While watching  Black Mother Lost Daughter I could not stop thinking about the “The glass child.” This term has been trending on social media, and it refers to the healthy siblings of a child with special needs. They are “glass children” because most of the time they feel invisible and their parents look through them. The play explores many themes, but one problem that resonates with me is the missing mother-daughter bond and the lack of communication. Both Natalie and Princess are suffering, but instead of forming a bond to cope with the pain, they find their own ways to cope and avoid each other.

Princess being a “glass child” reminds me of Everything I Never Told You, a novel written by Celeste Ng. The novel is about a Chinese American family, where the favorite child Lydia is found dead in the local lake. Although there is not a child with special needs in this novel, the middle child Lydia is evidently the favorite. This makes the older and younger siblings (Nathan and Hannah) “glass children.” The children do not only have to deal with racism and prejudice, they also have to endure being ignored by their parents. Before Lydia’s death, both siblings are already being ignored. However, after she is found drowned things become worst since the family does not know how to handle their loss.

Just like Natalie and Princess, Lydia’s parents go their separate ways and avoid the topic. selfishly the parents focus on their loss, totally forgetting that their other children need help to cope as well.

Black Mother Lost Daughter is a heart-breaking work of art that not only explores police brutality against people of color but that also shows the importance of understanding our family members and creating bonds. It is sad that Queen’s death is what makes Natalie realize that Princess is also her daughter and needs her.

In this video, Alicia Maples talks about her experience being a “glass child.”