I never heard her pray.
She didn’t cuss.
. . .
She didn’t interfere the time Dad beat the breath out of me for something I didn’t do.
Those are just three of the vivid memories recorded by author Laura Brown in her stunning essay “Fifty Things About My Mother.”
Since I first read it a year ago Brown’s essay has haunted me. In it, she stacks up poignant, piercing, personal remembrances of a mother-daughter relationship that could inspire a whole memoir. (In fact, it sparked Brown’s book Everything That Makes You Mom.)
It will spur you to reflect upon your relationship with your own mother, and how that has shaped your head, heart, and soul. And what better time than now, in this month leading up to Mother’s Day?
Right about the time I read Brown’s essay, I heard St. Vincent open a song with this jarring announcement: “I prefer your love to Jesus.” It quickly became clear that she wasn’t singing to her audience: She was singing to her mother, thanking her for her tenderness, guidance, and example.
To read the rest of Overstreet’s brilliant essay at Christ and Pop Culture, click HERE.