It is made clear very quickly that June is respectful towards her mother, Suyuan Woo. She addresses her as her “mother” instead of calling her “mom”. The word “mom” is connoted comfort and suggests that she is more friends with her. On the other hand, “mother” almost has a cold and formal connotation. By using this form, she indicates that her mother is someone that she should respect rather than someone that she can be more informal with. Also, she mentions “unspoken tragedies” that these women have experienced. The reason that they are unspoken is because these events are so tragic that it is hard for them to speak of them. Also, each woman has experienced something of this caliber, and there is an unspoken understanding among the women about
