My parents had very high expectations. They expected me to get straight A's from the time I was in kindergarten.

Quote by Amy Tan

Topics: Amy Tan Quotes

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...

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...

I saw my mother in a different light. We all need to do that. You...

I saw my mother in a different light. We all need to do that. You...

God, life changes faster than you think.

God, life changes faster than you think.

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 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.

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 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....

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 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...

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 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...

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 am like a falling star who has finally found her place next to another...

I am like a falling star who has finally found her place next to another...

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...

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 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...

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 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...