--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: So this is what I will do. I will gather…" description: "\"So this is what I will do. I will gather together my past and look. I will see a thing that has already happened. the pain that cut my spirit loose. I ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/738/amy-tan-730_black_so-this-is-what-i-will-do-i-will-gather_1061479.jpg" --- # So this is what I will do. I will gather together my past… ![“So this is what I will do. I will gather together my past and look. I will see a thing that has already happened. the pain that cut my spirit loose. I will hold that pain in my hand until it becomes hard and shiny, more clear. And then my fierceness can come back, my golden side, my black side. I…” quote by Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/738/amy-tan-730_black_so-this-is-what-i-will-do-i-will-gather_1061479.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/738/amy-tan-730_black_so-this-is-what-i-will-do-i-will-gather_1061479.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/738/amy-tan-730_black_so-this-is-what-i-will-do-i-will-gather_1061479.jpg) > “So this is what I will do. I will gather together my past and look. I will see a thing that has already happened. the pain that cut my spirit loose. I will hold that pain in my hand until it becomes hard and shiny, more clear. And then my fierceness can come back, my golden side, my black side. I will use this sharp pain to penetrate my daughter's tough skin and cut her tiger spirit loose. She will fight me, because this is the nature of two tigers. But I will win and giver her my spirit, because this is the way a mother loves her daughter.” [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 transforms past pain into strength, using it to empower her daughter despite conflict. **In simple terms:** A mother turns pain into power for her daughter. Key Takeaway Channel past hurt into protective strength. Themes motherhood empowerment conflict transformation family Mood determined intense reflective Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - parenting - healing trauma - conflict resolution - personal growth Key Concepts psychology emotional resilience generational dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How can you transform personal suffering into strength? - When does protecting a child become controlling? A Different Perspective Pain can become a weapon if not healed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Daughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/daughter/) [Fierceness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fierceness/) [I will win](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-will-win/) [Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother/) [Mother love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother-love/) [Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Spirit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirit/) [Tigers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tigers/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Tough skin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tough-skin/) [Winning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/winning/) ## Related quotes > [“I will use this sharp pain to penetrate my daughter’s tough skin and cut her tiger spirit loose. She will fight me, because this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/i-will-use-this-sharp-pain-to-penetrate-my-daughter-s-tough-skin-and/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [And she, the new mother of a daughter, felt a fierceness come over her that seized at her heart, that made her feel as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-groff/and-she-the-new-mother-of-a-daughter-felt-a-fierceness-come-over-her/) [Lauren Groff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-groff/) > [But I will win and give her my spirit, because this is the way a mother loves her daughter. -Ying Ying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/but-i-will-win-and-give-her-my-spirit-because-this-is-the-way-a/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [I've often said this - that you can get through a tragedy, and... you trudge on, but the pain never really goes away. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-morgan/i-ve-often-said-this-that-you-can-get-through-a-tragedy-and-you/) [Lorrie Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-morgan/) > [“I often wonder what would have happened to those in pain if, instead of Christ, there had been a Christian.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/i-often-wonder-what-would-have-happened-to-those-in-pain-if-instead/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“What happened was pain and pleasure and shock and satisfaction all rolled into one. Pain as he withdrew and thrust over and over again…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-balogh/what-happened-was-pain-and-pleasure-and-shock-and-satisfaction-all/) [Mary Balogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-balogh/) > [Could you stop my heart? It's always beating. Sinking like a weight. I don't think I am okay. No not today . 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Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-p-jones/) > [“It was the loss of her friend, not the loss of her suitor, that had taught her how deeply pain could cut.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/libbie-hawker/it-was-the-loss-of-her-friend-not-the-loss-of-her-suitor-that-had/) Libbie Hawker > [H.O.P.E you know what that says love ? It says . HOlD ON , PAIN ENDS ! So Smile its almost over](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salma-rodriguez/h-o-p-e-you-know-what-that-says-love-it-says-hold-on-pain-ends-so/) [Salma Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salma-rodriguez/) > [A person full of compassion can hold the pain of the world without letting it crush you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kemmy-nola/a-person-full-of-compassion-can-hold-the-pain-of-the-world-without/) [Kemmy Nola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kemmy-nola/) > [Hope : hold on, pain ends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/hope-hold-on-pain-ends/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## 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. 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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. 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We have to win every single political office we can, where we have a majority of black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/we-have-to-build-our-own-power-we-have-to-win-every-single-political/) [Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) > [There is only one party in the United States, the Property Party...and it has two right wings: Republican and Democrat. Republicans are a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/there-is-only-one-party-in-the-united-states-the-property-party-and/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Black music has always known, and not been afraid to acknowledge just how high the stakes of Black thought are. To summarize the final…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-b-wilderson-iii/black-music-has-always-known-and-not-been-afraid-to-acknowledge-just/) Frank B. 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