--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My mother had a look on her face that…" description: "\"My mother had a look on her face that I'll never forget. It was one of complete despair and horror, for losing Bing, for being so foolish as to think s..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/696/amy-tan-730_despair_my-mother-had-a-look-on-her-face-that-i_547252.jpg" --- # My mother had a look on her face that I'll never forget… ![“My mother had a look on her face that I'll never forget. It was one of complete despair and horror, for losing Bing, for being so foolish as to think she could use faith to change fate.” quote by Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/696/amy-tan-730_despair_my-mother-had-a-look-on-her-face-that-i_547252.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/696/amy-tan-730_despair_my-mother-had-a-look-on-her-face-that-i_547252.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/696/amy-tan-730_despair_my-mother-had-a-look-on-her-face-that-i_547252.jpg) > “My mother had a look on her face that I'll never forget. It was one of complete despair and horror, for losing Bing, for being so foolish as to think she could use faith to change fate.” [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A mother’s face showed deep despair and horror, reflecting her grief and misguided hope. **In simple terms:** A mother’s look revealed sorrow and false hope. Key Takeaway Acknowledge grief without false expectations. Themes family grief hope Mood empathetic somber Type narrative emotional When to use this quote - counseling - grief support - family discussions - mental health awareness Key Concepts Psychology of loss faith vs. agency Questions to Reflect On - What coping strategies help when faith feels insufficient? - How can families support each other in loss? A Different Perspective Relying on faith alone may not change outcomes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bing Foolish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bing-foolish-4563698/) [Despair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despair/) [Faces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) [Fate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fate/) [Foolish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foolish/) [Forget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forget/) [Forget it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forget-it/) [Horror](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/horror/) [Joy luck club](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joy-luck-club/) [Looks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looks/) [Losing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/losing/) [Losing Bing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/losing-bing-4563697/) [Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother/) [Mother Look](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother-look-1076255/) [Never forget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/never-forget/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Use](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/use/) ## Related quotes > [I saw what I had been fighting for: it was for me, a scared child...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/i-saw-what-i-had-been-fighting-for-it-was-for-me-a-scared-child/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [I have always known a thing before it happens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/i-have-always-known-a-thing-before-it-happens/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [And below the heimongmong, all along the ground, were weeds already spilling out over the edges, running wild in every direction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/and-below-the-heimongmong-all-along-the-ground-were-weeds-already/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [Even though I was young, I could see the pain of the flesh and the worth of the pain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/even-though-i-was-young-i-could-see-the-pain-of-the-flesh-and-the/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [I wanted my children to have the best combination: American circumstances and Chinese character. How could I know these things do not mix?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/i-wanted-my-children-to-have-the-best-combination-american/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [And I remember wondering why it was that eating something good could make me feel so terrible, while vomiting something terrible could make me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/and-i-remember-wondering-why-it-was-that-eating-something-good-could/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [I began to look at all events and all things as relevant, an opportunity to take or avoid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/i-began-to-look-at-all-events-and-all-things-as-relevant-an/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [It is because I had so much joy that I came to have so much hate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/it-is-because-i-had-so-much-joy-that-i-came-to-have-so-much-hate/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [On the third day after someone dies, the soul comes back to settle scores. In my mother's case, this would be the first day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/on-the-third-day-after-someone-dies-the-soul-comes-back-to-settle/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [For woman is yin, the darkness within, where untempered passions lie. And man is yang, bright truth lighting our minds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/for-woman-is-yin-the-darkness-within-where-untempered-passions-lie/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [And now I also see what part of me is Chinese. It is so obvious. It is my family. It is in our blood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/and-now-i-also-see-what-part-of-me-is-chinese-it-is-so-obvious-it-is/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [My mother and I could always look out the same window without ever seeing the same thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-swanson/my-mother-and-i-could-always-look-out-the-same-window-without-ever/) [Gloria Swanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-swanson/) > [“It's like a natural law that my mother can never look anything less than obscenely beautiful. Even though she was wearing jeans and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-hawkins/it-s-like-a-natural-law-that-my-mother-can-never-look-anything-less/) [Rachel Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-hawkins/) > [“you must wear it like she wears disappointment on her face you must hide the surprise of tasting other men on your lips your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warsan-shire/you-must-wear-it-like-she-wears-disappointment-on-her-face-you-must/) [Warsan Shire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warsan-shire/) > [“It was crazy. Why can a mother look into the eyes of her child for the first time and feel insta-love, but that same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-ward/it-was-crazy-why-can-a-mother-look-into-the-eyes-of-her-child-for-the/) [Alice Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-ward/) ## More by Amy Tan > [So sad! This is the saddest part when you lose someone you love- that person keeps changing. And later you wonder, Is this the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/so-sad-this-is-the-saddest-part-when-you-lose-someone-you-love-that/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [Too many good things all seem the same after a while.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/too-many-good-things-all-seem-the-same-after-a-while/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [“bad, how likely is it to come”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/bad-how-likely-is-it-to-come/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [“A mother is always the beginning. She is how things begin.