--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Everybody in America grew up without a…" description: "\"Everybody in America grew up without a father even if they had one. It was the fifties. They were working.\" — Mona Simpson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ad/mona-simpson-11854_america_everybody-in-america-grew-up-without-a-f_1365732.png" --- # Everybody in America grew up without a father even if they… ![“Everybody in America grew up without a father even if they had one. It was the fifties. They were working.” quote by Mona Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ad/mona-simpson-11854_america_everybody-in-america-grew-up-without-a-f_1365732.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ad/mona-simpson-11854_america_everybody-in-america-grew-up-without-a-f_1365732.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ad/mona-simpson-11854_america_everybody-in-america-grew-up-without-a-f_1365732.png) > “Everybody in America grew up without a father even if they had one. It was the fifties. They were working.” [Mona Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-simpson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Many American children grew up lacking a present father due to post‑war work demands. **In simple terms:** Kids often lacked fathers because parents worked long hours. Key Takeaway Recognize the impact of parental absence. Themes family history post‑war society parental roles Mood reflective nostalgic Type historical sociological When to use this quote - family counseling - historical research - social services - parenting workshops Key Concepts sociology psychology generational trauma Questions to Reflect On - How did absent fathers shape personal identity? - What societal factors contributed to this trend? A Different Perspective Not all families fit this pattern; many fathers were present. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) ## Related quotes > [When people say this isn't the America they grew up in, they're right. Nobody gets to grow old in the America they grew up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-collins/when-people-say-this-isn-t-the-america-they-grew-up-in-they-re-right/) [Gail Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-collins/) > [“As Dr. Franklin progressed through Philadelphia’s republican streets, his regal trappings drove home the message that honor in America grew from talent, not birth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-o-stewart/as-dr-franklin-progressed-through-philadelphia-s-republican-streets/) David O. Stewart > [Nobody gets to grow old in the America they grew up in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-collins/nobody-gets-to-grow-old-in-the-america-they-grew-up-in/) [Gail Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-collins/) > [I miss America because it's where I grew up. I miss the size of the roads, the size of cars, the malls, the choices…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzi-quatro/i-miss-america-because-it-s-where-i-grew-up-i-miss-the-size-of-the/) [Suzi Quatro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzi-quatro/) > [What happened to the America we grew up in, the America of Truman, Ike, JFK and Reagan?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-buchanan/what-happened-to-the-america-we-grew-up-in-the-america-of-truman-ike/) [Pat Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buchanan/) > [I grew up with a father who didn't wear a watch, and this has permanently marked my relationship with time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alessandro-michele/i-grew-up-with-a-father-who-didn-t-wear-a-watch-and-this-has/) [Alessandro Michele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alessandro-michele/) > [Well people often ask me how I felt growing up with a father who was a politician and who was often away. But when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-downer/well-people-often-ask-me-how-i-felt-growing-up-with-a-father-who-was/) [Alexander Downer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-downer/) > [I grew up to have my father's looks, my father's speech patterns, my father's posture, my father's opinions, and my mother's contempt for my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-feiffer/i-grew-up-to-have-my-father-s-looks-my-father-s-speech-patterns-my/) [Jules Feiffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-feiffer/) > [When my mom grew up, her father was in the military so she grew up all over the world. She lived in Germany, Jerusalem,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-wall/when-my-mom-grew-up-her-father-was-in-the-military-so-she-grew-up-all/) [Paul Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-wall/) > [I grew up with a father who taught me chess at the age of 6 or 7. He'd always beat me. Of course. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-corneliussen/i-grew-up-with-a-father-who-taught-me-chess-at-the-age-of-6-or-7-he-d/) [Stephanie Corneliussen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-corneliussen/) > [“Still, he could feel a fine cord stretched between them, a thin luminous fiber that ran from his chest all the way across the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-orringer/still-he-could-feel-a-fine-cord-stretched-between-them-a-thin/) [Julie Orringer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-orringer/) > [When I grew up, my father used to say that cricket is not a profession, cricket cannot bring you food. But I think he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viv-richards/when-i-grew-up-my-father-used-to-say-that-cricket-is-not-a-profession/) [Viv Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viv-richards/) > [I grew up without a father, so I have to be on point for my kids.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lil-durk/i-grew-up-without-a-father-so-i-have-to-be-on-point-for-my-kids/) [Lil Durk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lil-durk/) > [I grew up without a father.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hirokazu-kore-eda/i-grew-up-without-a-father/) [Hirokazu Kore-eda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hirokazu-kore-eda/) > [A lot of people don't even know that about me, I grew up without a father.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquise-goodwin/a-lot-of-people-don-t-even-know-that-about-me-i-grew-up-without-a/) [Marquise Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquise-goodwin/) ## More by Mona Simpson > [“Is it true? Is it kind? Is it necessary? Does it improve upon the silence?