What legacies have been passed to you by the women in your family?

Terry Tempest Williams describes the gifts of her relationships with her mother, Diane, and grandmother Mimi. What legacies have been passed to you by the women in your family?

The women in my family instilled secret 'inside stuff' that fills hundreds of blank journals.

The legacy of strength & wisdom! Both grandmothers and my mother always verbalized we were strong women who came from a long line of strong intelligent women and to never let anyone suggest otherwise. In retrospect I feel they were simply promoting a positive self-image and ability to achieve anything you want in life.

My mother always instilled in me that I had the ability to take care of myself and my children. It has proven to be true and made me a better person for having faith in myself. I in turn have two of the strongest daughters I have ever met.

As an only child, I was encouraged to be independent. However, my Southern heritage is somewhat restrictive of roles as wife and mother. I am happy with it; it's just different.

Definitely stubbornness, outspokenness, not being trampled on. And lots and lots of kitchen tricks of the trade. Pretty much every trip to the kitchen is like bringing my whole family with me, all their recipes and stories, love, and memories.

A sense of adventure and independence. Also a strong work ethic coupled with compassion. Growing up in a family of 4 sisters has given me a deep appreciation of sisters and women.

The women in my family were hard workers. My mother worked full time, which was unusual for her generation, but found time for all of her household chores. I don't work as hard as she did, but I feel guilty about it. Guilt. Another legacy.

I come from a long line of strong women. My Great-grandmother left her opulent life and her family to marry outside her class. She produced my grandmother who was the strongest, wisest women I've ever known. In turn, my mother - who survived the loss of two children and was widowed too young. They taught me that nothing can stop you if you don't want it too.

As the daughter of a southern African-American woman born in 1918, the thing that she has instilled in me all these years is that I define who I am, not society. When we left Alabama to move north for her to get her Ph.D, I was only 14. She was a single parent by then, with no support from my father. It was very hard for me to leave my friends and surroundings. Things financially for us were very hard. i was a junior in high school with plans to attend college. I was able to attend college and have a very successful career in
the private, public and non profit sectors. She instilled in me a strong work ethic and to not expect any hand outs. She is still alive, but the legacy that I will carry forward is that if you really want something with hard work and determination you can achieve it.

My grandmother who died at almost 100, over 25 years ago and who spent 95 of those years living in Alabama left me the legacy of the need to be self sufficient, for she certainly was. The need for an education, and to be what I wanted to be, not be bound by traditions or the expectations of others.

Nothing I can think of, unfortunately. I had no consistency in my life, no real instructions or lessons I can recall. That is, unless you count my mother's negative pattern of never participating much in the lives of her children or grandchildren. I choose not to practice that.

I agree with Carolea and Jww. What was passed to me was strength and perseverance and generosity of spirit. It is so interesting to think of the impact these women had in our lives, not so much by words but by their actions. Maybe that also speaks to the blank journals. This is one book I'm really glad to be in a book club discussing. Thank you everyone who participated and thank you to all the women who modeled strength for us.