You write a book and you hope somebody will go out and pay $24.95 for what you've just said. I think books were my salvation. Books saved me from being miserable.
Amy TanClichรฉs are static, the emotion behind them long spent. If you are tempted to use them, here is a saying of my motherโs: Fang pi bu-cho, cho pi bu-fang. Basically that translates to: "Loud farts donโt stink, and the really smelly ones donโt make a sound." In other words: When youโre full of beans, you just blow a lot of hot air. If you want to have a real impact, be deadly but silent. Oh, also recognize the difference between a bad clichรฉ and a good quotation. My motherโs saying is a good quotation. You should use it often.
Amy TanI saw my mother in a different light. We all need to do that. You have to be displaced from what's comfortable and routine, and then you get to see things with fresh eyes, with new eyes.
Amy TanWhat is true about a person? Would I change in the same way the river changes color but still be the same person?... And then I realized it was the first time I could see the power of the wind. I couldn't see the wind itself, but I could see it carried water that filled the rivers and shaped the countryside.
Amy Tan