, that I have written about her at all.

I did not set out to write about Irma. The working title of my new book was Trouble in Mind , and it was going to be about how it was for me as a little boy and how what I learned breaking rules as a kid defined me as an adult. After several clunky drafts, I saw that the stories and details that had stayed with me over my years were hackneyed—retreaded like old tires with too many miles. In other words, I sounded like everybody else, with the same old media stories.

It was discouraging until I saw that the most compelling person on my pages was not me, but Irma. That simple long-time-coming but immediately obvious observation allowed me to start over, not like Irma starting over as the 25-year-old widow of a navy pilot with a 4-month-old son, but in my own way to reckon with how our lives had played out. I thought about how, when I was bored, she would tell me to use my imagination. She had been serious. But I wasn’t making anything up, rather taking generalized memory, like driving across the country when I was 5, and then letting my mind run until I suddenly saw Irma smiling, with a bright scarf around her neck, talking a highway patrolman out of a speeding ticket.

Almost immediately the annoying writer’s compulsion to talk endlessly about his or herself started slipping away until I was no longer a student of my own history, rather a son finding his way to fifty thousand words about the most important person in his life. I looked for ways my ideas about Irma might make it to the page, the sacred page where I learned to think as I had learned to read, with wonder, the way Irma had taught me.

Thinking is just selective memory anyway. Put two things together that have never been together before, and the world is changed: chaos theory. Memory works that way too. No story is told just once, but it is never exactly the same story. That was all I needed to know, except certain memories seemed to be searching me out. I knew the brain handles positive and negative information differently, in different hemispheres; troubling info, what most people don’t want to think about, takes more time to process, which means more thinking, and bad events are harder to forget and wear off more slowly, some never. But you can bury them. I was aware. Piece of cake.

That was when I let go. The past would always be there, but to remember everything—madness. Better to sort the scraps of memory—snapshots, really, of the long strangeness of Irma’s life opening slowly like a good film until details came back to me in flashes. I think everyone has similar moments, when remembering something their mother did or said illuminates her. Maybe nothing is precise and none of the little pieces fit together but you can’t help seeing more if you think a little harder. In a very strange way, you can see yourself too—from a distance that surprises you. In my case the way Irma would drive with her elbow out the window when it was hot.

My memory built on itself with small truths. Irma had always said it was admirable to want to learn what she called the “whole wide world,” but you should try to know some small truths too. Remembering that I thought of a barefoot and pregnant girl I had seen in Mexico. Almost a child, really. She was sweeping a dirt yard next to a gas station in Chihuahua, where many of the migrant children Irma taught to read were from.

Associations like that can be bridges over great gaps of time. I think Irma wanted me to grow up to be the kind of serious man who knew something about the world and could stand up and tell people what he thought without showing off. The kind of a man who stood up for people, especially women. The kind of man that liked women. I knew from the beginning that men liked Irma, although I had only vague ideas what that meant at the time, or what it ever meant to her. Her attitude seemed to be that men and women were just different and that was not good or bad. They did not have to understand each other to get along—and that was sexy.

When I was in junior high school, Irma told me if I liked girls, they would like me back. It was a two-way street according to Irma, and manners were part of that, but those manners were supposed to make me feel good about myself, too. I think now that was how Irma passed me a version of her evolving feminism which allowed me to embrace strong women who reminded me of her in ways I did not quite recognize.

Soon enough, I was drawn to women others found difficult. They were more interesting simply by not going along, sometimes busting me for not paying attention or showing off. Like Irma, in a way, but, of course, not. I became was aware that women not letting me off the hook for this or that might be good for me, might be helping me  evolve , in the argot of the day.

Irma seldom talked about her boyfriends except sometimes after they were gone, when a name would come up and she would roll her eyes that she did not know what she had been thinking. What I saw, though, was that she liked them all, although she certainly did not need them. Everyone said Irma was the prettiest mom, but I remembered one time back in Duluth when I was very young, and Irma was talking on the phone.

We were dressed up to go out and I was standing next to her, waiting in my little bow tie, and Irma was telling her girlfriend, Sis, that it was never good to be too pretty. Where did that memory come from? The thing was, though, I had always known there was something wrong, even if it was complicated by details I had somehow missed only to remember now.

I imagined my unconscious dragging out such details like lost gloves that needed to be paired or thrown away. If I was going to write about Irma, I needed to shake all the trees and look closely at whatever fell out. Shake the trees? Old gloves? I winced at the tropes. I would write simply about Irma, not a mission statement, something humble to be read in a single sitting about how, before I could remember anything else, I remembered Irma teaching him the names of things, the trees and birds and insects of the Santa Clara Valley. That was her alchemy, and somehow it had given me confidence that I could live in a real world.

After I had started working at what Irma never called my career, we had a new dynamic, a kind of code. Nothing was ever wrong in our lives. No complaints from either of us. When we talked on the phone about people we had known in Burbank or Campbell there was no judgment. I was aware of this as a turn in our relationship, a way to create a better past in the face of regret. But it was on me because regret was never Irma’s style. She was teaching by example. I didn’t have to criticize anyone.

I am not sure what Irma would make of Irma . She would not have objected, but that does not mean she would not have had her own thoughts, which she would probably keep to herself.  Maybe she would remember asking me what I was writing besides journalism. Like what? I had wondered. “Like the writers you like,” Irma said. Impossible, I thought, but was grateful. She was encouraging me. Irma would never judge.

_______________________

Terry McDonell’s Irma: The Education of a Mother’s Son was recently published by Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins. 

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Descriptive Essay

Descriptive Essay About My Mother

Descriptive Essay About My Mother - A Guide to Writing

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Have you ever wanted to convey the depth of your feelings and appreciation for your mother through words, but felt unsure about how to do it effectively?

Crafting a descriptive essay about your mother can be a challenging task. You want to capture her essence, the love she's given you, and the incredible person she is. 

But how do you put all those emotions into words that truly do her justice?

In this blog, we'll provide you with a step-by-step guide on how to write a heartwarming and meaningful descriptive essay about your mother. 

We’ll also provide essay examples to assist you in crafting an enhanced paper, complemented by valuable tips and guidance.

Let’s get started.

• 1. Descriptive Essay - What You Need to Know
• 2. How to Write a Descriptive Essay About My Mother - 8 Easy Steps
• 3. Examples of Descriptive Essay About My Mother
• 4. Tips to Write a Descriptive Essay About Mother

Descriptive Essay - What You Need to Know

A descriptive essay is a type of essay that uses words to describe an object, person, experience, or place. The purpose of writing this type of essay is to provide the reader with a vivid and clear description of something. The writer must use sensory details, such as sight, hearing, smell, touch, and taste to make the reader experience the topic.

When writing about a person such as your mother, you need to describe the characteristics that make her unique. It can include personality traits or experiences that make her special.

Reading a few essay samples will help you out! So read on to find good examples and tips.

How to Write a Descriptive Essay About My Mother - 8 Easy Steps

Writing a heartfelt and vivid descriptive essay about your mother requires careful consideration. 

Here, we'll guide you through the process step by step, helping you express your feelings and admiration effectively:

Step 1: Choose a Focus

Decide on a specific aspect or trait of your mother that you want to describe. It could be her appearance, personality, nurturing qualities, or a particular event that showcases her character.

Step 2: Brainstorm Descriptive Words

Make a list of adjectives and descriptive words that come to mind when you think about your mother. Try to capture the essence of her being.

Step 3: Create an Outline

Organize your thoughts by creating a descriptive essay outline . Decide on the structure, such as the introduction, body, and conclusion, and what aspects you'll cover in each section.

Step 4: Start with a Hook

Begin your essay with an engaging hook or an anecdote that draws the reader in. It can be a personal memory or a captivating description of your mother.

Step 5: Descriptive Details

In the body of your essay, use sensory details to paint a vivid picture. Describe her appearance, mannerisms, and the emotions she evokes. Incorporate the descriptive words from your brainstorming list.

Step 6: Emotions and Memories

Share your personal emotions and memories associated with your mother. How does she make you feel, and what experiences have shaped your relationship with her?

Step 7: Use Metaphors and Similes

Employ metaphors and similes to enhance your descriptions. Compare her to elements from nature, objects, or anything that can add depth to your portrayal.

Step 8: Show, Don't Tell

Instead of simply stating qualities, show them through actions, interactions, and specific examples. Let the reader experience her through your words.

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Examples of Descriptive Essay About My Mother

Exploring essay examples can provide valuable insights for crafting an essay that deeply connects with your readers. 

Below, you'll find both a descriptive essay about my mother and an analysis of its content.

Why This Descriptive Essay Works

Here are several reasons why this descriptive essay is effective:

• Emotional Connection

The essay immediately establishes an emotional connection with the reader through its theme of a mother's love. The use of descriptive language and personal anecdotes invites the reader to empathize and relate to the feelings and experiences described.

• Vivid Imagery

The essay employs vivid imagery to paint a clear picture of the mother and her attributes. The descriptions of her eyes, hands, voice, and smile create a sensory experience for the reader, making them feel as if they are present with the author.

The essay uses symbolism effectively to convey the depth of the mother's love. The mother's eyes, for example, symbolize her wisdom and the shared experiences with the author. The use of the mother's hands as a source of healing symbolizes her nurturing and caring nature.

• Structure and Flow

The essay is well-structured and flows seamlessly from one descriptive element to another. 

It begins with a general introduction, moves into specific descriptions, and ends with a strong, heartfelt conclusion. This organization keeps the reader engaged and ensures a logical progression of ideas.

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• Emotional Impact

The essay's emotional impact is profound. It not only describes the mother's physical attributes but also delves into the intangible qualities that make her special. The reader is left with a deep sense of appreciation for the role of a mother and the love she provides.

• Relatability

The essay's theme of maternal love is universal, making it relatable to a broad audience. Most readers can connect with the feelings of love, protection, and guidance that the author describes. 

If you still find it challenging to write a descriptive essay, consider these additional examples for guidance.

Descriptive Essay About My Mother PDF

Descriptive Essay About My Mother My Hero

Descriptive Essay Example About Mother

Descriptive Essay About My Mother 200 Words

Descriptive Essay On My Mother's Kitchen

Sample Descriptive Essay About My Mother

Here is a video of another short essay example about mother:

Want to read descriptive essays on other topics as well? Here are more descriptive essay examples that will help you out!

Tips to Write a Descriptive Essay About Mother

Now that you’ve read the examples, let’s look at some tips that will lead you to essay writing success.

• Start with the Basics

Begin by brainstorming ideas of what makes your mother special and why she is important to you. Think about her personality traits, accomplishments, quirks, and unique qualities. In addition, consider the ways that your mother has influenced you and shaped your life.

You can also practice your writing skills with other descriptive essay topics . So write away!

• Create an Outline

Once you have all of your ideas written down, create an descriptive essay outline that will guide the structure of your essay. This should include sections for your introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion.

• Capture Her Essence

Use vivid language to capture the essence of who your mother is. Utilize descriptive words and phrases that will help your reader understand who your mother is and what she means to you.

• Show, Don’t Tell

Instead of simply telling the reader about your mother’s traits or accomplishments, use stories and examples to illustrate them. This will make your essay more interesting to readers.

• Keep Your Tone Consistent

Maintaining a consistent tone throughout ensures a cohesive narrative without feeling disjointed or scattered. This keeps readers interested until they reach their conclusion!

• Don’t Forget the Conclusion

Summarize the main points of your essay in your conclusion and provide a call to action for readers. Maybe you’ll leave them feeling inspired or motivated to do something special for their own mother.

• Revise & Edit Diligently

Revision is key when putting together any written piece. Read over your work multiple times and fix any errors in spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc. Also improve any awkward phrasing or unclear ideas that might not be conveyed effectively enough.

To sum it up,

Writing a descriptive essay about your mother doesn't have to be difficult. With our guide and examples, you can easily write an effective essay that will make your mother proud! So get started today, and create the perfect essay for her!

By following these tips and examples, you will find it easier to write a meaningful descriptive essay about your mother. Good luck!

Looking for a professional descriptive essay writer to write it for you? We're right here for you!

You can trust our custom essay writing online for all your essay needs. We offer top-notch essay writing help to you get the best grade possible. Our essay writers are experienced and qualified to handle any essay topic with ease.

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Keep reading

How to Write a Biography in 8 Steps (The Non-Boring Way!)

Compelling biographies help us better connect with others while fostering empathy and understanding. Discover the steps to write one that captivates your audience!

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Have you ever been captivated by someone’s life story? From the ancient tales of great conquerors to the modern accounts of influential figures, biographies have enchanted readers and viewers for centuries. 

The stories of real people’s lives not only entertain and educate but also provide a unique window into the human experience. In fact, according to research 1 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8796048/ , human stories like biographies can help us better connect with others while fostering empathy and understanding.

In this article, let’s dive into how to write a compelling biography, from the research phase to delivery.

What Are the Key Elements of a Biography?

