“The Most Hateful Words” by Amy Tan

“The Most Hateful Words” by Amy Tan is a short story with a lot of powerful meaning to it. As the title of the short story says it, it’s filled with emotional problems between the relationship of a young girl and her mother. Tan wants the readers to know not only what she has gone through, but also what the outcome of their relationship was. Tan promised herself she’d never forget all the pain her mother put her through. A twist in the story happens where the mother is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Due to the illness it causes you to forget many things, lucky if some events come back into the mind. Tan’s mother forgets what had happened between them, therefore she asked her daughter for forgiveness. As Tan heard those words some peace came into her heart and decided to let go of that long grudge she had been holding in. Tan went on by mentioning closure because a few weeks later her mother had passed. It goes to show how your life could change just by opening up your heart and forgiving some things.

Tan did end up forgiving her mother, but that’s something she’ll never forget. I did not enjoy reading this short story because it was too emotional and hurtful just to hear what was being said between the mother and daughter. Tan supported all her ideas and feelings but, I never got to hear the mother’s side of the story. Usually the story is told completely different depending on the person’s perspective. I can relate to the same situation Tan had gone through because I see it all the time between my sister and mother. Nowhere near how extreme Tan’s experience, but it is pretty hard watching my family go through a similar experience. Just like Tan and her mother yelled hurtful things at each other, my sister and mother do the same. I say it’s just part of teenager and mother clashing but then I think to myself well something’s not right because not everyone goes through this. At the end of the day they forgive each other ,and know they love each other it’s just something families go through. If I were in Tan’s situation I’d forgive my mother but I would never forget all the pain I experienced. We should forgive, but never forget, what someone has done to us.