We criticize mothers for closeness. We criticize fathers for distance. How many of us have expected less from our fathers and appreciated what they gave us more? How many of us always let them off the hook?

Personal life
Goodman was born in Newton Massachusetts. Her step-son Gregory Levey died by self-immolation in 1991 protesting the First Gulf War. Ellen Goodman (born April 11 1941) is an American journalist and Pulitzer Prize-winning syndicated columnist.