The key elements of a well-written biography bring characters to life. They include thorough research, relevant interviews, clear structure, captivating prose, compelling themes, and a balance between objectivity and empathy. 

• Thorough research: Helps create an accurate portrayal of your subject
• Relevant interviews: Insights help provide a deeper understanding of your subject
• Clear structure: Helps you outline your ideas for a compelling narrative
• Captivating prose: Provides descriptive language to paint a picture of your subject
• Compelling themes: Showcases the motivations and desires behind your subject
• A balance between objectivity and empathy: Keeps biases in check and allows your subject to shine for who they are

As you develop your biography, remember that these stories hold an enduring appeal because they offer people an opportunity to explore the depths of the human psyche, unravel extraordinary accomplishments, and discover the vulnerabilities and triumphs of individuals who have left their mark on the world. 

Here are the topics a biography typically covers:

• Early life and background : Provide context about the subject’s upbringing, family, and cultural influences.
• Achievements and milestones: Highlight notable accomplishments, contributions, and significant events throughout their life.
• Challenges and struggles: Explore the obstacles they faced, the lessons learned, and how they overcame adversity.
• Personal characteristics: Describe their personality traits, values, beliefs, and motivations that shaped their actions and decisions.
• Impact and legacy: Discuss the lasting influence and contributions of the subject, both during their lifetime and beyond.

Ready to start crafting your biography? Find greater success with this helpful goal-setting resource!

How To Set Better Goals Using Science

Do you set the same goals over and over again? If you’re not achieving your goals – it’s not your fault! Let me show you the science-based goal-setting framework to help you achieve your biggest goals.

Let’s look at the six key elements of a well-written biography more closely and the steps you can follow to develop your own.

How to Write a Biography in 8 Steps Using Key Elements

Choose your presentation format.

Presenting your biography can take on various forms, the most traditional being written form. The basis for this article assumes you’re writing a conventional biography; however, this foundation can also help you create a multimedia presentation or website as well. 

Consider these various formats to present your biography:

• Traditional Written Biographies: This classic approach provides a comprehensive account of a person’s life through the written word. Traditional biographies can be published in print or ebooks , allowing readers to engage deeply with the subject’s story.
• Multimedia Presentations: In the digital age, multimedia presentations offer a dynamic way to present biographies. Incorporate audio, video, photographs, and interactive elements to enhance the audience’s experience.
• Online Platforms: Online platforms, such as blogs or dedicated biography websites, provide accessible avenues for sharing biographies. They allow for easy updates, reader engagement, and the incorporation of multimedia elements. 

Choose your subject and conduct research

To create a vivid and accurate portrayal of a person’s life, conduct extensive research. Dive into archives, read letters, examine diaries, explore photographs, and immerse yourself in the historical and cultural context surrounding your subject. This will help you unearth the small details that breathe life into your biography. 

Whether you’re writing a biography about a historical figure, contemporary icon, or everyday individual, you’ll want to consider the different factors to focus on. Here are some examples of three types of individuals and the kind of research that will be most helpful.

• Historical Figures: When writing about historical figures, immerse yourself in their era. Understand the social, political, and cultural forces that shaped their lives. I recommend visiting your local library and connecting with a research librarian for support. Otherwise, other tools for historical research include Google Scholar. Analyze primary sources and multiple perspectives to present a well-rounded account.
• Contemporary Icons: Biographies of modern icons offer a chance to delve into their ongoing impact. Conduct interviews or gather insights from their close associates to understand their present-day influence. Stay current with the latest developments, and be prepared to update your work as the subject’s story unfolds.
• Everyday Individuals: Biographies need not be reserved for the famous. Every day individuals possess stories that can be just as compelling. Uncover the extraordinary within the ordinary, highlighting the struggles, triumphs, and personal growth of individuals who might otherwise remain unsung.
• Yourself! Want to write a biography on yourself? Autobiographies are a great way to explore who you are. Get ready to do some serious self-reflection with the steps below.

Pro Tip: Compile your research digitally using helpful cloud filings systems like Google Drive , OneDrive , or Dropbox . Organize your files by category, including information about their youth, family, achievements, and life lessons. You may also choose to write down research references or collect paper clippings on note cards, categorizing your physical files of research along the way.

Develop compelling themes and motifs 

Identify overarching themes or motifs that emerge from the subject’s life. These could be resilience, ambition, love, or societal change. Weave these elements into the narrative, highlighting their significance and impact on the person’s journey. Here are some examples:

• Overcoming Adversity: These biographies feature perseverance, resilience, and determination. Examples include Helen Keller, Nelson Mandela, and Malala Yousafzai.
• Pursuit of Excellence: These biographies highlight people who have worked tirelessly to achieve their goals. Examples include Steve Jobs, Serena Williams, and Michael Jordan.
• Quest for Knowledge: These biographies focus on the curiosity that led to significant contributions to our world. Examples include Albert Einstein, Marie Curie, and Charles Darwin.
• Personal Transformation: These biographies explore a change in beliefs, values, or priorities. Examples include Malcolm X, Oprah Winfrey, and Maya Angelou.
• Legacy and Impact: These biographies examine a body of work that made a lasting contribution to society. Examples include Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Teresa, and Mahatma Gandhi.

Conduct relevant interviews 

Whenever possible, seek firsthand accounts from those who knew or interacted with the subject. Conduct interviews with family members, friends, colleagues, or experts in the field. Their insights and anecdotes can provide a deeper understanding of the person’s character and experiences.

When conducting interviews for a biography, consider the following tips to ensure a productive and insightful conversation:

• Familiarize yourself with the interviewee’s background and accomplishments.
• Develop a list of well-thought-out questions that cover key aspects of their lives and experiences, including questions about your subject’s youth, family, achievements, and life transitions or struggles.
• Begin the interview by establishing a comfortable and friendly atmosphere to put the interviewee at ease.
• Show genuine interest in their story and listen actively to their responses.
• Ask open-ended questions encouraging detailed and reflective responses.
• Avoid yes/no questions and ask for their insights, memories, and personal perspectives.
• Some topics you might consider for your questions include early life, achievements, challenges, motivations, values, relationships, lessons learned, and advice.
• Pay close attention to the interviewee’s answers, body language, and tone of voice.
• Ask follow-up questions to clarify or delve deeper into specific topics.
• Show empathy and understanding, creating a safe space for the interviewee to share personal or sensitive information.
• Remain flexible during the interview, allowing the conversation to flow naturally.
• Be prepared to deviate from your prepared questions if unexpected but relevant topics arise.
• Respect the interviewee’s boundaries and be mindful of any topics they may not wish to discuss.
• Take thorough and organized notes during the interview to capture important details.
• Consider recording the interview (with permission) to ensure accurate quotes and references.
• Ask for permission to follow up with additional questions or for clarification.
• Doing a biography on yourself? Ask yourself deep questions to harvest new stories and anecdotes.

Remember, the goal of the interview is to gather valuable information and personal perspectives that will contribute to the authenticity and depth of your biography. Approach the interview process with sensitivity, respect, and genuine curiosity about the interviewee’s life and experiences.

Develop a clear structure

Outline your biography, ensuring a logical and engaging narrative flow. Consider the chronological order, significant milestones, and turning points in the subject’s life. Organize your gathered information to capture the essence of their journey while maintaining a compelling rhythm throughout. 

A good outline for a biography can vary depending on the specific subject and the desired structure of the narrative. However, here’s a general outline that can serve as a starting point:

A. Introduction

a) Hook or engaging opening to capture the reader’s attention

b) Background information (birthplace, date, family, etc.)

c) A brief overview of the subject’s significance or why they are worth exploring

B. Early Life and Background

a) Childhood and upbringing

b) Influences, such as family, education, or cultural factors

c) Formative experiences or events that shaped the subject’s character or interests

C. Major Achievements and Milestones

a) A chronological exploration of the subject’s notable accomplishments, contributions, or milestones

b) Focus on key moments or achievements that highlight their impact or significance.

c) Provide context and details to paint a vivid picture of their achievements

D. Challenges and Obstacles

a) Discussion of the challenges, setbacks, or adversities the subject encountered

b) How they overcame obstacles or grew through difficult experiences

c) Insights into their resilience, determination, or problem-solving abilities

E. Personal Life and Relationships

a) Exploration of the subject’s relationships, such as family, friends, or romantic partners

b) Insights into their personal joys, struggles, or transformative experiences

c) How their personal life intersected with their professional or public achievements

F. Legacy and Impact

a) Examination of the subject’s lasting influence, contributions, or impact on society

b) Discuss how their work or actions continue to resonate or shape the world today

c) Reflection on their legacy and the lessons we can learn from their life story

G. Conclusion

a) Summarize the key aspects of the subject’s life and their significance

b) Provide a final reflection or insight on their overall journey or impact

c) Leave the reader with a lasting impression or call to action

Pro Tip: Looking for help drafting an outline to get you started? Use free tools like ChatGPT to jumpstart your outline by putting in a prompt request like, “Write an outline for a biography about X, including any relevant details on the subject that should be included.”

Craft captivating prose

Employ descriptive language to transport readers into the subject’s world. Paint vivid portraits of their physical appearance, mannerisms, and surroundings. Use sensory details to evoke emotions and create a strong connection between the reader and the subject. 

Here are some examples:

• “She was a force of nature, with a fierce determination and an unwavering commitment to justice.” (Ruth Bader Ginsburg)
• “His piercing blue eyes seemed to look right through you, and his voice had a commanding presence that demanded attention.” (Winston Churchill)
• “She moved with a grace and elegance that belied her inner strength and resilience.” (Audrey Hepburn)
• “His rugged features and piercing gaze made him a natural leading man, but it was his depth and vulnerability that set him apart.” (Marlon Brando)
• “She had a contagious energy and a magnetic personality that drew people to her like a moth to a flame.” (Princess Diana)
• “His quiet intensity and unwavering dedication to his craft made him one of the greatest artists of his time.” (Leonardo da Vinci)

Action Step: While writing descriptive prose takes some practice, it’s an art you can master with little creative writing skills. To help you write descriptive prose, practice closing your eyes and imagining your subject. 

• What expression is on their face? 
• How are they dressed? 
• What does their body language express? 
• How do they smell? 
• How do they make you feel? 
• How do they make others feel? 
• What’s in their surroundings? 
• What are they doing with their hands? 
• What do you imagine they’re thinking about? 

With questions like these, you’ll start to use descriptive language to bring your subject to life.

Build a balance of objectivity and empathy

Strive for an objective portrayal while infusing empathy and understanding into your writing. Remain aware of biases and preconceived notions, giving your subject the space to shine in their unique light. 

To check yourself, filter your writing and interviewing with these tips:

• Verify Information: Cross-reference information from various sources to ensure accuracy. Use tools like Fact Check Explorer to fact-check claims, dates, and events to avoid errors or inaccuracies that could skew the narrative. 
• Multiple Perspectives: Seek out different viewpoints on the subject. This includes interviewing or reaching out to people with significant interactions or relationships with the subject. Incorporating diverse perspectives can counterbalance biases and provide a broader understanding.
• Empathetic Listening: During interviews or conversations, practice active listening and empathize with the interviewee’s experiences and emotions. This allows you to understand the subject’s perspective and incorporate their insights and feelings into the narrative.
• Contextualize Emotions: When sharing the subject’s emotional experiences or personal struggles, provide sufficient context and background. This helps readers understand the motivations and circumstances behind their actions and allows for empathetic understanding without veering into excessive sentimentality.
• Credible Interpretation: While interpreting the subject’s thoughts, motives, or intentions, be clear about what is factual and what is speculative. Clearly distinguish between evidence-based information and your interpretations to maintain objectivity.
• Respect Boundaries: Be mindful of the subject’s privacy and any requests they may have regarding sensitive or personal information. Respecting their boundaries shows empathy and allows for a respectful portrayal while maintaining the necessary level of objectivity.
• Acknowledge Limitations: Recognize that achieving complete objectivity in a biography is challenging. Biases can inadvertently seep into the narrative. However, by being aware of your biases and consciously presenting a fair and balanced account, you can mitigate their influence.

Respect truth, privacy, and sensitivity

Remember, writing biographies carries ethical responsibilities. It’s important to maintain accuracy through credible research and gain consent while being sensitive to controversial or difficult topics. Here are some considerations:

• Accuracy: Maintain a commitment to truth and accuracy. Verify facts and corroborate information from multiple sources to ensure the reliability of your narrative. Cite your sources and be transparent about any uncertainties or gaps in knowledge.
• Privacy and Consent: Respect the privacy of living individuals mentioned in your biography. Seek consent when sharing personal details or sensitive information. Balance the subject’s right to privacy with the importance of honesty and transparency.
• Sensitivity: Approach sensitive or controversial topics with care and empathy. Consider the potential impact of your words on the subject’s loved ones or affected communities—present differing perspectives without sensationalism or bias.

