37 Ayelet Waldman Quotes for You to Enjoy

Ayelet Waldman

Israeli Novelist

Born: Dec 11, 1964

Life Me Mother Own Think You

Related authors: Charles Dickens Ernest Hemingway Gustave Flaubert James Baldwin John Updike Leo Rosten Paulo Coelho Walter Scott

There are times as a parent when you realize that your job is not to be the parent you always imagined you'd be, the parent you always wished you had. Your job is to be the parent your child needs, given the particulars of his or her own life and nature. Ayelet Waldman

Listen to the pregnant woman. Value her. She values the life growing inside her. Listen to the pregnant woman, and you cannot help but defend her right to abortion. Ayelet Waldman

Life You Woman Abortion Value Values Inside She Listen Cannot Pregnant Pregnant Woman Help Growing Her Right Defend

Another parent's different approach raises the possibility that you've made a mistake with your child. We simply can't tolerate that because we fear that any mistake, no matter how minor, could have devastating consequences. So we proclaim the superiority of our own choices. We've lost sight of the fact that people have preferences. Ayelet Waldman

You Mistake People Fear Matter Made Lost Own Consequences Approach Our Sight Possibility Minor Parent Superiority Fact Could Devastating Simply Another Because How Child Any Different Different Approach Proclaim Preferences Choices Your Your Child Tolerate Raises

I had a second trimester abortion. I was pregnant with a much-wanted child who was diagnosed with a genetic abnormality. I made a choice to terminate the pregnancy. It was my third pregnancy, and I was very obviously showing. More important, I could feel the baby move. Ayelet Waldman

Everyone knows now how early a fetus becomes a baby. Women who have been pregnant have seen their babies on ultrasounds. They know that there is a terrible truth to those horrific pictures the anti-choice fanatics hold up in front of abortion clinics. Ayelet Waldman

Truth Women Abortion Seen Babies Baby Everyone Those Horrific Pictures Know Terrible Knows Becomes How Been Clinics Up Fetus Front Hold Fanatics Pregnant Who Now Early

Roaring like a tiger turns some children into pianists who debut at Carnegie Hall but only crushes others. Coddling gives some the excuse to fail and others the chance to succeed. Ayelet Waldman

Others Carnegie Carnegie Hall Some Only Gives Fail Roaring Crushes Like Excuse Hall Tiger Debut Children Succeed Turns Who Chance

The biggest challenge for any craft person or artist is to accept the constraints of their medium and make something beautiful despite them. That's kind of fun, actually. Ayelet Waldman

Beautiful Challenge Medium Despite Kind Something Constraints Make Accept Person Craft Any Artist Biggest Biggest Challenge Them Fun Actually

If a good mother is one who loves her child more than anyone else in the world, I am not a good mother. I am in fact a bad mother. I love my husband more than I love my children. Ayelet Waldman

But I really feel strongly that our kids do way too much homework. The research is on my side. It's easy to make a fuss when you're right. That can be the tagline of my life: 'It's Easy To Make A Fuss When You're Right.' Ayelet Waldman

Life You Too Much My Life Research Homework Too Side Our Way Kids Fuss Easy Strongly Feel Make Much Really Right

The Q I loathe and despise, the Q every single writer I know loathes and despises, is this one: 'Where,' the reader asks, 'do you get your ideas?' It's a simple question, and my usual response is a kind of helpless, 'I don't know.' Ayelet Waldman

I mean, I do actually think there is a qualitative difference between aborting in the early part of the first trimester and in, you know, the middle or later part of the second trimester, in a way that you feel about it in that you grow attached. Ayelet Waldman

You First Think Later Way About Attached Part Feel Between Know Qualitative Difference Middle Mean Grow Actually Second Early

I expend far too much of my maternal energies on guilt and regret. Ayelet Waldman

Regret Too Much Guilt Too Maternal Expend Energies Far Much

You can take the babushka off the Jewish mother and dress her up in a pair of Seven jeans and Marc Jacobs sling-backs, but she's still going to expect a passel of grandkids. Ayelet Waldman

You Mother Seven Dress Take She Still Off Up Expect Going Grandkids Jeans Pair Marc Her Jewish

The thing about youthful offenders is that no one seems to care about them. Most people don't like adolescents - even the good ones can be snarky and unpleasant. Combine the antipathy we feel toward the average teenager with the fear inspired by youth violence, and you have a population that no one wants to deal with. Ayelet Waldman

Good You Youth People Fear Care Teenager Good Ones Unpleasant About Adolescent Seems Inspired No-One Feel Toward Combine Like Most Deal Offenders Antipathy Wants Them Average Youthful Even Population Thing Violence

I feed my kids organic food and milk, but I've also been known to buy the odd Lunchable. My kids are not allowed to watch TV during the week, but on weekends even the 2-year-old veges out to 'The Simpsons.' Ayelet Waldman

I am an adamant feminist. It never occurred to me to take my husband's name when we married. I am a supporter of abortion rights, of equal pay for equal work, of the rights of women prisoners, of all the time-honored feminist causes, and then some. Ayelet Waldman

Work Me Rights Women Abortion Husband Pay Married Some Take Never Supporter Name Equal Equal Pay Equal Work Am Occurred Feminist Prisoners Causes Then Adamant

During the periods in my marriage when I chose to stay home with my kids rather than work as an attorney, it caused me no end of anxiety. Despite the fact that I knew I was contributing to our family by caring for our children, I still felt that my worth was less because I wasn't earning. Ayelet Waldman

Work Home Family Me Marriage Anxiety Worth Earning Caring Despite Our Kids Stay Rather Fact Knew Attorney Periods Because Felt Still Caused End Than Contributing Children Less Chose

In every union roles are assumed, some traditional, some not. My husband used to pay his own bills, I used to call my own repairman. But as marriages progress, you surrender areas of your own competence, often without even knowing it. Ayelet Waldman

You Surrender Progress Husband Own Pay Every Assumed Marriages Some My Own Area Knowing Call Without Traditional His Roles Often Your Used Union Bills Even Competence

How many straight men maintain inappropriately intimate relationships with their mothers? How many shop with them? I want a gay son. People laugh, but they assume I'm kidding. I'm not. Ayelet Waldman

Gay Son People Men Assume Relationships Intimate Kidding Laugh Maintain How Mothers Shop Want Straight Them Many

The stereotypical gay man is someone whose company I enjoy, someone who makes me laugh, someone I'd want my kid to be. The stereotypical gay woman makes me insecure, conscious of my failings as a feminist. Ayelet Waldman

Me Gay Man Woman Enjoy Kid Laugh Insecure Someone Failings Stereotypical Makes Feminist Want Who Company Whose Conscious

The first inkling my husband had that I was thinking about suicide was when he checked my blog. Ayelet Waldman

Husband First Thinking Suicide About Had He Checked Blog

I tend to approach giving interviews with the same sense of circumspection and restraint as I approach my writing. That is to say, virtually none. When asked what I made of blogs like my own, blogs written by parents about their children, I said, 'A blog like this is narcissism in its most obscene flowering.' Ayelet Waldman

Writing Made Parents Giving Narcissism Own Sense Approach Virtually Interviews Say About Restraint My Own Tend Obscene Written Like Most None Said Blog Blogs Same Children Asked Flowering

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