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

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...

I didn't fear failure. I expected failure.

I didn't fear failure. I expected failure.

Language is the tool of my trade -and I use them all - all the...

Language is the tool of my trade -and I use them all - all the...

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...

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...

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...

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...

I also thought of playing improvisational jazz and I did take lessons for a while....

I also thought of playing improvisational jazz and I did take lessons for a while....

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...

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...

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...

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...

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 thought I was clever enough to write as well as these people and I...

I thought I was clever enough to write as well as these people and I...

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...

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.'...

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 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.

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,...