16 Leslie Jamison Quotes for You to Enjoy

Leslie Jamison

American Novelist

Born: 1985

Feel Me Own People Poverty You

Related authors: Elie Wiesel Ernest Hemingway H. P. Lovecraft James Baldwin John Updike Leo Rosten Nathaniel Hawthorne Richard Bach

Somebody once asked me how I define sobriety, and my response was 'liberation from dependence.' Leslie Jamison

Me Somebody Once Define Liberation Response How Dependence Sobriety Asked

Whenever I've been stuck on a project, it's always brought me solace to the return to books that moved me in the past. It's a nice way to get outside my own head; and it brings me back to one of the most important reasons I write at all: to bring some pleasure to readers, to make them think or feel. Leslie Jamison

Me Important Past Own Nice Think Solace Back Project Books Way Pleasure Some Brought My Own Stuck Write Outside Head Feel Most Make Return Readers Always Been Get Moved Whenever The Most Important In The Past Them Reasons Nice Way Bring Brings

There's something about that puritanical narrative of progress and upward mobility and work ethic that the glorification of abstinence fits pretty neatly into. That pairs with the fact that 12-step recovery has had too large a monopoly on how treatment is understood in America. Leslie Jamison

Work Progress Monopoly Too Pretty About Something Puritanical Fact Recovery Had Abstinence Glorification Narrative How Understood Mobility Fits America Upward Upward Mobility Work Ethic Ethic Large Pairs Neatly Treatment

One of the big ways in which I felt my own writing life shaped by recovery had to do with my relationship to other people's stories. And one of the things I loved most about recovery was the way in which, in meetings and through fellowship, you are constantly kind of paying attention to lives outside of your own. Leslie Jamison

Life Relationship You People Writing Big Own Other Meetings Way Ways Kind One Of The Things Constantly About My Own Through Recovery Shaped Outside Had Attention Most Fellowship Felt Stories Loved Which Your Paying Lives Things

After finishing a draft, no matter how rough, I almost always put it aside for a while. It doesn't matter if it's a story or a novel, I find that when it's still fresh in my mind I'm either thoroughly sick of its flaws or completely blind to them. Either way, I'm unable to make substantive edits of any value. Leslie Jamison

Matter Mind Value Sick Way Thoroughly Unable Find Finishing Put Almost Blind Make Edit Fresh Always How Still Any Substantive After Story Either While Them Flaws Aside Novel Rough Draft

I can't remember a time when I wasn't trying to figure out what to say at the dinner table. Leslie Jamison

Time Remember Dinner Say Out Dinner Table Table Trying Figure

Redeeming subjects from cliche is its own pleasure and privilege. Leslie Jamison

Own Pleasure Redeeming Cliche Subjects Privilege

I've been lucky enough to work with extraordinary teachers along the way, and I'm excited to share what I've learned with graduate students at SNHU. I'm just as excited for what I'll learn from them. Leslie Jamison

Work Enough Extraordinary Way Students Share Excited Along Learn Learned Been Graduate Graduate Students Just Them Teachers Lucky

It's one of the most liberating things I experience in writing - letting yourself get rid of a gesture or character or plot point that always nagged, even if you couldn't admit to yourself that it did. Leslie Jamison

Character You Experience Yourself Writing Gesture Liberating Plot Admit Point Most Always Get Did Rid Even Letting Things

It's kind of funny that I've been branded as the empathy lady when, really, what I'm doing is questioning and interrogating empathy. Leslie Jamison

Funny Kind Empathy Doing Been Questioning Branded Lady Really

The story of getting better can be just as compelling as the story of falling apart. Leslie Jamison

Better Falling Getting Getting Better Just Story Apart Compelling

If you operate under the premise that everybody already has some experiences that could be sources of empathy for them, I wonder if there's some process of coaxing people into tapping into that knowledge. Leslie Jamison

Knowledge You People Everybody Some Could Empathy Operate Sources Tapping Wonder Experiences Process Them Premise

I used to believe that hurting would make you more alive to the hurting of others. I used to believe in feeling bad because somebody else did. Now I'm not so sure of either. Leslie Jamison

You Somebody Feeling Believe Others Else Alive Bad Would Hurting More Make Sure Because Did Either Used Now

The idea that a story has to be 'exceptional' in order to be worth telling is curious to me. What if we looked at every single person's story as a site of possibly infinite meaning? What if we came to believe that there isn't hubris or narcissism in thinking your story might be worth sharing - only a sense of curiosity and offering? Leslie Jamison

Me Worth Single Narcissism Sense Believe Every Thinking Telling Possibly Only Exceptional Sharing Idea Looked Came Hubris Offering Curiosity Person Curious Site What If Infinite Order Story Might Meaning Your

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