Amy Tan

“I still believe in the American dream. I just think it's a lot more complicated than we were taught.”

“If you can't change your fate, change your attitude.”

“I was raised by a mother who told me I was great every day of my life.”

“Writing is an extreme privilege but it's also a gift. It's a gift to yourself and it's a gift of giving a story to someone.”

“You can't just tell your story. You have to tell a story that people will be interested in.”

“You see what you want to see, what you can't help seeing, what you don't want to see.”

“That is the nature of hope. We still have hope, even when we shouldn't.”

“We all have memories that are potent, but we don't know what they are until we write them down.”

“My mother... she is the story.”

“Isn't that what every child wants? To be the most important thing in a parent's life.”

“I am not a writer. I am a storyteller.”

“I discovered that my insecurities and my flaws were things that I actually need to embrace, and I let them become my superpowers.”

“This is how a daughter honors her mother. It is shou so deep it is in your bones.”