Writing a Biography FAQs

The length of a biography can vary greatly, depending on the subject and the depth of exploration. Some biographies span a few hundred pages, while others extend to multiple volumes. Focus on capturing the subject’s life’s essence rather than strictly adhering to a predetermined length.

Some common mistakes to avoid when writing a biography include the following: Lack of thorough research or reliance on a single source. Inaccurate or misleading information. Excessive personal bias or projection onto the subject. Neglecting to verify facts or failing to cite sources. Poor organization or a disjointed narrative flow. Neglecting to balance objectivity with empathy. Overloading the biography with irrelevant details or digressions. Failing to respect privacy or ethical considerations.

While chronological order is commonly used in biographies, it is not required. Some biographers employ a thematic approach or explore specific periods or events in the subject’s life. Experiment with different structures to find the most engaging way to tell your subject’s story.

The purpose of writing a biography is to capture and share an individual’s life story. Biographies provide insights into a person’s experiences, achievements, and challenges, offering readers inspiration, knowledge, and understanding. They preserve the legacy of individuals, contribute to historical records, and celebrate the diversity of human lives.

When choosing a subject for your biography, consider someone who inspires you, interests you, or has significantly impacted society. It could be a historical figure, a contemporary icon, or even an everyday individual with a remarkable story. Choose a subject with sufficient available information, access to primary sources or interviews, and a narrative that resonates with you and potential readers.

Key elements to include in a biography are: Early life and background: Provide context about the subject’s upbringing, family, and cultural influences. Achievements and milestones: Highlight notable accomplishments, contributions, and significant events throughout their life. Challenges and struggles: Explore the obstacles they faced, the lessons learned, and how they overcame adversity. Personal characteristics: Describe their personality traits, values, beliefs, and motivations that shaped their actions and decisions. Impact and legacy: Discuss the lasting influence and contributions of the subject, both during their lifetime and beyond.

Including personal anecdotes can add depth and humanize the subject of your biography. However, be selective and ensure that the stories are relevant, contribute to understanding the person’s character or experiences, and align with the overall narrative. Balancing personal anecdotes with factual information is critical to maintaining accuracy and credibility.

Conducting research for a biography involves exploring a variety of sources. Start with primary sources such as personal papers, letters, journals, and interviews with the subject or people who knew them. Secondary sources such as books, articles, and academic papers provide additional context and perspectives. Online databases, archives, libraries, and museums are valuable resources for finding relevant information.

Consult a wide range of sources to ensure a comprehensive and accurate biography. Primary sources, such as personal documents, letters, diaries, and interviews, offer firsthand accounts and unique insights. Secondary sources provide broader context and analysis, including books, articles, scholarly works, and historical records. Remember to evaluate the credibility and reliability of your sources critically.

Organize the information in your biography logically and engagingly. Consider using a chronological structure, starting with the subject’s early life and progressing through significant events and milestones. Alternatively, adopt a thematic approach, grouping related information based on themes or significant aspects of their life. Use clear headings, subheadings, and transitions to guide readers through the narrative flow.

Writing Biographies Key Takeaways

In summary, take note of these ideas and tips before you start writing your biography:

• Biographies hold enduring appeal, offering a glimpse into the human experience across time.
• Thorough research, interviews, and captivating prose are essential for crafting compelling biographies.
• Ethical considerations, such as accuracy, privacy, and sensitivity, are crucial when writing about real people’s lives.
• Choose subjects that genuinely inspire and resonate with you.
• Immerse yourself in the subject’s world to understand their motivations and challenges.
• Develop strong research skills and utilize a wide range of sources.
• Craft a compelling narrative that engages readers from the very first page.
• Seek feedback from trusted sources to refine your writing and storytelling abilities.
• Continuously explore new biographies to broaden your understanding of different styles and approaches.
• Embrace the unique voice and perspective you bring to the storytelling process.

Writing a biography book? Check out this helpful article, How to Write a Book: 10 Questions to Ask Before You Start Writing !

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How to Write a 5 Paragraph Essay About My Mother

Writing about someone close to you, such as your mother, can be a meaningful and rewarding experience. One of the best ways to structure your writing is to use the 5-paragraph essay format.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through the steps of writing a 5-paragraph essay about your mother, with detailed examples and lists to help you along the way.

Introduction

The introduction is your chance to hook your reader and provide a preview of what’s to come in your essay. Here are some tips for crafting a strong opening paragraph about mother :

• Start with a strong opening sentence that grabs your reader’s attention. For example, you could begin with a quote about mothers or an anecdote that illustrates your relationship with your mom.
• Provide some background information about your mother, such as her name, age, occupation, and any other relevant details to your essay.
• Explain why you’ve chosen to write about your mother and what makes her so unique to you. This will help your reader understand the significance of your essay.
• Finally, give a brief overview of the structure of your essay. Tell your reader what they can expect to learn from your writing and how you’ll be organizing your thoughts.

The First Paragraph

The first body paragraph of your essay should introduce your topic (your mother) and provide a thesis statement that ties your focus/theme to your mother’s significance in your life. Here are some things to keep in mind:

• Start with a sentence introducing your mother and explaining why she is important to you. For example, you could say, “My mother is the most important person in my life because she has always been there for me, no matter what.”
• Provide some background information about your mother, such as her age, occupation, and any other relevant details.
• Explain the focus/theme of your essay. This could be anything from your mother’s resilience in adversity to her impact on your personal growth and development.
• Finally, provide a clear and concise thesis statement that ties your focus/theme to your mother’s significance in your life. For example, your thesis statement could be, “My mother’s unwavering support has been the driving force behind my success.”

The Second Paragraph

The second paragraph of your essay should provide examples and anecdotes that support the focus/theme you introduced in the first paragraph. Here’s how to do it:

• Start by introducing the specific example or anecdote you’ll be sharing. For instance, you could say, “One of the best examples of my mother’s support came when I was struggling in school.”
• Share the details of the example or anecdote. This could include specific conversations with your mother, her actions to support you, or challenges you overcame together.
• Analyze the impact of your mother’s actions on your life. How did her support make a difference for you? What did you learn from the experience? How did it strengthen your relationship with your mother?
• Tie your analysis back to your thesis statement. Make it clear how this example or anecdote supports your focus/theme and your overall argument.

The Third Paragraph

The third paragraph of your essay should continue to explore the impact of your mother’s actions on your life. Here are some tips for writing this section:

• Start by introducing a new example or anecdote that supports your focus/theme. For instance, you could talk about how your mother helped you through a difficult time.
• Provide details about the example or anecdote, just as you did in the previous paragraph.
• Analyze the impact of your mother’s actions on your life. What did you learn from this experience? How did it shape who you are today?
• Again, tie your analysis back to your thesis statement. Make it clear how this example or anecdote supports your overall argument.

The Fourth Paragraph

The fourth paragraph of your essay should provide a counterargument or opposing viewpoint. Here’s how to do it:

• Start by acknowledging that there may be other perspectives on your mother’s impact on your life. For example, you could say something like “While my mother has had an overwhelmingly positive impact on my life, I know that not everyone has had the same experience.”
• Introduce a counterargument or opposing viewpoint. This could be something like “Some people might argue that a mother’s impact on her child is overstated and that other factors, such as genetics or upbringing, are more important.”
• Analyze the counterargument or opposing viewpoint. Explain why you disagree with this perspective and provide evidence to support your argument. This could include personal anecdotes, statistics, or expert opinions.
• Finally, tie your analysis back to your thesis statement. Make it clear how your counterargument supports your overall argument and reinforces the importance of your mother’s impact on your life.

The Fifth Paragraph

Your essay’s fifth and final paragraph should summarize your main points and provide a conclusion. Here’s how to do it:

• Start by summarizing the key points you’ve made in your essay. Remind your reader of your focus/theme, thesis statement, and the examples and anecdotes you’ve shared.
• Provide a final analysis of your mother’s impact on your life. Explain why she is so important to you and what you’ve learned from your experiences with her.
• End with a firm conclusion. This could be a call to action, a personal reflection, or a final thought that ties everything together. For example, you could end with something like, “My mother will always be my role model and inspiration. I hope I can be as supportive and loving as she has always been to me someday.”

Example essay about my mother

My mother is the most important person in my life. She has been there for me through thick and thin, always supporting and encouraging me to be the best I can be. Her unwavering love and dedication have been a constant source of strength for me, and I am forever grateful for everything she has done for me. Firstly, my mother is the epitome of selflessness. She always puts the needs of others before her own, and she never complains about it. Whether it is cooking my favorite meal or staying up all night to help me with my homework, she never hesitates to go the extra mile to ensure I am happy and well taken care of. My mother is sage and insightful. She has a wealth of life experience and a deep understanding of human nature, and she has always been there to offer me sage advice whenever I need it. Her words of wisdom have helped me navigate many difficult situations and have given me the tools to face any challenge that comes my way. I believe that my mother is the embodiment of hard work and perseverance. She has always been a role model for me when it comes to putting in the effort to achieve one’s goals. Watching her work tirelessly day in and day out to provide for our family has taught me the value of hard work and the importance of never giving up. Also, my mother has a great sense of humor and an infectious zest for life. Even in the most challenging of times, she always finds a way to make me laugh and to see the bright side of things. Her positive attitude and sunny disposition have taught me the importance of looking on the bright side and never giving up hope. In conclusion, my mother is the most amazing person that I know. Her selflessness, wisdom, hard work, and sense of humor have impacted my life immeasurable, and I am so grateful for everything she has done for me. I hope that one day I can be half the person that she is, and that I can make her as proud of me as I am of her.

Example 2: A Portrait of Strength and Love: My Mother

In the tapestry of my life, there is one thread that shines brighter than all others – the unwavering presence of my mother. She is not just a figure in my life; she is the cornerstone, the guiding light, and the epitome of love and strength. In this essay, I aim to paint a vivid portrait of the woman who has shaped me into who I am today. Body: My mother’s love knows no bounds. It is a force of nature, gentle yet unyielding, like the steady flow of a river that nourishes all in its path. From the moment I came into this world, she cradled me in her arms, her touch a soothing balm that could heal any wound, physical or emotional. Her love is not confined to mere words; it is expressed through her actions, through the countless sacrifices she has made for our family. One of the most remarkable traits of my mother is her boundless strength. She has weathered storms that would have broken lesser souls, yet she emerged from the tempest stronger than ever. I have seen her face adversity with grace and courage, never once faltering in her resolve. She is the backbone of our family, the one we turn to in times of need, knowing that her strength will carry us through even the darkest of days. But my mother is not just a beacon of strength; she is also a source of wisdom and guidance. Her words are infused with a depth of knowledge that can only come from a life well-lived. Whenever I am faced with a difficult decision or grappling with uncertainty, I know that I can turn to her for counsel, and she will always steer me in the right direction. Despite the many roles she juggles – mother, wife, daughter, friend – my mother always finds time to nurture her passions and pursue her dreams. Whether it’s tending to her garden, losing herself in a good book, or simply enjoying a quiet moment of reflection, she reminds me of the importance of self-care and staying true to oneself. Conclusion: In the tapestry of my life, my mother is the brightest thread, the one that adds color and meaning to the fabric of my existence. She is my rock, my confidante, and my greatest source of inspiration. As I navigate the journey of life, I am grateful to have her by my side, guiding me with her love, wisdom, and unwavering strength. My mother is not just a woman; she is a force of nature, and I am blessed to call her mine.

Final remarks

In conclusion, writing a 5-paragraph essay about your mother can be a meaningful and rewarding experience. By following the structure outlined in this guide, you can organize your thoughts and ideas clearly and effectively.

Remember to introduce your mother, explain your focus/theme, provide examples and anecdotes, and tie everything back to your thesis statement.

With these tips and tricks, you’ll be well on your way to crafting a compelling essay about the most important woman in your life.

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Writing My Mother’s Memoir: So Who Is She Really?

Denis’ mom is the one standing in center back.

If you are like me, you know many details of your mother’s—or father’s—life. But there may be many vague relationships between this event and that event, between causes and effects. In other words, your parent’s life may end up seeming a mishmash of dates and facts and impressions and none of them blending very well together.

Being a person who has always been interested in family history, I considered myself aware of my mother’s and my father’s lives. Having worked with people to write memoirs, I wanted to be sure that I was not caught, as so many people have been, with not getting my parents’ story while the story was still available—which it wasn’t in my father’s case as he was deceased.

I begin to write

In 2009, I began to focus on interviewing my mother. Every few weeks (she lived in a different city), I would visit with her and get in a half hour interview. Since my mother was not primarily interested in preserving her life story (it was my interest), she was not committed to a beginning-to-end interview process. What I ended up doing was simply asking her questions—often in a conversation. Once back home, I would write down her answers to my questions.

My mother did not always sense that I was interviewing her for her memoir. Every once in a while however, I specifically had to inquire, “When was the date that you did this or you did that?” or “Which came first: this event or that?” In those moments, she became aware that I was continuing to write her memoir.

