To my knowledge, my mother has never read Emily Dickinson, but back then, when it came to crafting a response, she taught me to “tell the truth but tell it slant.” All my life, friends and strangers have remarked on how much I look like my mother, but those who really know us know that my likeness to her does not extend to demeanor. Much to her chagrin, my mother has never understood my need to reveal my thoughts and emotions on such a consistent (relentless, she’d say) basis.