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/a-mother-is-always-the-beginning-she-is-how-things-begin/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [Shanghainese people are good negotiators, they're very persistent, and you grow up in an atmosphere like that - very competitive. That becomes part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/shanghainese-people-are-good-negotiators-they-re-very-persistent-and/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [But now that I am old, moving every year closer to the end of my life, I also feel closer to the beginning. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/but-now-that-i-am-old-moving-every-year-closer-to-the-end-of-my-life/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [You should think about your character. Know where you are changing, how you will be changed, what cannot be changed back again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/you-should-think-about-your-character-know-where-you-are-changing-how/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [Now you see,' said the turtle, drifting back into the pond, 'why it is useless to cry. Your tears do not wash away your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/now-you-see-said-the-turtle-drifting-back-into-the-pond-why-it-is/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [I hid my deepest feelings so well I forgot where I placed them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/i-hid-my-deepest-feelings-so-well-i-forgot-where-i-placed-them/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [“Lebih baik jadi orang yang TIDAK TERLUPAKAN daripada orang yang MEMBOSANKAN -”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/lebih-baik-jadi-orang-yang-tidak-terlupakan-daripada-orang-yang/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [After all, Bao Bomu says, what is the past but what we choose to remember?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/after-all-bao-bomu-says-what-is-the-past-but-what-we-choose-to/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [We all become different readers in how we respond to books, why we need them, what we take from them. We become different in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/we-all-become-different-readers-in-how-we-respond-to-books-why-we/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [“I was no longer scared. I could see what was inside me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/i-was-no-longer-scared-i-could-see-what-was-inside-me/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [When I go back and read my journals or fiction, I am always surprised. I may not remember having those thoughts, but they still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/when-i-go-back-and-read-my-journals-or-fiction-i-am-always-surprised/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [“I am ashamed she is ashamed. Because she is my daughter and I am proud of her, and I am her mother but she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/i-am-ashamed-she-is-ashamed-because-she-is-my-daughter-and-i-am-proud/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) [Explore all 383 Amy Tan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) ## More Despair quotes > [“As ofttimes as it rains on my little spot of earth, you'd think I'd grow accustomed to the gloom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/as-ofttimes-as-it-rains-on-my-little-spot-of-earth-you-d-think-i-d/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [“She searched her mind for a single day when it had felt good to be alive. There must have been one, surely?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-abbott/she-searched-her-mind-for-a-single-day-when-it-had-felt-good-to-be/) [Rachel Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-abbott/) > [“Men circle like bees around honey, buzzing to communicate their sexual despair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carla-h-krueger/men-circle-like-bees-around-honey-buzzing-to-communicate-their-sexual/) [Carla H Krueger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carla-h-krueger/) > [I think what was special about 'Music by Prudence' was the classic story of the title subject's life path - from being an outcast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-think-what-was-special-about-music-by-prudence-was-the-classic/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [Your spirit is the part of you that seeks meaning and purpose. It's the part drawn to hope, that will not give in to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-myss/your-spirit-is-the-part-of-you-that-seeks-meaning-and-purpose-it-s/) [Caroline Myss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-myss/) > [My God, whose son, as on this night, took on Him the form of man, and for man vouchsafed to suffer and bleed, controls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/my-god-whose-son-as-on-this-night-took-on-him-the-form-of-man-and-for/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [The modernist writers found despair inspirational.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/the-modernist-writers-found-despair-inspirational/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [The skin and shell of things Though fair are not Thy wish nor prayer but got My meer despair of wings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-vaughan/the-skin-and-shell-of-things-though-fair-are-not-thy-wish-nor-prayer/) [Henry Vaughan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-vaughan/) > [“A fine setting for a fit of despair,” it occurred to him, “if I were only standing here by accident instead of design.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/a-fine-setting-for-a-fit-of-despair-it-occurred-to-him-if-i-were-only/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [Enough for this bow & arrow. It caused me nothing but sorrow. No need for another tomorrow. In your heart, I will never be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louaiq8/enough-for-this-bow-arrow-it-caused-me-nothing-but-sorrow-no-need-for/) [Louaiq8](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louaiq8/) > [True repentance never leads to despair. Its leads home. It leads to grace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ortberg/true-repentance-never-leads-to-despair-its-leads-home-it-leads-to/) [John Ortberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ortberg/) > [Do not consider despair as a thick and high wall standing on your way; it is just a darkness and you can still walk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/do-not-consider-despair-as-a-thick-and-high-wall-standing-on-your-way/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Despair is the price one pays for setting oneself an impossible aim. It is, one is told, the unforgivable sin, but it is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/despair-is-the-price-one-pays-for-setting-oneself-an-impossible-aim/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [A speculative despair is unpardonable where it our duty to act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/a-speculative-despair-is-unpardonable-where-it-our-duty-to-act/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [I have noticed that there is no dissatisfaction like that of the rich. Feed a man, clothe him, put him in a good house,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-have-noticed-that-there-is-no-dissatisfaction-like-that-of-the-rich/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) [Browse all 3,181 Despair quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despair/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My mother had a look on her face that I'll never forget. 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