Tweet: My mom asked, “Why are you writing my memoir? Who will want to read it?”http://bit.ly/1dyT1Ju

She also might say, “How in the world are you going to find enough information to fill the pages of a book, even a small book?”

Since I was also working full-time at my company  Memoir Network, writing my mother’s book fit in around the edges of books that I was editing, coaching, ghostwriting. and teaching. In short, it fit around my income production. This process is not unlike how most people will write either their own memoir or the memoir of a loved one.

The memoir continues to grow

Over the next four years, I interviewed my mother and wrote text. When my mother gave up her apartment and moved into an assisted-living facility, I knew the leisurely pace at which I had been writing had to change. I applied myself to completing the memoir and set a time for finishing. I had wanted to get to a later point in her life as the ending.

However my mother’s ability to contribute to the story was diminishing. She had less of a grasp on specific details, on dates, on who was there and who did what when. I opted for a different end point than I had anticipated, one that was closer to the time of the text that I had already written. This proved to be a good closing point even if it was disappointing to three of my siblings whose birth did not make it into the memoir. (I mentioned them in an afterword.)

What did I get from writing my mother’s story?

I got acceptance of her life, a sense of who she was, and that who she was was just fine.

Tweet: Writing my mother’s memoir gave me the opportunity to get to know her in an intimate way. http://bit.ly/1dyT1Ju

Writing my mother’s memoir gave me the opportunity to get to know her in an intimate way that I had not had the opportunity to before. Her past had been vague; the setting of her life not at all clear; the sequencing of events haphazard at best.

There were a few occasions in my mother’s life when her response was a hero’s response, when she rose to the needs of an occasion that was difficult to live. She conducted herself well in those circumstances. That is a hero’s response. But the bulk of my mother’s life was yoeman’s work, pick and shovel work. It consisted of making a home, going to work, raising children and so forth. It was day-after-day work. Now this may be hero’s work of a certain kind but it turned out that it was a rather humdrum and ordinary sort of work. In a way, my mother’s life helped me to understand and to accept my own yeoman’s work.

Finally, the hard copy was finished and I showed it to my mother.

Tweet: When she saw the memoir, she said “How in the world did you ever find enough to say about me to fill so many pages?” http://bit.ly/1dyT1Ju

As I wrote her life, one task that was important to me was to fit her life into a cultural, social, and historical context.

Large parts of the 208-page book have to do with her time, with cultural or historical events. For instance, there was a flood in her city in 1936. Briefly I wrote about that flood. There were developments in the political life of her city that affected her. I also dealt with these on occasion. There were historical contexts that made for why she lived where she lived.

Many details having to do with our ethnicity, details that distinguished her adaptation to American life from that of members of other groups, found their way into the book. My mother’s bigger picture was one that was familiar to me and it was not difficult to place her life in that larger context.

Tweet: Whether you are writing your own memoir or somebody else’s I urge you not to put the task off. http://bit.ly/1dyT1Ju

Go ahead and commit to writing. The benefits are well worth the effort that you will have to expend.

===========

Please note that some links on this blog may be affiliate links.

I believe in some ways all of our mothers were heroes. My mother passed many years ago and her story will go untold. There is a part of me that grieves that and wishes I had the opportunity to learn and understand her more. Our mothers will always be our mothers and I am sure yours was very special. Thank you for sharing your process with us. I have a friend in hospice who is not visited by her daughter (and consequently her grandchildren). When she was losing her ability to speak I was shocked that no one wanted to hear what she had to say. She is a wise and wonderful spirit. From what I see in the facility she lives at, there are many, many mothers whose families don’t realize the value of their words. Hopefully, you will inspire someone (or several someones) to go and listen to their wisdom and stories.

You reminded me of my feelings when my mom was intubated and couldn’t speak anymore. I thought about the times in the past I wished she would stop fussing, and now her fussing would have been music to my ears.

Dear Linda,

In the time between when I sent Flora my guest post about writing my mother’s memoir and now, my dear mother has passed away at 93, almost 94. Her end was rather quick and for that we need to be grateful, but it did catch us unaware even if we knew that the end, given that she was 93 and in assisted living, could not be distant.

The staff shared with my family how my mother was the most visited person on the floor. They remarked how she had a flow of guest, how there were always flowers in bloom in her room, how we were always checking in with the staff about her care. For us, all of this was what we expected of ourselves—I supposed what our mother raised us to be.

One staffer told my brother, “Your family does so much for your mother.” He replied, “Well, I think we’re still thousands of soggy diapers and hundreds of sick crying nights in arrears. It’s not something we’ll ever catch up on.”

Your story of elders being abandoned is all too frequent.

I am so pleased to have written my mother’s story. It is very comforting to me

You have honored your mother in many ways. She was truly blessed to have you complete her memoir, and be surrounded by loved ones as she made her transition.

I’m happy that writing her story brings you comfort. It also encourages the rest of us who are considering writing our own memoirs.

Thank you again for sharing it with us.

Thanks for sharing the process of writing your mother’s memoir. I hope it will encourage those who still can hear their mother’s voice to ask questions and listen more.

Dear Gladys,

I second your encouragement.

While I wrote my mother’s memoir in the first person because she spoke it to me and I read every word to her for her approval, it is possible to write the story in the third person if a parent is not present to participate.

Have you written the memoir of one of your parents?

I’m hoping that this Denis’ message is heeded by others who have considered writing memoirs. I’m happy you chimed in to underscore this important task.

Denis: I am sorry for your loss and am sending prayers for you, your mother, and everyone involved. I am also so pleased to hear how your family came together for her. She was clearly a remarkable and well-loved woman.

When I finished clearing out my mother’s house after her death, I *had* to write her story. I discovered too many objects that held funny memories for me to keep them secret. I thought others whose parents encountered obstacles would be inspired by a strong woman who faced the tough times and partied on.

Thanks to sharing your experience with what moved you to write your mom’s story. I discovered we uncover many memories when go through a loved ones belongings after they passed. I had this experience when my son died this year. Your mom’s life was amazing.

Greetings, I am writing the story of my mother’s life. She was a tap dancer in New York in the 1930’s. She worked with Ed Wynn, Al Jolson and many others. I believe it will be self published and/or Kindle published. I wonder if I should write it in third person. What do you think?

Hi Patricia, there is no one right answer. If your book is based on interviewing your mother, like Denis Ledoux did, then writing is first person in appropriate. If, however, you’re writing it based on your memories and research, third person seems to be the preferred approach. If you belong to writers groups online and off, you can ask this question to see what they recommend. Best wishes for your book’s success. The topic certainly has widespread interest.

Dear Ms. Flora,

Thank you so much for your prompt answer. I had started in the second person tense, a familiar tone, but then realized that third person was probably the best one to narrate a story. Mother was somewhat well known in the 1930’s and I have found MANY newspaper clippings from that era as well as some beautiful photographs. I think this will make a good book as soon as I am able to gather all the research materials. Thank you again for the advice.

Sincerely, Patricia

Patricia, How wonderful that you have access to first-hand information on your mother. I urge you to be steadfast in writing your book. Many people have great stories to share but never get them done. Remember that writing your first draft is critical. Get your thoughts down without editing as you go. Once you’ve finished the rough draft you can begin the editing and then bring in a professional editor to polish it. Have you decided to seek an agent or do you plan to publish it yourself. Keep up the good work.

Flora, yes I am finding so much on mother. The newspapers.com website has given me so much in the way of pictures and articles. I am searching for her dance teacher and her connections with theater. I am following Mother’s life through about 1942 when she joined the Army, and after that her life with me. As for publishing, I was thinking maybe self- or on Kindle. Not sure. I have heard that most publishers will not take new authors.

Patricia, many people choose self-publishing because it’s the fastest way to get published. While it’s true that major publishers take very few new authors, it doesn’t mean it’s impossible. I recommend that you subscribe to a few other newsletters/blogs to learn what your options are in the industry. Google these folks==>Amy Collins, Judith Briles, Jane Friedman, Hugh Howey, Joel Friedlander and join groups like IndiesUnlimited.com, https://www.allianceindependentauthors.org/ , http://thecreativepenn.com , http://creativindie.com These will help you get up to speed on the industry as you continue to gather research. Learning about the publishing industry is part of your research too.

Thank you so much for sharing your experience. My mother, a great woman recently died at 64. I wish i started her Memoir when she was alive, but i didn’t know she was going to die. i want to write her memoir now, before the memories fade from people’s mind. The experience you shared will be so helpful.

Hi Chioma, I’m delighted that the post is helpful. Best wishes in getting your memoir written.

Is there some way I can find some information on how to fill out chapters, and how much research on related areas I should do. For instance, if I am writing about my mother’s tap dancing career, shall I write an entire chapter on tap, which is related to her indirectly?

There is no place to turn to for the information you seek. Usually this discernment is work done with an editor or coach. I would say that a chapter deals with one action, one event or one grouping of energy. Your mother’s tap dancing career may have enough drama in it to warrant a chapter and then it might really be part of a series of quests she undertook. I would write it out and only then ask about whether it is sufficient for a chapter. This is the part of writing that is the art part. Good luck.

Thank you-some very good points. I am going to need a mentor. Does anyone here know where I can find one, and what they would charge?

I’d be happy to help point you in the right direction. Contact me and tell me if you’re interested in publishing your book or you just want to leave your story behind for your family. In either case, prices vary. Visit my site, florabrown.com, to see the courses I offer.

Dear Denis I want to embark on writing about my mother’s extraordinary life but also to include myself in the latter years. Do I write in the first or third person? Is a memoir a story? is it like a biography? sorry to bother you but I would be grateful for an answer ..thank you

Contact Denis on his website at https://thememoirnetwork.com/

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5 Tips on How to Write a Book About Your Mother

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Everything Diagonal Sliced Jeans

Blue stonewashed jeans featuring a high waist, and diagonal slash detailing. The jeans are finished with a zip and button fastening.

There are all types of mothers in the world, and there are many things that are written about mothers every day. Mothers have inspired everyone from world leaders to the kid down the block. Yet, most of these moms will never have their moment in the sun beyond their immediate circle of family and friends. By learning how to write a book about your mother, you have an opportunity to create something really special that will be a lasing tribute.

Tip One: Decide on a Memoir or Fictional Representation

To begin your journey of writing a book about your mom, you first need to know what type of book you want to write. You can write a memoir, which includes memories and stories about various aspects of your mother’s life.

Or, you can choose to make your mom a fictional character in a book that is inspired by her life story. Both choices will require you to know a lot of background information about your mother. A memoir will probably be more of an emotional experience for you than a fictional account.

Tip Two: Gather the Facts

Okay, now that you know which direction you’re going to take with this book, it’s time to gather lots of facts about mom. Sure, you grew up with her and have lots of memories, but you’re not the only one that she interacts with.

But still, you should start with your own special memories about her. Then you can go about interviewing various family, friends and acquaintances about what they know, or remember about her. You’ll be surprised at the things you don’t know about dear old mom.

If your book is not going to be a surprise gift for your mom, then go ahead and interview her about her life story. She’ll probably be more than happy to sit down with you over your favorite meal and chat about events from the past. Of course, if it is a gift, you can be sneaky and secretly record her memories.

Tip Three: Create an Outline

Even though you’re writing about your own mother, the book still needs to be organized in a way that makes it easy for readers. The easiest way would be to start from the beginning and take it all the way to the present day. Or, you can focus on a very specific time or event in her life, and use that as a basis for the book.

Each chapter will talk about a specific time and place or event.

For example, Chapter One: Running Errands for A Nickel and an Ice Cream Cone

This chapter sets up the story of how a mom often ran errands as a little girl, and had some funny things happen while doing it.

Tip Four: Stay Objective

Because you are so close to the subject of the book, you may at times get overly emotional and drift towards too much sentimental mush. Or, if you have a testy relationship with your mom, too much negativity can cloud a good story.

If you’re going to commit to being the author of your mother’s memoir, then think of yourself as a writer who has been hired to write this book. Your main goal is to write about your mother’s ups and downs in an entertaining and enlightening manner. You can only do this if you can keep your own deep emotions out of it. Save all of those pent up feelings for your own memoir.

Tip Five: Take Your Time

If other people are going to read this book, then take your time to do a good job of covering your mother’s story. If you are a first time author, you’ll quickly discover that writing a book is a step-by-step process that involves putting your thoughts into the right words.

I suggest that when working on the first draft, you just allow the words to flow out of you freely, without much thought about trying to make it perfect. This way, what you really want to say will come out of you a lot easier. You can always go back later and edit what you’ve written.

Source by Donna Monday

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Writing women’s history: Why you need to write your mother’s story

Marilyn Norry on writing women’s history, starting with your mother

It never occurred to me to write my mother’s story until I met Marilyn and attended one of her workshops on how to do just that. It was an enlightening experience, and in our conversation below, Marilyn shares a recipe to help you write your mother’s story.

Marilyn Norry is a Vancouver-based actor, playwright, and author of a new book,  Writing Women’s History: starting with your mother.  She is on a mission to empower each of us to write our mother’s story—about her life as a woman of her times, not just as a mother.

