Words to me were magic. You could say a word and it could conjure up all kinds of images or feelings or a chilly sensation or whatever. It was amazing to me that words had this power.

Quote by Amy Tan

Topics: Amy Tan Quotes

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...

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

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

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...

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...

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 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.

It's a luxury being a writer, because all you ever think about is life.

It's a luxury being a writer, because all you ever think about is life.

Placing on writers the responsibility to represent a culture is an onerous burden.

Placing on writers the responsibility to represent a culture is an onerous burden.

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...

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...

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 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....

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

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

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...

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 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...

God, life changes faster than you think.

God, life changes faster than you think.

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,...

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.'...

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,...