"It's not that we had no heart or eyes for pain. We were al… - Amy Tan

"It's not that we had no heart or eyes for pain. We were all afraid. We all had our miseries. But to despair was to wish for something already lost. Or to prolong what was already unbearable...What was worse, to sit and wait for our own deaths with proper somber faces? Or to choose our own happiness?
"So we decided to hold parties and pretend each week had become the new year. Each week we could forget past wrongs done to us. We weren't allowed to think a bad thought. We feasted, we laughed, we played games, lost and won, we told the best stories. And each week we could hope to be lucky. That hope was our only joy. And that's how we came to call our little parties Joy Luck.

Amy Tan

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hope

English

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About Amy Tan

Amy Ruth Tan (譚恩美 Tán Ēnměi) (born 19 February 1952) is a Chinese-American writer and member of the Rock Bottom Remainders, most famous for her novel The Joy Luck Club.

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Alternative Names: Amy Ruth Tan

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We all had our miseries. But to despair was to wish back for something already lost. Or to prolong what was already unbearable.
-Suyuan

Originators like Amy Tan:

Margaret Atwood Louise Erdrich Isabel Allende Khaled Hosseini Haruki Murakami

Additional quotes by Amy Tan

If I look upon my whole life, I cannot think of another time when I felt more comfortable: when I had no worries, fears, or desires, when my life seemed as soft and lovely as lying inside a cocoon of rose silk.

A good government had to guide its people, sometimes gently, sometimes strictly, just as parents did. It could allow certain freedoms, but in a style that suited the country.

That was the night, in the kitchen, that I realized I was no better than who I was... And I no longer felt angry at Waverly. I felt tired and foolish, as if I had been running to escape someone chasing me, only to look behind and discover there was no one there.

"It's not that we had no heart or eyes for pain. We were all afraid. We all had our miseries. But to despair was to wish for something already lost. … - Amy Tan

About Amy Tan

Also Known As

Shorter versions of this quote

Additional quotes by Amy Tan