This might sound a little daunting; it was for me, but Marilyn makes it easy to get started, and her origin story made me see my mother’s story in a whole new light.

It all began in 2004 when Marilyn was at a wedding listening to a friend tell a story when her friend said, “To know what I mean, you have to know my mother’s story” and proceeded to tell the details of her mother’s life (born here, moved there, did this, did that) in about 5 minutes.

Marilyn found this story fascinating, and, even though she thought her mother’s life ordinary in comparison, told her friend the story of her mother’s life back, just the facts. Her friend was enchanted. A few days later Marilyn asked her women actor friends to send her the story of their mother’s life in 2000 words or less.

It became clear that regardless whether these women thought their own mothers ordinary, they did in fact lead extraordinary lives, and collectively their stories portray the history of 20th-century women, a history not recorded anywhere else.

The group started having meetings to read their stories to one another and compare experiences. Writing that simple story had been an exercise of both high anxiety and great liberation.  Sharing them with friends was another experience again.

The stories collected for the project inspired the creation of numerous projects:  MyMothersStory.org an online archive, writing workshops, anthologies: My Mother’s Story:The Originals (2012) and My Mother’s Story: North Vancouver (2012), radio and film documentaries, plays, and a nascent social movement, telling women’s history…one mother at a time.

Writing Women’s History: starting with your mother is available on Amazon

In conversation with Marilyn Norry

I caught up with Marilyn recently to ask what she has learned since the inception of My Mother’s Story (MMS). Here’s our conversation.

Can you tell me why you created My Mother’s Story? 

I was searching for stories of women. I felt there had to be more than the derivative characters I was auditioning for and reading in scripts and seeing on the screen. What I found was a fog of silence that prevents most people from even seeing notable aspects of women’s lives.

It’s easy for all of us to diminish the importance of women, as if half the human race doesn’t want to call attention to themselves. We downplay; we discredit; we devalue women’s lives. We all do this. For many of us, this is especially true of the stories around our mothers. We say she was nothing special, average, just a mom.

For people wanting to write memoir or biography, this fog around women’s lives makes their stories dull. Through this project, I’ve discovered many people now understand storytelling better through watching movies than reading books. Using techniques that come from writing movies and plays, they’re able to see their mothers and all women as human beings and the fog dissipates. They are able to write the stories they grew up on, the stories of their families and see them as unique and extraordinary.

Writing about your mother in this way contributes to a collective history where women are seen as well as heard. It’s about uncovering all the great stories we have within us so we can better appreciate what has shaped us – as individuals, as communities, and as the human race. It’s time to fill in the holes in our human tapestry and who best to do it than you? Who best to inspire you than your mother? We will never know the history of women until we start talking about our mothers.

Why should we write My Mother’s Story?

We are all storytellers but many people believe sit’s someone else’s job to write them down. They feel overwhelmed at the thought of writing, not knowing how to organize the swirling thoughts and emotions, the unhealed trauma of their family life into a coherent story. I say stop thinking of your life story like a book and see it as a movie. Not what you think is going on inside someone’s head, not looking at your analysis, your issues, but just what happened. That’s a story. And in this project, it’s not about you.

It’s an overlooked but useful step in individuation to make peace with who your mother actually was.Beyond honouring or praising or continuing to hate her, you will find peace when you understand her, adult to adult. As writer Mitch Albom says, her stories are where yours begin. And we need to do it because women’s history needs to be recorded. And, you’ll discover, if you write her story, you can write anything.

Yes, there are therapeutic values that will come from this but this is not therapy. We are artists creating a work of art: we are writing the story of a life.

I love that you draw upon your cinematic and theatrical background to teach us how to tell a story. Can you share your recipe?

Write your mother’s story in less than 2000 words. The facts, ma’am, just the facts, and keep yourself out of the story as much as possible. You are just one fact in her story. We call this story a “character arc” —a device used in scriptwriting to track a character’s emotional and narrative journey from beginning to end. There will be “plot points” that are most important in your mother’s life, such as her hopes and dreams, first love, graduation, adventures, marriage, and so on.

I found that exercise so illuminating. I realised I did not know a lot of details about my mother’s life before I was born, so I called her up and interviewed her— twice. I wrote up her story in time for Mother’s Day and read it to her over the phone and she thought it was pretty good. The experience has certainly helped me understand her better as her own person, just like you say.

At your book launch, you asked the audience “What did you feel at the suggestion to write your mother’s story? Delight? Fear? Outrage? Did you think what a wonderful idea for someone else?” Why do you think there is so much emotion about telling MMS?

We all have a hesitation to truly tell the story of what our mother lived through. As far as I can tell this is common all over the world. I believe it’s linked to the silence around women’s lives. Could it be we believe we have no voice just as our mother had no voice? That we can only stay safe by staying silent? As babies, we believe our survival depends on not making mom mad and some people hold on to this fear of abandonment even if their mother died 40 years ago. There’s also the fear that writing her story will involve looking at unexamined grief and resentments which can be painful. Memories often hold on to the emotions that were there at the time of the event. They dissipate in writing but few believe me when I tell them this until they really get into it.

What have you learned since you started My Mother’s Story in 2004?

Everyone has a mother and every mother has a story. Transcendence comes when these stores are shared. We experience how we’re all so different and yet so much alike. Here I found great theatre, those moments and events you hope to capture in a script, in a show, but rarely achieve. Living, authentic, heart-based stories. People don’t realize the power of the stories they grew up on.

Many people today want to write memoir or biography but it’s hard. Thoughts and feelings swirl around. How do we distinguish what’s important? What’s necessary? What’s clutter? Great literature has not helped these writers find their way. Great writers make it all look easy. They can have themes jumping back and forth in time; their meanderings are interesting and insightful.

Regular writers are rarely so clever. In movies the action has to be simple, the story contained. The strong structure of the writing recipe we use holds people to the facts of a story told in chronological order. This constantly brings writers back to their story as they organize their memories.

You describe Writing Women’s History: starting with your mother  as a history lesson, a meditation journal, a project, a challenge, a manifesto, a call to action, and an archive. What is it your hope for the book? It sounds like you want to create a movement. Can you say more about that?

I hope that through this exercise people get some sense of the larger tapestry of humanity we all live in. It is so huge, so varied and contains all the good and bad, our best and worst, and the only way we can know this is by telling our stories. Especially the stories of women that haven’t been told.

Here’s one thing: The stories of our families are the most important stories of our lives. They are what made us, they are the beginning of how we have defined who we are. Here’s another thing: At this time of human history we need to record what was because our present and our future are all changing so fast. But here’s the problem: we write down facts, birthdates, marriages, deaths); but we tell stories (car trips, washing dishes, after one drink too many).

What would it take to write down the stories we know: where your mother was born, what her parents were like, how she met your father? Writing about your mother in this way contributes to a collective history where women are seen as well as heard.We can’t rely on these being saved only through oral tradition anymore. We have to write down the stories in order for them to be saved, in order for the future to know who we were.

My hope is that people realize that this exercise is an empathy builder, a community healer, a voice builder, a shame-shatterer, and the start of many meaningful conversations.

Well, I think you are on your way, Marilyn. Your book was snapped up by everyone, at your book launch — including past workshop participants. Some of us bought extra copies to give to family members and friends, a testament to the power of writing your mother’s story.

Now it’s your turn

Are you up for the challenge of writing your mother’s story in 2000 words? Marilyn’s phenomenal workbook is designed to guide you through a step-by-step process of writing the story of your mother’s life. Along the way you will be asked a series of questions for reflection and illumination, given tips for overcoming writer’s block, provided with story prompts, and a template for crafting your story.

Get started now and read your story to your mother on Mother’s Day. (If she has passed on, read it to at least one other person close to you.)

My advice is to learn with friends. Hearing friends tell their mother’s stories motivated me to tell my own. Plus, it created a great bonding experience. Enjoy your learning journey

Buy Writing Women’s History: starting with your mother on Amazon

You are invited to post your mother’s story in the archive at www.mymothersstory.org where they are saved for present reading and future generations.

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Mother Biographies Samples For Students

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WowEssays.com paper writer service proudly presents to you a free database of Mother Biographies aimed to help struggling students deal with their writing challenges. In a practical sense, each Mother Biography sample presented here may be a guidebook that walks you through the critical phases of the writing procedure and showcases how to pen an academic work that hits the mark. Besides, if you require more visionary help, these examples could give you a nudge toward a fresh Mother Biography topic or inspire a novice approach to a threadbare theme.

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Good Example Of My Childhood To Adult Biography

Chapter 1-childhood, sample biography on autobiography, la malinche biography, introduction.

Dona Marina, also called Malintzin, or La Malinche (1496-1529) was an American Indian originating from the Nahua (Aztec) ancestry. Malinche played a very important role during the conquest of Mexico by the Spanish. She was believed to be a princess of the Aztec language (Nahuatl) speaking tribe and was sold as a slave in her youth to the coastal traders because of the family politics.

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“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice, and most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.” Steve Jobs

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The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, which was written by Frederick Douglass himself, sheds valuable insight into the man who is today known so well for his participation in the Anti-Slavery movement during the 19th century. Years after escaping slavery in Maryland, he got it published in 1845 by the Anti-Slavery office in Boston, Massachusetts. Douglass was born into slavery, suffered its hopeless cruelties, and eventually escaped to the north to live out his days with his wife, Anna. This is a brief description of his life up to the time he became influential in the Anti-Slavery cause.

Frederick Douglass' Story

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In the history of computing, there are many names. These are the names of a number of near Ada Lovelace and Charles Burbidge. Charles Babbage is the person who created the drawings of the analytical engine, and the woman who wrote the world's first software for this machine. She was a great mathematician and a very persistent woman; it did not disappoint even the fact that she did not see her program works.

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Franklin Delano Roosevelt served as America’s 32 nd President. He came into power during The Great Depression and is one of the leaders who made a great impact in American economy and politics. His famous for championing for the New Deal; that was geared towards lifting America out of it then economic crisis. Both his critics and supporters would agree that he was one of America’s most influential presidents. Below is a short biographical account of Roosevelt’s life, political career and contributions to the American economy.

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The journey to being enterprising is not easy. It involves a lot of effort from the entrepreneur (Justin). This report focuses on two entrepreneurs in the same industry. It investigates their background of each of the entrepreneurs so as to be able to determine the success factors in their life. Besides, it gives a comparison and a contrast of these entrepreneurs and above all the obstacles that they had to overcome before achieving their success.

Willard Marriott

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Essay on My Mother for Schools Students and Children

500+ words essay on my mother.

My mother is an ordinary woman she is my superhero. In every step of my, she supported and encouraged me. Whether day or night she was always there for me no matter what the condition is. Furthermore, her every work, persistence, devotion, dedication, conduct is an inspiration for me. In this essay on my mother, I am going to talk about my mother and why she is so special to me.

Why I Love My Mother So Much?

I love her not because she is my mother and we should respect our elders. I respect her because she has taken care of me when I was not able to speak. At that time, she has taken care of all my needs when I wasn’t able to speak.

Additionally, she taught me how to walk, speak, and take care of myself. Similarly, every bigger step that I have taken in my life is all because of my mother. Because, if she hasn’t taught me how to take small steps then I won’t be able to take these bigger step.

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She is an essence of truthfulness, love, and sincerity. Another reason is that she showers her family with her blessing and live. Furthermore, she gives us everything but never demand anything in return. The way she cares for everyone in the family inspires me to the same in my future.

Also, her love is not just for the family she treats every stranger and animals the same way she did to me. Due to, this she is very kind and sensible towards the environment and animals.

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Her Strengths

Although she is not physically very strong she faces every hurdle of her life and of the family too. She motivates me to be like her and never submit in difficult times. Above all, my mother encourages me to improve my all-round skills and studies. She motivates me to try again and again till I get success in it.

A Companion of Trouble

Whenever I was in trouble or scolded by dad I run towards my mother as she is the only one that can save me from them. Whether a small homework problem or a bigger problem she was always there for me.

When I was afraid of the dark she would become my light and guide me in that darkness. Also, if I can’t sleep at night she would hold my head on her lap until I fell asleep. Above all, she never leaves my side even in the hardest of times.

Every mother is special for her children. She is a great teacher, a lovely friend, a strict parent. Also, she takes cares of the need of the whole family. If there is anyone out there who loves us more than our mother is only God. Not just for my mother but for every mother out there who lives her life for her family deserves praiseworthy applause.

Frequently Asked Questions for You

Q.1 When did the Mother’s Day be celebrated in India and why?

A.1 Mother’s Day is celebrated on the Second Sunday in the month of May. It’s celebrated to appreciate the hard work that our mother’s do in their life. And the sacrifices that they make to keep their family happy.

Q.2 Why mother is so special?

A.2 They are special because they are mothers. They are the superwomen that do all the housework, teach and take care of their children, looks after her husband, do her job and at the end of the day if you ask for her help she says ‘yes’ with a smile on her face.

