If a mother is sitting in a chair at the office, someone needs to be at home with her child. In some cases, that is a father. Much of the time, the material manifestation of the conflict is a nanny. Mona Simpson casechairchild Change image and share on social
I've never had an exclusive relationship to a room where I write. I used to want one. Mona Simpson exclusivehaverelationship Change image and share on social
We have all these cultural assumptions about love. People get hurt, and we say, 'Oh, it's no one's fault.' Mona Simpson assumptionculturalfault Change image and share on social
My mother was a single parent, a speech therapist who worked for a company that kept a substantial percentage of the income they billed for her to teach stroke victims in convalescent hospitals to talk again. Mona Simpson billcompanyconvalescent share on social
I remember the excitement of finding a great pancake recipe in 'Gourmet.' It felt as if it were mine. And it was Berkeley, of course - everybody cooked together. Cooking is what one did. Mona Simpson berkeleycookexcitement Change image and share on social
I didn't know much about computers. I still worked on a manual Olivetti typewriter. Mona Simpson computermanualolivetti Change image and share on social
In my 30s, I wrote in the back house of a ramshackle Spanish Revival we rented across from the ocean in the Santa Monica Canyon. I wrote thousands of pages there, but in order to see another adult human being, I had to steal out through the brambly side of the house, along the driveway down to the street. Mona Simpson 30sadultback share on social
In our national mythology, we seem to include only one-way migrations to the great capitol cities. The journey from the small Wisconsin town or Minnesota city to Chicago or New York or Los Angeles. Certainly for some people, that journey is a round trip. Mona Simpson angelescapitolchicago share on social
Even as a feminist, my whole life I'd been waiting for a man to love who could love me. For decades, I'd thought that man would be my father. When I was 25, I met that man, and he was my brother. Mona Simpson brotherdecadefather Change image and share on social
Even more than we want good love for ourselves, we want it for our children, those vulnerable satellites of our hearts that we send, unsteady, into the world. Mona Simpson childgoodheart Change image and share on social