The Questions We Don’t Ask Our Families but Should
Five takeaways:
- This article explores the importance of learning as much as possible about our loved ones, particularly our family elders. Many of us live in the dark about so much of the lives of our elders.
- Keating, a professor of sociology, has developed “the essential questions” that families can use to learn more about each other. The stories and memories these questions elicit, Keating argues, will “place you in a rich sensory world you knew little about,” and feel more connected to your personal roots.
- Parents and grandparents have unique snapshots of memories of a world that will never return; absorbing those stories is a way of preserving lost worlds while creating lasting connection.
- These memories reaffirm a family’s identity and can reaffirm one’s personal sense of history. A greater sense of one’s place in a progression of a family can add to a sense of personal meaning.
- As we look ahead to Thanksgiving, take a moment to think about meaningful questions that will elicit thoughtful answers from your loved ones. You will find that your loved one’s answers may surprise, delight, and amaze.
From Elizabeth Keating at The Atlantic:
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