People come in and out of our lives, and the true test of friendship is whether you can pick back up right where you left off the last time you saw each other. Lisa See More Quotes by Lisa See More Quotes From Lisa See I write a thousand words a day. Lisa See thousand writing When the sun is shining, think of the time it won't be, because even when you're sitting in your house with the doors shut, misfortune can fall from above. Page 279 Lisa See doors fall thinking I think to really be literate in nu shu you only need about 600 characters because it is phonetic. So you're able to then create many words out of one character. Lisa See character needs thinking Let those who believe, believe. Let those who doubt, doubt. Lisa See doubt believe If it is perfectly acceptable for a widow to disfigure herself or commit suicide to save face for her husband's family, why should a mother not be moved to extreme action by the loss of a child or children? We are their caretakers. We love them. We nurse them when they are sick. . . But no woman should live longer than her children. It is against the law of nature. If she does, why wouldn't she wish to leap from a cliff, hang from a branch, or swallow lye? Lisa See suicide mother children Our words had to be circumspect. We could not write anything too negative about our circumstances. This was tricky, since the very form of a married woman's letter needed to include the usual complaints -- that we were pathetic, powerless, worked to the bone, homesick, and sad. We were supposed to speak directly about our feelings without appearing ungrateful, no-account, or unfilial. Lisa See ungrateful feelings writing I love research. I'd go so far as to say I'm a research fanatic. Lisa See fanatics research Mama used to tell us a story about a cicada sitting high in a tree. It chirps and drinks in dew, oblivious to the praying mantis behind it. The mantis arches up its front leg to stab the cicada, but it doesn't know an oriole perches behind it. The bird stretches out its neck to snap up the mantis for a midday meal, but its unaware of the boy who's come into the garden with a net. Three creatures—the cicada, the mantis and the oriole—all coveted gains without being aware of the greater and inescapable danger that was coming. Lisa See praying-mantis garden boys There is no life without death. That is the true meaning of yin and yang Lisa See yin-and-yang yang true-meaning The classics tell us that, in relationships, the one between teacher and student comes second only to the one between parent and child. Lisa See parent teacher children I think all women have a friend who at some point dumped them or betrayed them or deeply disappointed them. And at the same time all women have a friend who they dumped or betrayed or hurt in some way. That's universal in women's friendships. Lisa See betrayed hurt thinking Sisters, as you know, also have a unique relationship. This is the person who has known you your entire life, who should love you and stand by you no matter what, and yet it's your sister who knows exactly where to drive the knife to hurt you the most. Lisa See sister hurt love-you Maybe we're all like that with our mothers. They seem ordinary until one day they're extraordinary. Lisa See one-day mother ordinary We hug, but there are no tears. For every awful thing that's been said and done, she is my sister. Parents die, daughters grow up and marry out, but sisters are for life. She is the only person left in the world who shares my memories of our childhood, our parents, our Shanghai, our struggles, our sorrows, and, yes, even our moments of happiness and triumph. My sister is the one person who truly knows me, as I know her. The last thing May says to me is 'When our hair is white, we'll still have our sister love. Lisa See sister growing-up daughter I know a lot about women and their suffering, but I still know almost nothing about men. Lisa See stills suffering men Gone were my girlish ideas about romantic love and my later ideas about sexual love. From Yi, I learned to appreciate deep-heart love. Peony in Love Lisa See romantic-love heart ideas For my entire life I longed for love. I knew it was not right for me — as a girl and later as a woman — to want or expect it, but I did, and this unjustified desire has been at the root of every problem I have experienced in my life. Lisa See girl roots desire The greatest calling of all is to have a literary life. Lisa See calling My hardcover sales are 17% down in books but up 400% in electronics. Lisa See electronics book i would rather be married to broken jade than flawless clay Lisa See flawless clay broken