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I Have the Urge to Write About My Mother

She is the source of my love of others..

Posted September 15, 2021 | Reviewed by Lybi Ma

When I was growing up and I would hit my brother (as older sisters have been known to do), my mom would squat down, leveling herself eye-to-eye with me, and hold my small hands in her palms. She would calmly and quietly say, “let’s talk about what made you want to hit Duncan, Maya. I want to know more about what your body needs at this moment.” My body needed to whoop on my brother, I didn’t have the words to explain why and I certainly didn’t care to stay in this awkward encounter any longer to try and find them. My friends would complain about being grounded and parents that yelled; in these moments of exploring my needs, I’d yearn to get sent to my room and for a good ole fashioned door slam. But that is life as the daughter of a psychoanalyst .

I have the urge to write about my mother. She is the source of my love of people, my curiosity about the world around me, and my unrelenting optimism . From reading her journals, unearthed from a storage unit, and I cannot put them down. They started in 1976, as she dealt with infertility and spent her days dreaming of children that she believed would never come (I did, in 1983, and my brother, two years later). They end in 1995 when I’m certain my entrance into my teenage years crushed her spirit and ended her free time to journal.

As I read them, I alternate between fits of laughter and unending tears as she reflects on my eating patterns and my ability to recite the alphabet at four years old (which honestly, feels a little late). She has given me such a gift in these journals and it’s not just the ability to see the ways in which I am succeeding as a mother but they’re also reinforcing my ability to remember to forgive myself for the times I lose my temper, understand that my best can look different every day, and accept that raising another human being is the thing most often written about and least understood. She and I accidentally chose a similar path, focusing our lives on making sure other people’s kids were OK, and now, the two paths cross. My mother, the psychoanalyst, created a roadmap for me in these journals. And this is some of what I learned.

Putting my thoughts somewhere, whether by writing them, filming them, recording them, or using a note-taking app, journaling has always helped me cope. When it was a homework assignment in second grade, I filled pages in the orange journals with several enthusiastic “very, very, verys” when reflecting on how fun that playdate with Audrey was. I wrote about everything, and it all felt inconsequential and free of judgment but as I read what my mom wrote on a regular Tuesday when I was two, I know the inconsequential is what makes a life well-lived. Journaling has had a positive psychological and physiological impact on me. Journaling gives me the opportunity to process my emotions and in the long term, this form of reflection reminds me to listen to my inner self and my needs more closely. This helped me relieve my stress and learn that expressive writing has proven benefits. There is research on how writing can change the way that stress is organized in the brain.

This journal is very judgmental. She judged me thoroughly. For me, it’s inevitable for the opinions and actions of those we love to not affect us, especially as parents. However, it is just now, at 37 years old, that I am reading what she really thought about that first middle school boyfriend I had. She closed her bedroom door in 1994, after listening to me talk about how I was certain that I’d marry him, and she wrote about it. To my face, she took my words seriously, listened carefully, and validated everything that I had to say. She’d be at the wedding, she too was certain we were destined to be together, she’d say. In her journal, she wrote otherwise. I learned that I needed to live in a world without judgment and shame and when I felt those natural feelings, I needed a safe place to put them. The blank pages of a journal or in a conversation with my therapist allowed me to safely release those thoughts.

I needed my mom to believe in me, support me, celebrate me, and listen to me. Through this, I learned to be more careful about placing judgment and shame on my children. Especially when engaging in hard conversations.

In my mother’s journal, the shortcomings that my mother had were discussed often — her career , as a mother, as a wife, as a cook, as a connoisseur of the English language. She spoke about them and wrote about them often and it isn’t until now, when I need my own shortcomings validated, I realize how important it is to talk about failure, celebrate it, and hopefully, normalize it.

For me, this means celebrating my accomplishments, forgiving my shortcomings, supporting the people around me, and keeping documenting how I get through each day. Now especially, it’s part of my survival in these troubling times.

Stress-induced changes in modular organizations of human brain functional networks; Neurobiology of Stress , Volume 13, November 2020.

Maya Enista Smith is the executive director of Born This Way Foundation.

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How To Write A Descriptive Essay On Mother?

Table of Contents

Got a bit lost by trying to find out how to write an essay “the person I admire is my mother”?

Let’s start off with an obvious setting. Your mom is the most important person in your life but writing a good descriptive paper, where you explain what kind of person she is and why she is special, may be more than challenging.

Although you have to talk about your personal experience and feelings, you should also appeal to your audience’s senses and evoke emotions.

That is not easy.

We are about to provide you with all the necessary information, that would help you create an interesting, thought-provoking essay on mother, impress your teacher and classmates, and get a high grade.

What is a descriptive essay?

Let’s start with a simple definition.

Descriptive essay is a piece of writing where you describe something in a highly detailed manner, using sensory information and colourful words.

It can be an object, place, thing, experience, situation, or a person. It’s an artistic writing form, often poetic in nature. The purpose of this type of writing is to reveal the meaning of a subject, using sensory observation.

Actually, you have to create a detailed picture for readers with specific vivid words and evoke a strong sense of familiarity and appreciation. Your task is to describe something in a way the audience could see, hear or feel whatever you are talking about.

You can do it, utilizing illustrative language and including a lot of sensory details. It’s not enough to provide readers with several random facts; you should express your own feelings and appeal to your audience’s senses and emotions.

There are certain useful techniques you should follow if you plan to achieve these goals. But before we start discussing how to write a descriptive essay about a person, let’s talk about specific features of descriptive writing when it comes to creating an impressive paper on mother.

Specifics of essay on mother

In a strong paper on mother, you actually need to describe a person you love and it’s important to ensure that this description is sensory-based.

You should utilize the most specific concepts to help readers see your mother and understand what feelings she invokes in you.

You should show rather than tell readers what your mom is like and what kind of person she is.

Remember: when you just tell something, your words can be interpreted in a variety of ways, as words are vague. But when showing the picture via describing specific details, you create a vivid, real picture.

What are the qualities of a good mother essay? Let’s see.

• The text is clear and concise;
• It presents colourful images and appeals to the readers’ imagination;
• The key to a perfect descriptive essay about my mother is painting a picture in your readers’ mind by engaging all five senses – sight, smell, sound, taste, and touch.

How to write a descriptive essay about a person?

Descriptive writing has a unique power and appeal. Its main goal is to create a dominant impression.

If we analyze any good descriptive essay sample about a person, we will see that it’s a sensory description, that helps create a certain mood or atmosphere in a paper. Utilizing sensory details, you will be able to recreate the picture that you have in your mind for all readers.

Here are some effective techniques you should apply to make your descriptions more impressive. You can apply them to the other essay types and get an interesting and memorable result.

• Use sensory-packed language instead of vague general words.
• Figurative language such as similes, metaphors, comparison, contrasts, and analogies can help you make descriptions more lively and paint a picture in your reader’s mind.
• Use  precise language like strong action verbs, specific nouns, and adjectives to give life to this great picture. Appropriate nouns and verbs help deliver a strong emotional impact on any audience.
• Keep thoughts organized . Use any order you think is appropriate, like due to importance, spatial order (location) or chronological order (time). Each would be good for a descriptive paper.

How to start a descriptive essay about a person?

You may begin with the description of the physical appearance. Proceed with the explanation of how the person feels, thinks, and acts. Don’t forget about the interests, hobbies, and talents.

Remember that clear, logical, and well-balanced structure is the key to success of high-school writing or a college paper.

Although a descriptive paper relies on emotional appeal and allows students to be more creative than other types of high-school projects, you should brainstorm a lot of different ideas and create a basic outline to put ideas in the logical order.

The outline should include an intro with a thesis statement, the main body, and a conclusion.

In the main body, you should focus on the specific qualities of the person you describe.

Think of several ideas to support the main topic idea and use at least 3 other ideas to support topic in each paragraph.

You should do your best to make the content as appealing as possible, and leave your audience (not acquainted with your mom) with a strong feeling that they have actually met her and have built an emotional connection.

General recommendations for an essay about mom

• When writing an essay about mom, you need to describe a real person so you should think about your mother’s life and background.
• Before you start writing, think about the purpose of the whole paper. Decide what overall impression you want to convey. Create your general point, your unique thesis statement. Organize the entire paper around it.
• You can start with an interesting relevant quote or provide a short funny story about your mother in the introduction to grab readers’ attention. You can also present a variety of reasons, explaining why you want to describe your mother .
• Another great way to make a descriptive paper more engaging is to include a short dialogue .
• In conclusion, you should present the main ideas of your description and emphasize their significance.
• When you describe your mom’s appearance, don’t use a list-like approach. The task is not to describe everything from the top of her head down to her toes. Speak of particular aspects of your mother’s appearance, instead. That can help reveal her unique personality.
• Don’t describe the full picture. Create an engaging description that will encourage your readers’ imagination .
• Don’t use the same subject-verb pattern in all sentences because it will make your tone rather monotonous. Embed descriptive details and combine different sentences, instead. Utilize subjective clauses and compound sentences to express thoughts .
• Don’t use too many adjectives when describing your mother’s appearance or character. Include only the most powerful words .
• Avoid using clichés because they signal a lack of imagination. Be creative and use a dictionary to find vivid descriptive words.
• Don’t use too many adverbs, they make any writing weak. It’s better to use specific verbs to describe actions . They make writing more powerful.
• Use different transition words to connect all ideas and make the description of your mother logical .
• When you finish your first draft, focus on improving your descriptions . Add some sensory details to make your paper appeal to readers’ emotions.
• When you are satisfied with the content, proofread the final draft . Fix minor grammar mistakes, punctuation, spelling errors, and typos.

Now you know the basics on how to compose a descriptive essay about a person you love.

But before you start writing your own paper, there is the last advice we got for you.

Try reading a well-written descriptive essay about a person you admire example. It would provide you with a better understanding of the effective techniques you can use.

No time for writing the essay about your mom? No worries. Leave the essay to the top-notch professionals and spend more time with your family!

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Teaching my children to be good citizens: How to foster empathy through philanthropic giving

PeopleImages.com - Yuri A/ Shutterstock

As parents, we can empower our children to shape the future by instilling habits of generosity. Data shows that being generous also improves well-being and mental health—benefiting everyone.

By Laura Andes June 15, 2024

In our house, donating to charity is as routine as washing the dishes. 

But just like washing the dishes, my kids didn’t adopt this habit overnight or on their own. As someone with 15 years of experience in global health and human services, and now the Chief Program Officer at Charity Navigator , I’ve seen firsthand how far a generous act can take someone. From an early age, I’ve emphasized the importance of philanthropy to my children so they could cultivate empathy as they grew up.

As parents, we can empower our children to shape the future by instilling habits of generosity. Data shows that being generous also improves well-being and mental health—- benefiting everyone. Here’s what we do in our family.

Related: Out with the old: 7 places to donate baby clothes and gear

How to teach children the importance of donating to charity 

Model values .

I try to model the values I want to instill in my children. My kids are always watching me (even when I wish they wouldn’t), so I try to make a conscious effort to expose them to regular acts of altruism so that giving becomes normalized behavior. Letting children participate in “adult” decisions about giving allows them to internalize its importance. Young kids don’t really understand the concept of money, but they do understand helping those in need. Sharing the reasons behind donations and their potential impact fosters an understanding of why giving matters.

Related: 18 life-changing charities to donate to on Giving Tuesday

Empower children to give

It is never too early to empower children by allowing them to make their own philanthropic decisions. My goal is to help my children understand their ability to enact change, no matter the size of the contribution. Starting as early as 3 or 4 years old, we encouraged our children to use their own money for charitable giving by putting as little as a dollar a month into a “Share” jar. This enabled meaningful contributions to causes they cared about. 

The conversation starts with discussing problems they want to solve locally or globally. Then, they browse Charity Navigator to find highly-rated organizations that speak to their interests—my son chose environmental organizations, while my daughter chose an emergency shelter. Even though they both donated less than $12 each, they felt proud making an  “adult” decision with real impact.

Related: What are Buy Nothing groups? These online communities can help you get secondhand goods for free

Engage in your community 

 It’s crucial to model community involvement by seeking opportunities to engage in our community alongside our children. We found lots of different ways to be good citizens in our community by seeing what our local organizations needed and getting involved—something as simple as park cleanups or playing in charity sports games.

However, as with most things in life, community engagement requires baby steps. For example, our family once cooked and shared a meal with unhoused families. My outgoing kids immediately organized a game of tag with the other kids, becoming fast friends the way children sometimes do. On the car ride home, my son asked, “Were those kids the ones we brought food for?” I said yes. Then he asked, “They don’t have a home? They seem just like me, though.” That day, they realized that being in need doesn’t make someone “less” or different—it could be friends or neighbors going through a rough time. We hope experiences like this instill a sense of empowerment to take future action.

