I've always felt like my nose is pressed to glass. I always feel a little bit like an outsider. Dani Shapiro More Quotes by Dani Shapiro More Quotes From Dani Shapiro I do whatever is necessary in order to maintain the equanimity we all need to withstand the disappointment and rejection that are the lot of every writer, no matter where we are in our careers. Dani Shapiro careersdisappointmentorder My desk is covered with talismans: pieces of rose quartz, wishing stones from a favorite beach. Dani Shapiro wishrosebeach This sadness wasn't a huge part of me--I wasn't remotely depressed--but still, it was like a stone I carried in my pocket. I always knew it was there. [p. 179] Dani Shapiro pocketssadnessstones There is no end to the promotion. There is no end to the possibilities. You can continue to promote a book for years, literally. Dani Shapiro promotionbookyears I don't know why this is, but I really believe that things don't happen when we're trying to will them into being. They don't happen when we're waiting for the phone to ring, or the email to pop up in our in box. They don't happen when we're gripping too tightly. They happen - if they happen at all - when we've fully let go of the results. And, perhaps, when we're ready. Dani Shapiro mondayletting-gobelieve A writer with her work needs to be like a dog with a bone all the time. She needs to know where she's hidden it. Where she's stored the good stuff. She needs to keep gnawing at it, even after all the meat seems to be gone. When a student of mine says (okay, whines) that she's impatient, or tired, or the worst: isn't it good enough? this may be harsh, but she loses just a little bit of my respect. Because there is no room for impatience, or exhaustion, or self-satisfaction, or laziness. All of these really mean, simply, that the inner censor has won the day. Dani Shapiro tireddogmean In a creative journey, it is essential, no matter how far one runs, to examine that which is closest to home. Dani Shapiro journeyhomerunning With tremendous clarity and wisdom, Daniel Tomasulo has crafted a memoir at once heartbreaking and uplifting. Layers of time and memory—childhood, adolescence, early adulthood, middle age—are so beautifully revealed here, a trenchant reminder that our pasts are alive inside of us. There are psychologists who can write, and writers who can psychologize, but rarely have the two met on the page with such moving, profound results. Dani Shapiro upliftingmemoriesmoving It is only with distance that we are able to turn our powers of observation on ourselves, thus fashioning stories in which we are characters. Dani Shapiro distancestoriescharacter Recognize the possibility of the divine in any given moment. Dani Shapiro possibilitymomentsdivine Courage is more important than confidence Dani Shapiro important We don't choose what's going to wake us up. Dani Shapiro What was going on inside of me became louder because everything around me became quieter. Dani Shapiro All there is to do, right at this very moment, is to breathe in, breathe out, and kiss the joy as it flies. Dani Shapiro kissingmomentsjoy I started realising that the themes running through all of my novels were really haunting and obsessing me about my own life. Dani Shapiro hauntingthemerunning If you write memoir, it can't be about blame or hurt; it has to be creative. Dani Shapiro creativehurtwriting As a fiction writer, that's been a preoccupation of mine: Can you really just close the door and leave the past back there behind you, or is the door going to blow open at some point? Dani Shapiro blowdoorspast My parents made the decision never to focus on my looks, and I had no sense of myself as beautiful. Dani Shapiro focusdecisionbeautiful Devotion, as it relates to the title of my memoir, means fidelity - as in fidelity to a person or a practice. I think it's certainly possible to feel devotion without having faith, at least in the religious sense of the word. Dani Shapiro religiousmeanthinking I'm an urban person who loves living in the country. Dani Shapiro living-in-the-countryurbancountry
