I saw my mother in a different light. We all need to do that. You have to be displaced from what's comfortable and routine, and then you get to see things with fresh eyes, with new eyes.

Quote by Amy Tan

Topics: Amy Tan Quotes

I read a book a day when I was a kid. My family was not...

I read a book a day when I was a kid. My family was not...

My parents had very high expectations. They expected me to get straight A's from the...

My parents had very high expectations. They expected me to get straight A's from the...

Memory feeds imagination.

Memory feeds imagination.

In America nobody says you have to keep the circumstances somebody else gives you.

In America nobody says you have to keep the circumstances somebody else gives you.

It's a luxury being a writer, because all you ever think about is life.

It's a luxury being a writer, because all you ever think about is life.

I loved fairy tales when I was a kid. Grimm. The grimmer the better. I...

I loved fairy tales when I was a kid. Grimm. The grimmer the better. I...

I have a writer's memory which makes everything worse than maybe it actually was.

I have a writer's memory which makes everything worse than maybe it actually was.

She said 'I'm by commission. You don't have to pay anything until you sell anything.'...

She said 'I'm by commission. You don't have to pay anything until you sell anything.'...

Writing is an extreme privilege but it's also a gift. It's a gift to yourself...

Writing is an extreme privilege but it's also a gift. It's a gift to yourself...

That was a wonderful period in my life. I mean, I didn't become an artist,...

That was a wonderful period in my life. I mean, I didn't become an artist,...

My parents told me I would become a doctor and then in my spare time...

My parents told me I would become a doctor and then in my spare time...

No one in my family was a reader of literary fiction. So, I didn't have...

No one in my family was a reader of literary fiction. So, I didn't have...

I didn't fear failure. I expected failure.

I didn't fear failure. I expected failure.

I used to think that my mother got into arguments with people because they didn't...

I used to think that my mother got into arguments with people because they didn't...

There are a lot of people who think that's what's needed to be successful is...

There are a lot of people who think that's what's needed to be successful is...

I wanted to write stories for myself. At first it was purely an aesthetic thing...

I wanted to write stories for myself. At first it was purely an aesthetic thing...

I learned to forgive myself, and that enabled me to forgive my mother as a...

I learned to forgive myself, and that enabled me to forgive my mother as a...

I would still like to have that luxury, to be able to just sit and...

I would still like to have that luxury, to be able to just sit and...

My mother said I was a clingy kid until I was about four. I also...

My mother said I was a clingy kid until I was about four. I also...

We are the kind of people who obsess over one word... but we have only...

We are the kind of people who obsess over one word... but we have only...