--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My family kept its history to itself. On…" description: "\"My family kept its history to itself. On the plus side, I didn't have to hear nightmarish stories about the Holocaust, the pogroms, terrible illnesses,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/077/amy-bloom-4288_about_my-family-kept-its-history-to-itself-on_1147412.png" --- # My family kept its history to itself. On the plus side, I… ![“My family kept its history to itself. On the plus side, I didn't have to hear nightmarish stories about the Holocaust, the pogroms, terrible illnesses, painful deaths. My elderly parents never even spoke about their ailments.” quote by Amy Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/077/amy-bloom-4288_about_my-family-kept-its-history-to-itself-on_1147412.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/077/amy-bloom-4288_about_my-family-kept-its-history-to-itself-on_1147412.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/077/amy-bloom-4288_about_my-family-kept-its-history-to-itself-on_1147412.png) > “My family kept its history to itself. On the plus side, I didn't have to hear nightmarish stories about the Holocaust, the pogroms, terrible illnesses, painful deaths. My elderly parents never even spoke about their ailments.” [Amy Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-bloom/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator avoids painful family histories, suggesting that silence can protect from trauma but also hides truth. **In simple terms:** Family secrets can shield but also conceal pain. Key Takeaway Balance openness with emotional safety. Themes family memory trauma silence Mood reflective somber Type narrative personal When to use this quote - personal reflection - family gatherings - therapy sessions Key Concepts generational trauma psychological coping historical awareness Questions to Reflect On - How does silence affect family bonds? - When is sharing painful history beneficial? A Different Perspective Silence may prevent healing and understanding. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Deaths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deaths/) [Elderly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elderly/) [Family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/family/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Holocaust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/holocaust/) [Painful death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painful-death/) [Parents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parents/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) ## Related quotes > [When I was four or five years old, I heard a lot of stories about the Holocaust because both my parents were survivors. I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-boltanski/when-i-was-four-or-five-years-old-i-heard-a-lot-of-stories-about-the/) [Christian Boltanski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-boltanski/) > [“What I do know, is that I refused to compromise with the system and I was obsessed with preventing my work from being manipulated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-manea/what-i-do-know-is-that-i-refused-to-compromise-with-the-system-and-i/) Norman Manea > [“We weren’t living the way we wanted because we weren’t making the choices it required. Like so many in our generation of thirtysomething parents,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tsh-oxenreider/we-weren-t-living-the-way-we-wanted-because-we-weren-t-making-the/) [Tsh Oxenreider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tsh-oxenreider/) > [“She might be the best-dressed little girl in her elementary school class, but she was still a Greek. Her parents spoke a foreign language,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-jenkins/she-might-be-the-best-dressed-little-girl-in-her-elementary-school/) Suzanne Jenkins > [“...these were the kind of idiotic words her parents spoke. And they said these the words to each other, even though they were pretending…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-dicamillo-flora-ulysses-the-illuminated-adventures/these-were-the-kind-of-idiotic-words-her-parents-spoke-and-they-said/) Kate DiCamillo FLORA ULYSSES THE ILLUMINATED ADVENTURES > [An alcoholic father, poverty, my own juvenile diabetes, the limited English my parents spoke - although my mother has become completely bilingual since. All…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-sotomayor/an-alcoholic-father-poverty-my-own-juvenile-diabetes-the-limited/) [Sonia Sotomayor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonia-sotomayor/) > [Of course I had a good family, so that kept my feet on the ground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chesney-hawkes/of-course-i-had-a-good-family-so-that-kept-my-feet-on-the-ground/) [Chesney Hawkes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chesney-hawkes/) > [ She \[my mother\] struggled, abusing alcohol for quite some time, and so we just kind of drifted apart. I went to college. But I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-solo/she-my-mother-struggled-abusing-alcohol-for-quite-some-time-and-so-we/) [Hope Solo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-solo/) > [I wanted to give up, but my family kept me going.