"For example, when my mother died, the people who showed up just to put an apron on to cook, people who really do the right thing, so to speak, as my momma would always say to show that they care, a sense of community that we've lost so much in our country"
About this Quote
Her phrasing is tellingly conversational, almost tangled: “people who really do the right thing, so to speak.” The “so to speak” is a self-check against sounding preachy, but it also reveals anxiety about how rare this feels now. The small quote-within-the-quote - “as my momma would always say” - anchors the moral standard in a Southern, familial register where decency is practical, not performative. “Momma” isn’t nostalgia bait; it’s a credential, a way of saying this value system was taught at the kitchen level.
Then she widens the frame: “a sense of community that we’ve lost so much in our country.” That’s the quiet indictment. Ward is mourning two deaths at once: a parent and a disappearing social contract. The intent isn’t to romanticize the past; it’s to shame the present, gently, by reminding us that solidarity used to arrive carrying a casserole, not a comment.
Quote Details
| Topic | Mother |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Ward, Sela. (2026, January 17). For example, when my mother died, the people who showed up just to put an apron on to cook, people who really do the right thing, so to speak, as my momma would always say to show that they care, a sense of community that we've lost so much in our country. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/for-example-when-my-mother-died-the-people-who-73734/
Chicago Style
Ward, Sela. "For example, when my mother died, the people who showed up just to put an apron on to cook, people who really do the right thing, so to speak, as my momma would always say to show that they care, a sense of community that we've lost so much in our country." FixQuotes. January 17, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/for-example-when-my-mother-died-the-people-who-73734/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"For example, when my mother died, the people who showed up just to put an apron on to cook, people who really do the right thing, so to speak, as my momma would always say to show that they care, a sense of community that we've lost so much in our country." FixQuotes, 17 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/for-example-when-my-mother-died-the-people-who-73734/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.