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-simpson/is-it-true-is-it-kind-is-it-necessary-does-it-improve-upon-the-silence/) [Mona Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-simpson/) > [I've never had an exclusive relationship to a room where I write. I used to want one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-simpson/i-ve-never-had-an-exclusive-relationship-to-a-room-where-i-write-i/) [Mona Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-simpson/) > [I do have food in my books. Different people eat different ways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-simpson/i-do-have-food-in-my-books-different-people-eat-different-ways/) [Mona Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-simpson/) > [I grew up as an only child with a single mother. Because we were poor and because I knew my father had emigrated from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-simpson/i-grew-up-as-an-only-child-with-a-single-mother-because-we-were-poor/) [Mona Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-simpson/) > [“A mother's happiness; something you recognize and then forget; it didn't seem to matter much, though it spread through our bodies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-simpson/a-mother-s-happiness-something-you-recognize-and-then-forget-it-didn/) [Mona Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-simpson/) > [I'm a simple cook, and there's a lot I don't eat. But food is important. It translates so easily into pleasure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-simpson/i-m-a-simple-cook-and-there-s-a-lot-i-don-t-eat-but-food-is-important/) [Mona Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-simpson/) > [I knew I would hate my best memory because it would prove that people could fake love or that love could end or worst…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-simpson/i-knew-i-would-hate-my-best-memory-because-it-would-prove-that-people/) [Mona Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-simpson/) > [Once upon a time, my mother lived in the posh downtown of Homs, Syria. She described my grandfather as a king in a storybook,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-simpson/once-upon-a-time-my-mother-lived-in-the-posh-downtown-of-homs-syria/) [Mona Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-simpson/) > [In my 30s, I wrote in the back house of a ramshackle Spanish Revival we rented across from the ocean in the Santa Monica…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-simpson/in-my-30s-i-wrote-in-the-back-house-of-a-ramshackle-spanish-revival/) [Mona Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-simpson/) > [I read a lot of books about psychopaths. I read a wonderful book Amy Hempel gave me about the guy who created criminal profiling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-simpson/i-read-a-lot-of-books-about-psychopaths-i-read-a-wonderful-book-amy/) [Mona Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-simpson/) > [Fashion is what seems beautiful now but looks ugly later; art can be ugly at first but it becomes beautiful later.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-simpson/fashion-is-what-seems-beautiful-now-but-looks-ugly-later-art-can-be/) [Mona Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-simpson/) > [I eventually made the reunion with my father that I'd used as a default daydream throughout my childhood, but by then, we'd both outgrown…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-simpson/i-eventually-made-the-reunion-with-my-father-that-i-d-used-as-a/) [Mona Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-simpson/) > [I remember the excitement of finding a great pancake recipe in 'Gourmet.' It felt as if it were mine. And it was Berkeley, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-simpson/i-remember-the-excitement-of-finding-a-great-pancake-recipe-in/) [Mona Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-simpson/) > [Gossip is essentially storytelling: storytelling about people whom we know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-simpson/gossip-is-essentially-storytelling-storytelling-about-people-whom-we/) [Mona Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-simpson/) > ['Casebook' is my attempt at a love story. I had a vision of a difficult love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-simpson/casebook-is-my-attempt-at-a-love-story-i-had-a-vision-of-a-difficult/) [Mona Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-simpson/) [Explore all 57 Mona Simpson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-simpson/) ## More America quotes > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [So here's what I want you to know, and here's what I want all our men and women in uniform to know: Because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-here-s-what-i-want-you-to-know-and-here-s-what-i-want-all-our-men/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Today, the world looks to America for leadership. And America looks to its Corps of Marines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/today-the-world-looks-to-america-for-leadership-and-america-looks-to/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [ I'll smoke, I'll cough, I'll get the tumors, I'll die, deal? Thank you America. \[salutes\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-ll-smoke-i-ll-cough-i-ll-get-the-tumors-i-ll-die-deal-thank-you/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [America is a democracy and has no Hitler, but I am afraid for her future; there are hard times ahead for the American people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/america-is-a-democracy-and-has-no-hitler-but-i-am-afraid-for-her/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I'm gonna bring America together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-m-gonna-bring-america-together/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [We need a system that serves our needs, not the needs of others. Remember, under a Trump administration it's called America first. Remember that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/we-need-a-system-that-serves-our-needs-not-the-needs-of-others/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [You live overseas, you see these exotic places and you want to know about them. But, weirdly, it also made me homesick for all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-jennings/you-live-overseas-you-see-these-exotic-places-and-you-want-to-know/) [Ken Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-jennings/) > [Freedom in every sense but primarily political sense, a rise in repression that stems from a repression of sexuality. It's AIDS, it's herpes, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/freedom-in-every-sense-but-primarily-political-sense-a-rise-in/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [“In American terms, the accomplishment of Genghis Khan might be understood if the United States, instead of being created by a group of educated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-weatherford/in-american-terms-the-accomplishment-of-genghis-khan-might-be/) [Jack Weatherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-weatherford/) [Browse all 20,382 America quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Everybody in America grew up without a father even if they had one. It was the fifties. 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