Our Mothers Ourselves With Katie Hafner: Sherry Turkle's Homage to Her Mother
- Sherry Turkle
- May 31, 2021
- 1 min read
Updated: Jul 8, 2021
This week, Katie speaks with MIT social scientist Sherry Turkle about her charismatic and vibrant mother, Harriet.
Born and raised in Brooklyn, Harriet, a spirited woman, longed for a husband and family. Her first marriage, however, did not work out. Her in-laws did not approve of her non-Kosher lifestyle and her husband had started performing Skinnerian-like experiments on their infant daughter Sherry. Harriet left him, taking Sherry with her and covering up all traces of her former marriage.
Harriet soon remarried and Sherry grew up with her being told to pretend that he was her biological father. The lies and omissions that surrounded Sherry’s childhood colored her relationship with her mom, leading to anger, and what Sherry describes as an “indirect cruelty” toward her mother.
To learn more about Sherry and Harriet, read Sherry’s her new book, The Empathy Diaries, A Memoir, which explores her relationship with her mother.
Artwork by Paula Mangin (@PaulaBallah)
Music composed and performed by Andrea Perry
Host: Katie Hafner
Producer: Alice Hudson
Associate Producer: Sophie McNulty
This summary of Sherry Turkle's "The Empathy Diaries" sounds incredibly poignant, highlighting the complex layers of family secrecy and their impact on relationships. The idea of "indirect cruelty" really resonates, showing how omissions can be as powerful as actions. It makes me reflect on how foundational our early experiences are. Speaking of self-perception and first impressions, I recently came across an interesting tool, the Attractiveness Test, which uses AI to evaluate profile photos for LinkedIn or dating apps. It's fascinating how technology can offer insights into how we present ourselves, much like Sherry Turkle's work dissects human interaction.
This is such a compelling and poignant summary of Sherry Turkle's relationship with her mother, Harriet. The complexities of memory, omission, and love are beautifully captured. It really makes me want to delve into "The Empathy Diaries" to understand the full scope of their journey. For anyone looking for a unique creative outlet after such a thoughtful read, you might enjoy turning some of your own memories or even article-inspired ideas into art with the AI Pixel Generator. It offers a fresh perspective on digital creation.
This sounds like such a compelling and intimately complex story. Sherry Turkle's insights on empathy are always profound, and exploring the impact of her mother's "indirect cruelty" due to the hidden truths of her childhood must be a powerful read. It's a testament to the lasting effects of family dynamics. For anyone looking to consolidate digital memories, like perhaps old photos from different stages of life, I highly recommend checking out JPG Merge – it's incredibly useful for combining various image formats seamlessly.
This sounds like a truly captivating and complex story. Sherry Turkle's insights into her relationship with her mother, born from such unique circumstances, must offer profound reflections on memory, identity, and the unspoken truths within families. I'm particularly interested in how these "lies and omissions" shaped her understanding of empathy. For anyone documenting their own family histories or complex narratives, a tool like Markdown to Doc could be really helpful for organizing thoughts before a deeper dive into writing.
This sounds like an incredibly poignant and insightful interview with Sherry Turkle. The complexities of her relationship with Harriet, marked by past secrets and "indirect cruelty," really highlight the profound impact family narratives have on us. It's fascinating how she's exploring this through "The Empathy Diaries." For anyone who works with digital content, clean, editable graphics are essential. You might find Converter PNG to SVG very useful for transforming images with background removal and simplification.