Related: 9 charities helping moms

Philanthropic giving fosters empathy 

Getting kids to donate hasn’t always been easy. They’ve questioned why part of their allowance goes to charity when other kids “get to spend the whole thing.” My son, especially, is often tempted by the new toys or games at the top of his wish list, pushing back against charitable giving. However, after family discussions on the importance of giving back, he’s usually the first to select a charity to give to. Slowly, he is learning to prioritize community needs over personal wants.

Philanthropic giving and volunteering fosters awareness of broader challenges people face, cultivating empathy. Like many parents, we strive for age-appropriate conversations about world issues—-challenges within communities or on a broader scale. Together as a family, we address these by donating, volunteering or using our voice.

In an ideal world, my kids would request charity donations instead of toys or games for their birthdays. Raising the next generation of good, generous humans can feel overwhelming, especially when it feels like the world’s problems keep piling up. As parents, we manage these emotions by remembering everyone is simply doing their best. Doing what you can, however small, is better than inaction—and feels better, too.

This story is a part of The Motherly Collective contributor network where we showcase the stories, experiences and advice from brands, writers and experts who want to share their perspective with our community. We believe that there is no single story of motherhood, and that every mother's journey is unique. By amplifying each mother's experience and offering expert-driven content, we can support, inform and inspire each other on this incredible journey. If you're interested in contributing to The Motherly Collective please click here .

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Dear Abby: Mom’s needs are making it impossible to live my own life

• Published: Jun. 22, 2024, 6:00 a.m.

I am going crazy. (Getty Images)

• Abigail Van Buren

DEAR ABBY: I am 49. I grew up in a toxic, abusive household. My mother can’t drive. She’s broke and needs me. Up until the last few years, she has been a nightmare.

I’m a single mom of three children and I work A LOT. On weekends, I’d like to rest and try to have a social life, but my mother wants me to come nearly every Saturday to take her out and visit with the kids. She lives 45 minutes away and it’s an all-day endeavor.

I am going crazy. I have no social life, and I’d like to get remarried one day. Would it be selfish to visit only once a month? I need to focus more on myself and my needs. I don’t know what to do or what to suggest for my mother to do in my absence. -- NO LIFE IN SOUTH CAROLINA

DEAR NO LIFE: Remind your mother that you work hard all week and during the last few years you have sacrificed your personal time to be her chauffeur. Explain that you need time for yourself and can only visit her once a month.

Do not expect her to like it, but you MUST take time for yourself to unwind and have a social life. Advise her that there may be a senior center near her that provides the transportation she needs for activities. Then stand your ground.

Stories by Abigail Van Buren

• Dear Abby: Three wrongs don’t make a right, they make a mess
• Dear Abby: A DJ that changed my life deserves thanks I never gave him
• Dear Abby: About to start new chapter with a husband I can no longer stand
• Dear Abby: Tenant gets drunk and reveals secret, now I want him out
• Dear Abby: Crushing breakup at the end of a relationship I poured everything into

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.

For everything you need to know about wedding planning, order “How to Have a Lovely Wedding.” Send your name and mailing address, plus check or money order for $8 (U.S. funds) to: Dear Abby, Wedding Booklet, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, IL 61054-0447. (Shipping and handling are included in the price.)

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• Entertainment
• The True Story of the Fake Kidnapping Behind the Sherri Papini Docuseries <i>Perfect Wife</i>

The True Story of the Fake Kidnapping Behind the Sherri Papini Docuseries Perfect Wife

F rom the outside, Keith and Sherri Papini appeared to have an idyllic life. Together since 2006, the married Redding, Calif. couple were outwardly loving toward each other and their two young children; they had good friends and family living nearby; Keith was a Home Theater Specialist at Best Buy and Sherri had been employed as an account executive for AT&T but later became a stay-at-home mom. 

Then one day, in late 2016, Sherri disappeared, kicking off a nationwide search. About three weeks later, on Thanksgiving, Sherri turned back up . She claimed she’d been abducted, branded, and tortured by two Hispanic women before being released on the side of the road.

It was a captivating story—except none of it was true. Perfect Wife: The Mysterious Disappearance of Sherri Papini , a new three-part Hulu docuseries from filmmakers Erin Lee Carr ( Mommy Dead And Dearest , I Love You, Now Die ) and Michael Beach Nichols (director of Wrinkles The Clown and cinematographer for Last Call: When a Serial Killer Stalked Queer New York ), explores Sherri’s sudden disappearance and reappearance, and the six-year investigation that revealed how the wife and “supermom” faked her own kidnapping .

Here’s the true story behind Perfect Wife , airing June 20 on Hulu.

Read more: The Traumatic Kidnapping Case Behind Netflix’s American Nightmare Docuseries

What happened to Sherri Papini?

On Nov. 2, 2016, 34-year-old Sherri Papini vanished. She'd last been seen jogging in her neighborhood, leaving her cell phone and earbuds with a few strands of blonde hair attached to them. Three weeks later, on Thanksgiving, she reappeared. When authorities found her along Interstate 5 in Yolo County, 146 miles from home, she looked emaciated, with a chain around her waist and a brand on her shoulder she claimed had been inflicted by her captors. 

Initially, Sherri told police she'd been abducted by two masked Hispanic women armed with a handgun. In a statement, Sherri's husband, Keith Papini, said that his wife "was thrown from a vehicle with a chain around her waist, attached to her wrists and a bag over her head. The same bag she used to flag someone down once she was able to free one of her hands."

As a six-year investigation unfolded, authorities eventually found male DNA evidence on Sherri's clothes, which led them to her ex-boyfriend James Reyes. Sherri had lied about being kidnapped—she’d been staying with her ex in Costa Mesa while pretending to be missing.

Later, Reyes confessed to authorities that Sherri had asked him to hit her, which he refused to do. Ultimately, he agreed to hold a hockey stick for her to run into and he hit her with hockey pucks. He also admitted to branding Sherri—also upon her request.

Read more: How Documentary Filmmaker Erin Lee Carr Brings ‘Radical Empathy’ to True Crime

Who is Keith Papini?

Sherri’s (now ex) husband Keith, who gives extensive interviews in Perfect Wife , was initially a suspect in Sherri’s disappearance. When investigators searched Sherri’s phone, they discovered intimate texts between her and a Michigan man named Donovan Miske. Sherri had in fact had an affair with Miske, telling him how “evil” Keith was, leading investigators to think that she walked out on Keith to be with Donovan.

Eventually, Keith successfully passed a polygraph test, and investigators cleared him of any suspicion. 

Still, the couple’s friends had lingering doubts around Keith’s innocence. Early on in Perfect Wife , an interview with Sherri’s best friend Jenifer Harrison reveals how Sherri told her about an abusive dynamic with Keith: "If I ever try to leave him, he'll kill me.” Jenifer also tells filmmakers that Sherri said Keith had an overly traditional idea of marriage: “What [Keith] wants is a 1950s housewife that cooks, cleans, does everything around the house… But he wants me to work as well."

While it’s true that the seemingly perfect couple fought—even occasionally coming to physical blows—the docuseries emphasizes Sherri’s tendency to lie and exaggerate. For instance, when Keith met Sherri in 2006, he discovered two wing-like scars on her back. At the time, Sherri alleged that her ex-boyfriend stabbed her in the back. Meanwhile, she’d told Jenifer a different story, alleging it was her father who cut her with an X-Acto knife. In reality, she had done it herself. 

Who is James Reyes?

Though Perfect Wife does not speak directly to the ex Sherri faked her kidnapping to stay with, investigators from the case who are interviewed in the docuseries describe how Sherri and James dated in the early-to-mid 2000s. Years later, Sherri got back in touch with James, and they would communicate using burner phones. 

As they reconnected, James believed Sherri was trying to get away from her allegedly abusive husband. So when Sherri asked him to drive up to Redding and pick her up, he obliged. "Essentially, James just did what Sherri asked for 22 days," says Shasta County Sheriff Sergeant Kyle Wallace.

Over the course of those 22 days, Sherri asked James to "bang a [hockey] puck off of her leg," giving investigators the impression she’d been seriously abused. She also fractured her own nose on a hockey stick James held up; she ate less, giving her an emaciated appearance; she contracted a rash on her arm from cleaning supplies; and James branded her at her request. 

One day, Sherri told James she was ready to go home, claiming to miss her two young children. After asking James to purchase chains and other binding tools at Ace Hardware, Sherri chained herself up and told James to get rid of his phone before asking him to drop her off on the side of the freeway.

Investigators ultimately chose not to indict James. In addition to passing a polygraph test, James told Kyle Wallace he believed Sherri had been a friend in need asking for help: "It's not an abduction. She asked me to get her."

Read more: The Best Shows to Watch on Hulu

What does Perfect Wife reveal about Sherri’s background?

Through interviews with Sherri’s family and friends, as well as local and federal investigators, Perfect Wife illustrates a volatile childhood, during which her parents frequently fought and struggled to support Sherri and her older sister, Sheila. When she was 16, Sherri dropped out of high school and ran away, landing in Los Angeles and then the Bay Area. 

Sherri’s parents do not appear in the docuseries, but there is a record of them filing police reports about their daughter. In 2017, the Sacramento Bee reported on a Dec. 2003 call to 911 where Sherri's mother, Loretta Graeff, told police that her daughter was "harming herself and blaming it on [her.]" Loretta allegedly called 911 for "advice" because her daughter was planning on moving back in with her. The police report did not specify whether Sherri had actually hurt herself. 

Prior to that, in Oct. 2000, Sherri's father, Richard Graeff, alleged that Sherri vandalized the family's home in Shasta Lake, Calif. Three years later, in Oct. 2003, Richard told police that an unauthorized withdrawal had been made from his bank account and that he suspected Sherri, who was living with them at the time, was behind it. A subsequent police report read that the money had been returned, and that Sherri was opening a credit card account.

When Sherri was arrested, in May 2022, her parents released a joint statement defending their daughter: “We love Sherri and are appalled by the way in which law enforcement ambushed her this afternoon in a dramatic and unnecessary manner in front of her children.”

Why did Sherri fake her kidnapping?

"Because of the trauma Sherri and I experienced as children, Sherri sought out positive love and attention. She would exaggerate a lot, and she wasn't honest a lot,” her sister Sheila tells filmmakers. 

As for why Sherri lied about being kidnapped, Sheila reasons that some of it had to do with being a stay-at-home mom. "I think she wasn't getting the attention that she wanted with being at home,” says Sheila. "I think she really wanted to feel important... She always has."

Meanwhile, Sheriff Sergeant Wallace tells filmmakers that Sherri’s own lawyer described his client as having "chameleonic personalities."

Wallace’s narrative to filmmakers alleges that Sherri ultimately left home to regain control of her relationship with Keith. Her severance package from AT&T was running out—money that paid for daycare and cosmetic surgery. Keith didn’t want to pay for daycare if Sherri wasn’t working. “Her lifestyle was going to change once she ran out of money,” Wallace says. “I don't think she was prepared for that. I think she left because that's how she knew to get away from conflict."

Another revelation that lends itself to the “positive love” theory is Keith telling filmmakers how Sherri would “soak rags in [rubbing] alcohol, put it in a zip-lock bag, and tie a string around [the children’s] neck… so that they would continue to not feel good so that she could take them to the doctor.”

Perfect Wife also outlines how Sherri had a history of racism against the Hispanic and Mexican community. When she reappeared after going missing, Sherri claimed she’d been abducted by two Hispanic women who frequently played Mariachi music. As authorities began combing the region for two women—one older and one younger—fitting Sherri’s description, their search had a chilling effect on nearby Hispanic communities, who were suddenly fearful of traveling in pairs, lest they come under suspicion.

When Sherri was in high school, she'd apparently written a blog about getting into a fight with Latina girls. "Being white is my family, my roots, my way of life," she wrote, adding how fighting back made her father proud of her. In later years, Sherri would claim she didn't write the blog, alleging someone had posed as her. She even hired a lawyer to get the blog post taken down in 2007.

How did Keith's view of Sherri's story evolve?

Though he initially believed Sherri’s kidnapping story, stood up for her in public, and attended therapy sessions with her to aid in her recovery, Keith ultimately separated from his wife soon after investigators questioned her in August 2020 with DNA evidence leading to James Reyes. "I'm the idiot husband who stayed around the whole time," he told investigators at the time. 

Keith also recalled in the docuseries how, though Sherri was not arrested that day due to lack of additional evidence (investigators were hopeful Sherri would confess), she professed her love for him, to which he replied, “Just don’t talk to me… I don’t want to hear it… You can’t stay in the house.” 

As local and federal officers worked to build a stronger case to arrest Sherri, Keith let her come home. However, he characterized that interim period as “very strange, very odd to be in the house with her. There was this weird tension in the house.” As far as what really happened to Sherri, Keith didn’t know whom or what to believe.

In March 2022, Sherri was formally arrested, jailed in Sacramento, and charged with making false statements and mail fraud. As Sherri awaited trial, she talked to Keith about potentially taking a plea deal, noting that it would only be six or so months on house arrest with an ankle monitor—”not a big deal,” as she put it to Keith. Sherri’s nonchalance proved to be a breaking point for Keith, who literally ran away from Sherri after she aggressively propositioned him for sex, telling him how she just “wanted to feel love.”