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-simpson/i-wanted-to-give-up-but-my-family-kept-me-going/) [Jessica Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-simpson/) > [I owe my mum a sense of family. She has kept our family together. I have two brothers and a sister, and they all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-morrissey/i-owe-my-mum-a-sense-of-family-she-has-kept-our-family-together-i/) [David Morrissey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-morrissey/) > [Without my family, I'm nothing. They kept me in the right place. I believe that I'm the luckiest person in the country when I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-s-rajamouli/without-my-family-i-m-nothing-they-kept-me-in-the-right-place-i/) [S. S. Rajamouli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-s-rajamouli/) > [What about those who help growth indirectly, those who stay at home and look after others - mothers, carers of elderly parents or sick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noreena-hertz/what-about-those-who-help-growth-indirectly-those-who-stay-at-home/) [Noreena Hertz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noreena-hertz/) > [“In the 1950s at least less was expected of women. Now we're supposed to build a career, build a home, be the supermum that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/in-the-1950s-at-least-less-was-expected-of-women-now-we-re-supposed/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [The more we rely on the market, the more hooked we become on its promises: Do you need a tidier closet? A nicer family…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arlie-russell-hochschild/the-more-we-rely-on-the-market-the-more-hooked-we-become-on-its/) [Arlie Russell Hochschild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arlie-russell-hochschild/) > [Even under the best of circumstances - in twenty-first century America at least - caring for elderly parents ain't no place for sissies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roz-chast/even-under-the-best-of-circumstances-in-twenty-first-century-america/) [Roz Chast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roz-chast/) ## More by Amy Bloom > [I'm sure I've been influenced by every fine writer I've ever read, from Dickens and Austen to Auden and Jane Hirshfield. And also, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-bloom/i-m-sure-i-ve-been-influenced-by-every-fine-writer-i-ve-ever-read/) [Amy Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-bloom/) > [My target audience is anyone who finds the world interesting and human behavior fascinating, terrible, inspiring, funny, and occasionally, mysterious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-bloom/my-target-audience-is-anyone-who-finds-the-world-interesting-and/) [Amy Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-bloom/) > [I assume as a writer that most of the time I'm going to fall down and fail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-bloom/i-assume-as-a-writer-that-most-of-the-time-i-m-going-to-fall-down-and/) [Amy Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-bloom/) > [It is a wonderful, moving, heart-filling experience to sit with the man or woman you love and your beloved children and know that all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-bloom/it-is-a-wonderful-moving-heart-filling-experience-to-sit-with-the-man/) [Amy Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-bloom/) > [If you're an American reader, you can love short stories the way other Americans love baseball; this is our game, people! We have more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-bloom/if-you-re-an-american-reader-you-can-love-short-stories-the-way-other/) [Amy Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-bloom/) > [My father certainly believed that one could make a living outside of an office, as he did. And that if I didn't want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-bloom/my-father-certainly-believed-that-one-could-make-a-living-outside-of/) [Amy Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-bloom/) > ['Normal' is not clinical, it's not autobiographical, and I don't claim to be objective. It's strictly my perceptions and thoughts about the people that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-bloom/normal-is-not-clinical-it-s-not-autobiographical-and-i-don-t-claim-to/) [Amy Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-bloom/) > [I am all for loving relationships in which the couple at the center are a match set in terms of height, weight, color, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-bloom/i-am-all-for-loving-relationships-in-which-the-couple-at-the-center/) [Amy Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-bloom/) > [“The German deli was run by a distant cousin of Kaiser Wilhelm and the Great Neck Jews loved the place; they flocked to Kuch's.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-bloom/the-german-deli-was-run-by-a-distant-cousin-of-kaiser-wilhelm-and-the/) [Amy Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-bloom/) > [I met Jay Jonhson. I won him the way poor people occasionally win the lottery: Shameless perseverance and embarrassingly dumb luck, and every time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-bloom/i-met-jay-jonhson-i-won-him-the-way-poor-people-occasionally-win-the/) [Amy Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-bloom/) > [Actual happiness is sometimes confused with the pursuit of it; and the most mindless and crass how-tos can get jumbled in with the modestly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-bloom/actual-happiness-is-sometimes-confused-with-the-pursuit-of-it-and-the/) [Amy Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-bloom/) > [Smart people often talk trash about happiness and worse than trash about books on happiness, and they have been doing so for centuries -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-bloom/smart-people-often-talk-trash-about-happiness-and-worse-than-trash/) [Amy Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-bloom/) > [My father would have been spectacularly ill-suited to working for an institution of any kind, and I suspect that, to a lesser degree, that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-bloom/my-father-would-have-been-spectacularly-ill-suited-to-working-for-an/) [Amy Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-bloom/) > [Marriage is not a ritual or an end. Its a long, intricate, intimate dance together and nothing matters more than your own sense of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-bloom/marriage-is-not-a-ritual-or-an-end-its-a-long-intricate-intimate/) [Amy Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-bloom/) > [All intimacy is rare-that's what makes it precious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-bloom/all-intimacy-is-rare-that-s-what-makes-it-precious/) [Amy Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-bloom/) [Explore all 112 Amy Bloom quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-bloom/) ## More About quotes > [If you ask an introvert a question, wait until she