• By Sadie
    Jun 3, 2009 5:00 PM 19,699
    more about

    #askadeadperson

    "How Do I Keep My Sullen Daughter From Alienating My Wealthy Boyfriend?"
    read more: #askdorothyparker, #askadeadperson, #askjudy, #obit, #dorothyparker, #innocentiii, #freud, #charlesmanson, #aynrand, #leopoldandloeb, #joancrawford, #agamemnon, #edithpiaf, #hlmencken, #top

    "How Do I Explain To My Friend That Her Bad Mothering Drove Her Daughter To Suicide?"

    This psychopath asks Obit's resident sage Judy. We whip out our pink Ouija board and ask a bunch of dead people!

    Dear Judy,

    When her boyfriend broke up with her, a young girl — 17 — committed suicide. She is (was) the daughter of a longtime friend. And to put it candidly, my friend was a so-so mother. Always criticizing the girl, never praising her, telling her she was "fat" or that her grades weren't up to par. Like that.

    So I really think my friend's attitude contributed to that poor girl's suicide. My friend talks about it a lot, obviously, keeps pinning the tragedy on the boy who broke off with her daughter. And keeps saying she was always "a good mother."

    What should I say? If anything? Should I correct her? In my mind she was an awful mother, and maybe she should acknowledge that.

    Lidia


    Dorothy Parker:     If I trusted you behind the wheel and I wasn't already sipping a martini, you'd have just driven me to drink.

    Ayn Rand: How does this serve your rational self-interest? You are a fool.

    Freud:     Seriously?

    Leopold and Loeb: Our superior intellect impels this kind of honesty. Carry on.

    Saint Paul:     I hate women.

    Agamemnon:     You know, "acknowledging it?" Doesn't really help that much.

    Joan Crawford: Maybe she was fat.

    Hume: Honesty is part of letting go. It is seeing the need to let go. (The desire for humility comes from admitting that one is prideful.)

    Innocent III: The only sinner here is the miserable girl who's now in hell. Let's pray for her.

    Edith Piaf: It was love! IT WAS LOVE, I SAY!

    H.L. Mencken: Conscience is a mother-in-law whose visit never ends. And you make me glad to be dead.

    Judas: You're a good friend.

    Aurelia Plath: Go to hell, go directly to hell.

    [Jack Kerouac was not apparently available for comment at this time.]


    A Second Opinion, The Oversharing Widower And A Guilty Mother     [Obit]

    Earlier: What To Do When You're In Love With Your Sister's Widower?

    "How Do I Keep My Sullen Daughter From Alienating My Wealthy Boyfriend?"


    Send an email to Sadie Stein, the author of this post, at Sadie@jezebel.com.