My mother said I was a clingy kid until I was about four. I also remember that from the age of eight she and I fought almost every day.

Quote by Amy Tan

Topics: Amy Tan Quotes

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 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...

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.'...

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.

I would find myself laughing and wondering where these ideas came from. You can call...

I would find myself laughing and wondering where these ideas came from. You can call...

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.

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,...

You write a book and you hope somebody will go out and pay $24.95 for...

You write a book and you hope somebody will go out and pay $24.95 for...

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 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.

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.

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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 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...

It's both rebellion and conformity that attack you with success.

It's both rebellion and conformity that attack you with success.