Mother Word Cloud

Since Mother Daughter Me was first published in 2013, I’ve been asking people to describe their mother in one word. The words people choose are as poignant as they are diverse: Saintly. Perfect. Violent. Unselfish. Clannish.

Some words keep showing up over and over. “Caring” is one. “Narcissist” is another (ouch). The list is now so long — and so compelling — that a few years ago I created a word cloud in order to get a better fix, visually, on how we collectively feel about our mothers. That is, the more frequently a particular word crops up (e.g. “Loving” and “Strong”), the bigger the word is when shown on the word cloud. I update the cloud once a week.

Please contribute your own word to the cloud!