I used to think that my mother got into arguments with people because they didn't understand her English, because she was Chinese.

Quote by Amy Tan

Topics: Amy Tan Quotes

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...

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...

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...

The forbidden things were a great influence on my life. I was forbidden from reading...

The forbidden things were a great influence on my life. I was forbidden from reading...

I think I've always been somebody, since the deaths of my father and brother, who...

I think I've always been somebody, since the deaths of my father and brother, who...

Words to me were magic. You could say a word and it could conjure up...

Words to me were magic. You could say a word and it could conjure up...

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.

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...

If you can't change your fate, change your attitude.

If you can't change your fate, change your attitude.

I did not lose myself all at once. I rubbed out my face over the...

I did not lose myself all at once. I rubbed out my face over the...

My mother had a very difficult childhood, having seen her own mother kill herself. So...

My mother had a very difficult childhood, having seen her own mother kill herself. So...

I didn't fear failure. I expected failure.

I didn't fear failure. I expected failure.

I was intelligent enough to make up my own mind. I not only had freedom...

I was intelligent enough to make up my own mind. I not only had freedom...

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 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...

Who knows where inspiration comes from. Perhaps it arises from desperation. Perhaps it comes from...

Who knows where inspiration comes from. Perhaps it arises from desperation. Perhaps it comes from...

People think it's a terrible tragedy when somebody has Alzheimer's. But in my mother's case,...

People think it's a terrible tragedy when somebody has Alzheimer's. But in my mother's case,...

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...

I started a second novel seven times and I had to throw them away.

I started a second novel seven times and I had to throw them away.

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...