Joyce Maynard Quotes & Sayings (Page 3)

“The big dramas that fascinate me are the quiet ones that happen behind closed doors in so-called ordinary families.”

“The portrait of my parents is a complicated one, but lovingly drawn.”

“Those who rhapsodize about the ease and joy of childhood have perhaps forgotten what it's like to be 12 years old.”

“A good home must be made, not bought. In the end, it's not track lighting or a sun room that brings light into a kitchen.”

“More than any other setting - more than battlefields or boardrooms or a spaceship headed for intergalactic travel - I'll put my money on the family to provide an endless source of comedy, tragedy and intrigue.”

“Women writers have been told, forever, that our stories were not valuable. Not as valuable as men's stories about wars, business, power.”

“Teach a child to play solitaire, and she'll be able to entertain herself when there's no one around. Teach her tennis, and she'll know what to do when she's on a court. But raise her to feel comfortable in nature, and the whole planet is her home.”

“The vehemence with which certain critics have chosen not simply to criticize what I've written, but to challenge my writing this story at all, speaks of what the book is about: fear of disapproval.”

“For 25 years, I did take my responsibilities as a pleaser of others sufficiently seriously.”

“If a man wishes to truly not be written about, he would do well not to write letters to 18-year-old girls, inviting them into his life.”