Home / Authors / Judith Viorst

Judith Viorst Quotes

Author

Judith Viorst is an American author known for her humor and insightful writing. Born on February 2, 1931, her works span across children's literature, adult fiction, and poetry, with a particular talent for depicting life from a child's perspective.

Filter quotes by topic

All Mother Children Loss Self Ifs Love Is Age Feels Love Our Children Parent Dream Growing Up Left May Needs Separation Want Aging Childhood

Famous Judith Viorst Quotes

“Indeed, analyst Robert Bak calls orgasm "the perfect promise between love and death," the means by which we repatriate separation of mother and child through the momentary extinction of the self. It is true that few of us consciously climb into a lover's bed in the hope of finding our mommy between the sheets. But the sexual loss of our separateness (which may scare people so badly they cannot have orgasm) brings us pleasure, in part, because it unconsciously repeats our first connection.”

Love Death Mother Separation Oneness Psychoanalysis Psychotherapy Orgasm

Book:Necessary Losses: The Loves, Illusions, Dependencies, and Impossible Expectations That All of Us Have to Give Up in Order to Grow

Source: Necessary Losses: The Loves, Illusions, Dependencies, and Impossible Expectations That All of Us Have to Give Up in Order to Grow

“[On writing her first poem at age eight:] An ode to my dead mother and father, who were both alive and pretty pissed off.”

Writing Firsts Children Age Mother Father Alive Poet Eight Mother And Father Pissed Off Odes Dead Mother

Author:Judith Viorst

“Our father presents an optional set of rhythms and responses for us to connect to. As a second home base, he makes it safer to roam. With him as an ally--a love--it is safer, too, to show that we're mad when we're mad at our mother. We can hate and not be abandoned, hate and still love.”

Stills Shows Home Mother Hate Father Mad Response Rhythm Allies Abandoned Our Father Optional Home Base

Book:Necessary Losses: The Loves Illusions Dependencies and Impossible Ex

Source: Necessary Losses: The Loves Illusions Dependencies and Impossible Ex

“Eventually we will learn that the loss of indivisible love is another of our necessary losses, that loving extends beyond the mother-child pair, that most of the love we receive in this world is love we will have to share--and that sharing begins at home, with our sibling rivals.”

World Children Home Mother Loss Love Is Share This World Pairs Rivals Sibling Rivalry Indivisible Sibling Rivalry Mother Child

Book:Necessary Losses: The Loves Illusions Dependencies and Impossible Ex

Source: Necessary Losses: The Loves Illusions Dependencies and Impossible Ex

“We have to divide mother love with our brothers and sisters. Our parents can help us cope with the loss of our dream of absolute love. But they cannot make us believe that we haven't lost it.”

Believe Helping Dream Mother Lost Parent Loss Havens Brother Absolutes Divides Brothers And Sisters Our Dreams Sibling Rivalry Mother Love Sibling Rivalry Absolute Love

Book:Necessary Losses: The Loves Illusions Dependencies and Impossible Ex

Source: Necessary Losses: The Loves Illusions Dependencies and Impossible Ex

“Craving that old sweet oneness yet dreading engulfment, wishing to be our mother's and yet be our own, we stormily swing from mood to mood, advancing and retreating-the quintessential model of two-mindedness.”

Two Mother Wish Sweet Models Mood Oneness Swings Craving Advancing Quintessential

Book:Necessary Losses: The Loves Illusions Dependencies and Impossible Ex

Source: Necessary Losses: The Loves Illusions Dependencies and Impossible Ex

“If his mother was drowning and I was drowning and he had to choose one of us to save, He says he'd save me.”

Ifs Mother True Love Drowning Save Me

Book:Grown-Up Marriage: What We Know, Wish We Had Known, and Still Need to Know About Being Married

Source: Grown-Up Marriage: What We Know, Wish We Had Known, and Still Need to Know About Being Married

“I could tell it was going to be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.”

Has Beens Mother Mom Terrible My Mom Horrible Bad Day Happy Mothers Day Best Mother Children Book Mom Knows Best Writing Children's Books Good And Bad Days Classic Book

Author:Judith Viorst

“The need to become a separate self is as urgent as the yearning to merge forever. And as long as we, not our mother, initiate parting, and as long as our mother remains reliably there, it seems possible to risk, and even to revel in, standing alone.”

Needs Long Self Seems Mother Forever Risk Standing Remains Yearning Urgent Parting Initiate Standing Alone

Book:Necessary Losses: The Loves Illusions Dependencies and Impossible Ex

Source: Necessary Losses: The Loves Illusions Dependencies and Impossible Ex

“Our mother gives us our earliest lessons in love- and its partner, hate. Our father-our "second other"-elaborates on them.”

Giving Mother Hate Father Lessons Partners Our Father Love And Hate

Book:Necessary Losses: The Loves Illusions Dependencies and Impossible Ex

Source: Necessary Losses: The Loves Illusions Dependencies and Impossible Ex

“For many men the denial of dependency on their mother is repeated in their subsequent relationships, sometimes by an absence of any sexual interest in women, sometimes by a pattern of loving and leaving them.”

Men Sometimes Mother Interest Leaving Patterns Absence Denial Dependency

Book:Necessary Losses: The Loves Illusions Dependencies and Impossible Ex

Source: Necessary Losses: The Loves Illusions Dependencies and Impossible Ex

“There is a time to separate from our mother. But unless we are ready to separate-unless we are ready to leave her and be left-anything is better than separation.”

Mother Left Ready Separation Parting Ready To Leave

Book:Necessary Losses: The Loves Illusions Dependencies and Impossible Ex

Source: Necessary Losses: The Loves Illusions Dependencies and Impossible Ex