“There should be another word for this feeling - a sort of sorrowful happiness, or a happiness that only deepens someone's sorrow. The closest I can come to it is the Portuguese word saudade, which nears this feeling but tempers it with nostalgia, a wish for something that was and can never be again. A grieving person lives in a permanent state of saudade, but saudade does not incorporate joy. And grief might be simpler if joy never tried to intrude.” JoyGriefSorrowNostalgia Book:We Must Not Think of Ourselves Source: We Must Not Think of Ourselves
“The worst thing that's ever happened to you is not the worst thing that's ever happened to anybody.” HappenedWorstWorst Things Author:Lauren Grodstein
“A beloved student of mine told me she believed the earth was approximately 6,000 years old. She was smart, she was thoughtful, and she was wrong. But I couldn't discount her - I respected her too much. So I debated with her, using every bit of science and logic I had, but I still failed to convince her that the earth was billions of years old.” YearsStillsEarthBitsToo MuchStudentsMinesSmartLogicBillionsBelovedThoughtfulConvinceDiscounts Author:Lauren Grodstein
“I hate the word juicy in describing anything: lips, plots, oranges. But especially novels. It feels - icky. Reminds me of saliva.” FeelsHateNovelI HateLipsPlotOrangeDescribingJuicySaliva Author:Lauren Grodstein
“I like writing dialogue - I can hear my characters so clearly that writing dialogue often feels as much like transcribing something as it does like creating it.” FeelsWritingDoeI CanCharacterCreatingDialogueWriting DialogueTranscribing Author:Lauren Grodstein
“I wish I were better at straightforward description. I feel like I'm usually overdoing it or underdoing it, and it takes a lot of tweaking to get the details right.” FeelsWishDetailsDescriptionStraightforwardOverdoing It Author:Lauren Grodstein
“I write with the idea that nobody will care about what I've written; I publish with the idea that nobody will care either. Which is why every time somebody cares enough to read a novel of mine, or respond to it - a reader, a reviewer, even my own editor - I'm a little bit amazed, and so hugely grateful.” WritingLittlesIdeasEnoughCareBitsMy OwnNovelWrittenMinesReaderLittle BitGratefulEditorsAmazedPublishReviewers Author:Lauren Grodstein
“I'm inspired by people who are really deliberate and careful with their lives, and people who are kind. And of course I'm inspired by people who work hard and don't complain about it. I myself work hard but sometimes, I admit, I do complain.” PeopleKindSometimesHard WorkInspiredCarefulComplaining Author:Lauren Grodstein
“I've found a bit of success in my career, and I'm very relieved by it, but the success that comes after a book is published is never as happy as the feeling of writing, of knowing you've written something good, of feeling like you've had a worthwhile day in the chair. That's the best feeling I know, and as soon as writing stops making me feel that way, I'll stop doing it.” WritingBookFeelingsLike YouRelieved Author:Lauren Grodstein
