My parents told me I would become a doctor and then in my spare time I would become a concert pianist. So, both my day job and my spare time were sort of taken care of.

Quote by Amy Tan

Topics: Amy Tan Quotes

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 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 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 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 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 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 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...

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...

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 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...

You can get sucked into the idea that, 'Gosh, this is impressive. Maybe I should...

You can get sucked into the idea that, 'Gosh, this is impressive. Maybe I should...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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,...

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...

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...

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.

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...