After all those years as a woman hearing 'not thin enough, not pretty enough, not smart enough, not this enough, not that enough,' almost overnight I woke up one morning and thought, 'I'm enough.' Anna Quindlen More Quotes by Anna Quindlen More Quotes From Anna Quindlen part of the problem with a war on poverty today is that many Americans have decided that being poor is a character defect, not an economic condition. Anna Quindlen today character war The closest thing to an outline is, because my memory is so bad now, if something occurs to me that I think might be important or pivotal, a lot of times I'll scribble notes down somewhere until I can get back to the book. Of course half the time I look at those notes the next morning and think, "What was that about?" Anna Quindlen morning memories book I'm not making light of prayers here, but of so-called school prayer, which bears as much resemblance to real spiritual experienceas that freeze-dried astronaut food bears to a nice standing rib roast. From what I remember of praying in school, it was almost an insult to God, a rote exercise in moving your mouth while daydreaming or checking out the cutest boy in the seventh grade that was a far, far cry from soul-searching. Anna Quindlen nice prayer spiritual Parents have railed against shelters near schools, but no one has made any connection between the crazed consumerism of our kids and their elders' cold unconcern toward others. Maybe the homeless are not the only ones who need to spend time in these places to thaw out. Anna Quindlen parent kids school The women of my mother's generation had, in the main, only one decision to make about their lives: who they would marry. From that, so much else followed: where they would live, in what sort of conditions, whether they would be happy or sad or, so often, a bit of both. There were roles and there were rules. Anna Quindlen women decision mother I do a lot of mental work before I ever start writing. Anna Quindlen writing Raising a child is a little like Picasso's work; in the beginning he did very conventional representational things. Cubism came after he had the rules down pat. Anna Quindlen cubism littles children London opens to you like a novel itself. [...] It is divided into chapters, the chapters into scenes, the scenes into sentences; it opens to you like a series of rooms, door, passsage, door. Mayfair to Piccadilly to Soho to the Strand. Anna Quindlen soho london doors Those of us who read because we love it more than anything, who feel about bookstores the way some people feel about jewelers. Anna Quindlen bookstores people way What usually happens is that when I'm nearing the end of one novel a vague idea about what I want to do next begins to present itself to me in terms of theme. And I would say over about the next six to eight months, usually as I'm out power walking in the morning, or when I'm cooking at night, or when I'm driving in the car, the people who might embody those themes take on a sharper and sharper focus. And there comes this sort of critical mass moment when they actually start to do things in my head. Anna Quindlen morning night ideas I conveniently forgot to remember that people only have two hands, or, as another parent once said of having a third child, it's time for a zone defense instead of man-to-man. Anna Quindlen men children hands I feel about exercise the same way that I feel about a few other things: that there is nothing wrong with it if it is done in private by consenting adults. Anna Quindlen adults done exercise Children should have enough freedom to be themselves - once they've learned the rules. Anna Quindlen freedom should-have children I do think there's some aspect of being a novelist that is a little crazy making. Anna Quindlen novelists crazy thinking The pursuit of otherness, the sense that we are somehow different than our brothers and sisters, no matter where we find them, allows for all the other great evils: racism, sexism, homophobia, violence against gay people and against women. Anna Quindlen gay brother racism The issue is privacy. Why is the decision by a woman to sleep with a man she has just met in a bar a private one, and the decision to sleep with the same man for $100 subject to criminal penalties? Anna Quindlen issues sleep men Somewhere between a third and a quarter of all people living in America today were born between 1946 and 1965 and if you think you're tired of hearing about us, you should try being one of us. Anna Quindlen tired america thinking A week in the hospital she had told us. A hysterectomy, she had said. It had seemed unremarkable to me in a woman of forty-six long finished with childbearing, although every day that I grow older I realize there is never anything unremarkable about losing any part of what makes you female - a breast, a womb, a child, a man. Anna Quindlen men long children On social welfare the Church does so much good around the world - nuns running schools and homeless shelters, priests ministering to people who are in crisis. Anna Quindlen running people school When men do the dishes, it's called helping. When women do the dishes, it is called life. Anna Quindlen house helping men