thinks about it. Introverts think before speaking, not through speaking. If you want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-helgoe/if-you-ask-an-introvert-a-question-wait-until-she-thinks-about-it/) [Laurie Helgoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-helgoe/) > [Joking about violence is not funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/perez-hilton/joking-about-violence-is-not-funny/) [Perez Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/perez-hilton/) > [I talk to my mates about our kids, being too tired and being worn out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-willoughby/i-talk-to-my-mates-about-our-kids-being-too-tired-and-being-worn-out/) [Holly Willoughby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-willoughby/) > [With 'Pretty Girls,' I saw the opportunity to talk not just about crime but what crime leaves behind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/with-pretty-girls-i-saw-the-opportunity-to-talk-not-just-about-crime/) [Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/) > [I write about presidents. That means I write about guys - so far. I'm interested in the people closest to them, the people they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/i-write-about-presidents-that-means-i-write-about-guys-so-far-i-m/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) > [That's something a lot of folks don't know about me - I'm pretty darn funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jai-white/that-s-something-a-lot-of-folks-don-t-know-about-me-i-m-pretty-darn/) [Michael Jai White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jai-white/) > [I learned a lot about myself at Oakmont.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-lowry/i-learned-a-lot-about-myself-at-oakmont/) [Shane Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-lowry/) > [I don't think about the press or the crowds or the other leaders of the race. The focus is only on myself. As soon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/magdalena-neuner/i-don-t-think-about-the-press-or-the-crowds-or-the-other-leaders-of/) [Magdalena Neuner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/magdalena-neuner/) > [Sport is not just about entertainment. It is equally about winning and losing, pooling and galvanising the energy of the youth, upgrading people's physical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nita-ambani/sport-is-not-just-about-entertainment-it-is-equally-about-winning-and/) [Nita Ambani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nita-ambani/) > [One of the ways that I discovered my confidence and my ability to overpower is becoming a mother. Suddenly, my world wasn't about myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lights/one-of-the-ways-that-i-discovered-my-confidence-and-my-ability-to/) [Lights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lights/) > [I didn't want to do 'Fashion Police' because I thought, 'This is stupid, this is beneath me, who wants to talk about fashion?' It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-rivers/i-didn-t-want-to-do-fashion-police-because-i-thought-this-is-stupid/) [Joan Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-rivers/) > [I just worried about my weight. Worried about my appearance and thought I wan't pretty enough to be a pop star. It was very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-durham/i-just-worried-about-my-weight-worried-about-my-appearance-and/) [Judith Durham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-durham/) > [I read a couple of books about neuroscience and the relationship between the mind and the body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-kinnaman/i-read-a-couple-of-books-about-neuroscience-and-the-relationship/) [Joel Kinnaman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-kinnaman/) > [There are a lot of kids out there copying and distributing movies - not because they care about seeing the movies or sharing them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-perry-barlow/there-are-a-lot-of-kids-out-there-copying-and-distributing-movies-not/) [John Perry Barlow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-perry-barlow/) > [I have no physical genius about me. I can't dribble a ball and run at the same time, I can't do lay-ups - I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-mullins/i-have-no-physical-genius-about-me-i-can-t-dribble-a-ball-and-run-at/) [Rich Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-mullins/) Browse all 26,122 About quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My family kept its history to itself. On the plus side, I didn't have to hear nightmarish stories about the Holocaust, the pogroms, terrible illnesses, painful deaths. My elderly parents never even spoke about their ailments.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Amy Bloom" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-bloom/my-family-kept-its-history-to-itself-on-the-plus-side-i-didn-t-have/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "About" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-bloom/my-family-kept-its-history-to-itself-on-the-plus-side-i-didn-t-have/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/077/amy-bloom-4288_about_my-family-kept-its-history-to-itself-on_1147412.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/077/amy-bloom-4288_about_my-family-kept-its-history-to-itself-on_1147412.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/077/amy-bloom-4288_about_my-family-kept-its-history-to-itself-on_1147412.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“My family kept its history to itself. On the plus side, I didn't have to hear nightmarish stories about the…” — Amy Bloom", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Amy Bloom", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-bloom/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "My family kept its history to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-bloom/my-family-kept-its-history-to-itself-on-the-plus-side-i-didn-t-have/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-bloom/my-family-kept-its-history-to-itself-on-the-plus-side-i-didn-t-have/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```