Keith officially filed for divorce in 2022 after Sherri confessed to lying and entered a guilty plea. ”Her lawyer told me, ‘It took a while to get it out of her, but she said James Reyes picked her up,’” Keith told filmmakers. “She had a burner phone with her and she watched [me] and everybody else search for her for 22 days on her phone.”

Over the course of filming Perfect Wife , Keith said he started “connecting dots,” realizing how Sherri had pieced together a false narrative using self-help books on trauma survival, true stories of kidnapping—such as Elizabeth Smart , who was kidnapped at age 14 in 2002—and fictional ones , like the film version of Gone Girl . Most upsetting to Sherri’s friends and family was her allegedly borrowing aspects of another disappearance case in Redding; in 1998, a 16-year-old named Tera Smith went missing and was never found. 

What happened to Sherri Papini, and how has she responded to the docuseries?

After confessing to lying about her disappearance, Sherri told a California courtroom she was "deeply ashamed" of what she’d done and was "sorry for the pain I've caused my family, my friends, all the good people who needlessly suffered… I will work the rest of my life to make amends for what I have done." Soon after, Keith filed for divorce. Their marriage was dissolved in May 2023.

Sherri later pleaded guilty to mail fraud and making false statements; she was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison in September 2022. She was also ordered to pay back $300,000—money from the state’s victim compensation fund, disability payments, and the costs associated with the search to find her and her alleged kidnappers.

In October 2023, after serving 10 months and 21 days in prison, Sherri was released to a halfway house. As of March 2024, Sherri is permitted to see her children only during one-hour visits that are supervised by a professional agency appointed by a judge.

As of this month, PEOPLE reports that Sherri recently told her nine-year-old daughter that she is writing two books. According to a supervised visitation report from Jan. 17, when asked what she was doing for work, Sherri replied: "Well, like, this place [a supervised visitation center] is very helpful for families, well mommy is building a foundation to help places like this more. Mommy is making a business that will be a foundation to help people."

Sherri also said: "Do you know what an author is? Mommy’s also an author now. She’s writing two books. I work lots of hours to write chapter books. So, when I tell you I’m working remotely, that means I’m at home writing chapters on my laptop.”

Sherri did not participate in the Perfect Wife docuseries, which ends with one statement: "The filmmakers made several attempts to contact Sherri Papini but never received a response."

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Coming out saved my life. LGBTQ+ ex-Christians like me deserve to be proud of ourselves.

Why am i still alive because when i finally looked inward on my own terms, instead of finding filth and sin, i discovered wonder unmirrored by anything external – it was all my own..

If you or someone you know needs mental health resources and support, please call, text   or chat with the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline or visit 988lifeline.org  for 24/7 access to free and confidential services.  

Months after coming out publicly, I told my mom it felt like she didn’t love me anymore.

“Loving you isn’t the same as affirming you,” she replied. I felt the words cut through my chest.

Taking pride in my identity doesn’t come naturally to me, but what Mom may not understand is that I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t start learning how to do it.

At its core, pride is a celebration of self-worth. I was raised to believe God hates it more than anything – that it’s a middle finger to his face, the deepest blasphemy. Raised in the church, evangelicalism taught me I had no beauty, worth or goodness outside my relationship to the all-powerful spiritual being known as God.

It turns out that when core aspects of your identity are stifled, your mind becomes a torture chamber. When I hit puberty, I dutifully wore bras and dresses – though I hated how they felt – and tried to follow the rules purity culture promised would ward off leering boys. I fought panic attacks at the thought of being touched sexually, yet I knew someday as a good Christian girl I’d be forced to endure that touch on my wedding night.

I felt trapped by roles that made me feel unsafe and unmoored, and my insular church community didn’t give me the vocabulary to express why.

A sign of hope: Judge struck down Florida ban on gender-affirming care for trans kids. It's the right move.

'Why am I still alive?'

By age 16, I was fantasizing about death and how to accomplish it. I spent my young adult years consumed with starving, freezing, hiding, cutting and numbing myself. One wintry night when I was 19 and engaged to a man, I snuck outside in pajama shorts and lay down in the snow until I thought my back was bleeding, gripped by a fear I still couldn’t describe. Years later when my Christian therapist fired me, she said it was because she couldn’t in good conscience watch me kill myself.

Why am I still alive? Because when I finally looked inward on my own terms, instead of finding filth and sin, I discovered wonder unmirrored by anything external – it was all my own. Terrified but anchored by a new resolve, I decided to leave the church in 2020, and two years later I came out publicly as a nonbinary lesbian. For the first time in a decade, I can trust myself to enjoy being home alone. I don’t remember the last time I felt tempted to skip meals or slice my skin. My mind is quiet. I take pride in that.

Coming out didn’t flip a magic switch and make life perfect, but it did make life worth exploring. I went back to school for a master’s degree and found new ways to channel my passion for writing.

In my first lesbian relationship, I felt a deep sense of safety I never knew romance could hold. Cutting my hair, overhauling my wardrobe and buying my first binder unlocked a joy so strong it almost scared me. And when I joined a budding sapphic kickball team one summer with my partner, we helped create a community that’s gone on to change more lives than my own. People tell me I look younger these days, and I feel it.

Evangelicals can't see the sin in dehumanizing people

Despite the joy and wonder I’ve found, evangelicalism says my sexuality and gender identity are abominations worthy of hell.

When my mom says she can’t affirm me, it’s because Christianity is the only metric she has with which to weigh the world. She can no longer see – let alone affirm – my humanity as an openly queer person. When she looks at me now, she sees sin. I wish she could see me again.

I'm a trans man. We don't have a secret agenda – we're just asking you to let us live.

Dehumanization starts with fixating on one facet of someone’s identity to the exclusion of everything else. It starts with putting conditions on someone’s inherent worth. It starts with saying loving someone doesn’t have to mean affirming them.

When you refuse to see someone’s full humanity, you give yourself permission to commit atrocities – and it’s happening right now across America .

Opinion alerts: Get columns from your favorite columnists + expert analysis on top issues, delivered straight to your device through the USA TODAY app. Don't have the app? Download it for free from your app store .

For many LGBTQ+ people, coming out is an act of defiance involving sacrifice and danger. Being visibly queer cost me my family, and that hurts like hell. But being invisible in the church nearly cost me my life.

This Pride Month , I’m reclaiming the notion of pride from what evangelicalism taught me it meant. Our beauty, worth and goodness are inherent to our humanity; the real sin lies in any attempt to dictate the conditions of our worth. As LGBTQ+ ex-Christians, we deserve to feel proud of ourselves and the darkness we’ve overcome.

Mishka Espey is an avid reader and writer who lives in Silver Spring, Maryland, with their partner, Gianna. They hold a Master of Arts in journalism from American University, where they co-launched an investigation into a Christian ministry called Cru.

You can read diverse opinions from our USA TODAY columnists and other writers on the Opinion front page , on X, formerly Twitter, @usatodayopinion and in our Opinion newsletter .

The beginner's guide to celebrating Juneteenth

Many Americans are celebrating Juneteenth, marking the day in 1865 when the last enslaved people in the U.S. learned they were free

For more than one-and-a-half centuries, the Juneteenth holiday has been sacred to many Black communities.

It marks the day in 1865 enslaved people in Galveston, Texas found out they had been freed — after the end of the Civil War, and two years after President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation.

Since it was designated a federal holiday in 2021, Juneteenth has become more universally recognized beyond Black America. Many people get the day off work or school, and there are a plethora of street festivals, fairs, concerts and other events.

People who never gave the June 19 holiday more than a passing thought may be asking themselves, is there a “right” way to celebrate Juneteenth ?

For beginners and those brushing up on history, here are some answers:

It just depends on what you want. Juneteenth festivities are rooted in cookouts and barbecues. In the beginnings of the holiday celebrated as Black Americans’ true Independence Day, the outdoors allowed for large, raucous reunions among formerly enslaved family, many of whom had been separated. The gatherings were especially revolutionary because they were free of restrictive measures, known as “Black Codes,” enforced in Confederate states, controlling whether liberated slaves could vote, buy property, gather for worship and other aspects of daily life.

Last week, the White House kicked things off early with a concert on the South Lawn for Juneteenth and Black Music Month. Singers Gladys Knight and Patti LaBelle were among the the lineup of well-known artists from gospel, rap, jazz and other genres. The atmosphere was primarily festive with Vice President Kamala Harris, the first Black vice president, dancing on stage with gospel singer Kirk Franklin.

“Today as we celebrate Juneteenth, together we are reminded of the promise of America,” Harris said in opening remarks. “A promise of freedom, liberty and opportunity, not for some but for all. In many ways the story of Juneteenth and of our nation is a story of our ongoing fight to realize that promise.”

Others may choose to treat Juneteenth as a day of rest and remembrance. That can mean doing community service, attending an education panel or taking time off.

The important thing is to make people feel they have options on how to observe the occasion, said Dr. David Anderson, a Black pastor and CEO of Gracism Global, a consulting firm helping leaders navigate conversations bridging divides across race and culture.

“Just like the Martin Luther King holiday, we say it’s a day of service and a lot of people will do things. There are a lot of other people who are just ‘I appreciate Dr. King, I’ll watch what’s on the television, and I’m gonna rest,’” Anderson said. “I don’t want to make people feel guilty about that. What I want to do is give everyday people a choice.”

Anderson never did anything on Juneteenth in his youth. He didn’t learn about it until his 30s.

“I think many folks haven’t known about it — who are even my color as an African American male. Even if you heard about it and knew about it, you didn’t celebrate it,” Anderson said. “It was like just a part of history. It wasn’t a celebration of history.”

For many African Americans, the farther away from Texas that they grew up increased the likelihood they didn’t have big Juneteenth celebrations regularly. In the South, the day can vary based on when word of Emancipation reached each state.

Search online and you will find a smorgasbord of gatherings in major cities and suburbs all varying in scope and tone. Some are more carnival-esque festivals with food trucks, arts and crafts and parades. Within those festivals, you’ll likely find access to professionals in health care, finance and community resources. There also are concerts and fashion shows to highlight Black excellence and creativity. For those who want to look back, plenty of organizations and universities host panels to remind people of Juneteenth’s history.

For the first time since Juneteenth was federally recognized, the National Park Service is making entry into all sites free on the holiday. Several parks will be hosting Juneteenth commemorations this week.

Aside from barbecue, the color red has been a through line for Juneteenth food for generations. Red symbolizes the bloodshed and sacrifice of enslaved ancestors. A Juneteenth menu might incorporate items like barbecued ribs or other red meat, watermelon and red velvet cake. Drinks like fruit punch and red Kool-Aid may make an appearance at the table.

Dr. Karida Brown, a sociology professor at Emory University whose research focuses on race, said there’s no reason to feel awkward about wanting to recognize Juneteenth just because you have no personal ties or you’re not Black. In fact, embrace it.

“I would reframe that and challenge my non-Black folks who want to lean into Juneteenth and celebrate,” Brown said. “It absolutely is your history. It absolutely is a part of your experience. ... Isn’t this all of our history? The good, the bad, the ugly, the story of emancipation and freedom for your Black brothers and sisters under the Constitution of the law.”

If you want to bring some authenticity to your recognition of Juneteenth, educate yourself. Attending a street festival or patronizing a Black-owned business is a good start but it also would be good to “make your mind better,” Anderson said.

“That goes longer than a celebration,” Anderson said. “I think Black people need to do it too because it’s new for us as well, in America. But for non-Black people, if they could read on this topic and read on Black history beyond Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks, that would show me that you’re really serious about growing in this area.”

If you’re struggling with how to “ethically” mark the day, Brown also suggested expanding your knowledge of why the holiday matters so much. That can be through reading, attending an event or going to an African American history museum if there’s one nearby.

“Have that full human experience of seeing yourself in and through the eyes of others, even if that’s not your own lived experience,” she said. “That is a radical human act that is awesome and should be encouraged and celebrated.”

Over the decades, Juneteenth has also been called Freedom Day, Emancipation Day, Black Fourth of July and second Independence Day among others.

“Because 1776, Fourth of July, where we’re celebrating freedom and liberty and all of that, that did not include my descendants,” Brown said. “Black people in America were still enslaved. So that that holiday always comes with a bittersweet tinge to it.”

It’s typical to wish people a “Happy Juneteenth” or “Happy Teenth," according to Alan Freeman, a comedian organizing a Juneteenth comedy festival in Galveston, Texas for the second straight year.

“You know how at Christmas people will say ‘Merry Christmas’ to each other and not even know each other?" Freeman said. “You can get a ‘Merry Christmas’ from everybody. This is the same way.”

Tang, who reported from Phoenix, is a member of The Associated Press’ Race and Ethnicity team. Follow her on Twitter at @ttangAP.

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