“I think of the chimp, the one with the talking hands. In the course of the experiment, that chimp had a baby. Imagine how her trainers must have thrilled when the mother, without prompting, began to sign her newborn. Baby, drink milk. Baby, play ball. And when the baby died, the mother stood over the body, her wrinkled hands moving with animal grace, forming again and again the words: Baby, come hug, Baby come hug, fluent now in the language of grief.” ThinkingPlayBodyHandsMovingMotherCoursesLanguageAnimalGriefTalkingGraceImagineBabyDrinkBallsDiedExperimentsMilkHugAgain And AgainTrainersNewbornFluentNewborn BabyDrink Milk Book:The Collected Stories of Amy Hempel Source: The Collected Stories of Amy Hempel
“When my mother died, my father's early widowhood gave him social cachet he would not have had if they had divorced. He was a bigger catch for the sorrow attached.” IfsMotherFatherSocialSorrowBiggerDiedDivorcedMother DiedWidowhood Book:The Collected Stories of Amy Hempel Source: The Collected Stories of Amy Hempel
“Since his mother died I have seen him steam a cucumber thinking it was zucchini. That's the kind of thing that turns my heart right over.” ThinkingHeartKindMotherTurnsMy HeartDiedSteamMother DiedCucumbersZucchini Book:The Collected Stories of Amy Hempel Source: The Collected Stories of Amy Hempel
“The worst of it is over now, and I can't say that I am glad. Lose that sense of loss—you have gone and lost something else. But the body moves toward health. The mind, too, in steps. One step at a time. Ask a mother who has just lost a child, How many children do you have? "Four," she will say, "—three," and years later, "Three," she will say, "—four.” YearsMindChildrenI CanBodyMovingMotherThreeAsksLostLosesLossStepsGoneFourWorstGladOne Step At A Time Book:The Collected Stories of Amy Hempel Source: The Collected Stories of Amy Hempel
“I had a mother I could only seem to please with verbal accomplishments of some sort or another. She read constantly, so I read constantly. If I used words that might have seemed surprising at a young age, she would recognize that and it would please her.” IfsSeemsMightAgeYoungUsedMotherPleaseAccomplishmentSurprisingYoung Age Author:Amy Hempel
