In the family, writing wasn't anything anyone understood - being a writer in the real world? How could it be? We didn't have those mirrors.
Interpretation
Writing was not understood or valued within the speaker's family dynamics.
Jacqueline Woodson reflects on the struggles of being a writer in an environment where that profession is not seen as legitimate or understandable. The quote highlights the disconnect between the personal passion for writing and the familial lack of support or comprehension, suggesting a longing for validation and the desire for recognition of oneβs artistic identity.
In practice
In a speech about pursuing one's passion, this quote can illustrate the barriers artists face in unappreciative environments.
'Brown Girl Dreaming' was a book I had a lot of doubts about - mainly, would this story be meaningful to anyone besides me? My editor, Nancy Paulsen, kept assuring me, but there were moments when I was in a really sad place with the story for so many reasons. It wasn't an easy book to write - emotionally, physically, or creatively.
In the midst of observing the world and coming to consciousness, I was becoming a writer, and what I wanted to put on the page were the stories of people who looked like me.
Sometimes you do have to laugh to keep from crying. And sometimes the world feels all right and good and kind of like it's becoming nice again around you. And you realize it, and realize how happy you are in it, and you just gotta laugh.
I don't want anyone to walk through the world feeling invisible ever again.
The strength of my mother is something I didn't pay attention to for so long. Here she was, this single mom, who was part of the Great Migration, who was part of a Jim Crow south, who said, 'I'm getting my kids out of here. I'm creating opportunities for these young people by any means necessary.'
I would have written 'Brown Girl Dreaming' if no one had ever wanted to buy it, if it went nowhere but inside a desk drawer that my own children pulled out one day to find a tool for survival, a symbol of how strong we are and how much we've come through.
Pregnancy seemed like a tremendous abdication of control. Something growing inside you which would eventually usurp your life.
When we traded homemaking for careers, we were implicitly promised economic independence and worldly influence. But a devil of a bargain it has turned out to be in terms of daily life. We gave up the aroma of warm bread rising, the measured pace of nurturing routines, the creative task of molding our families' tastes and zest for life; we received in exchange the minivan and the Lunchable.
By giving children lots of affection, you can help fill them with love and acceptance of themselves. Then that's what they will have to give away.
My mother was a powerful influence. She made me toe the line. If I didn't have a perfect report card, she showed her disappointment.
My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person, he believed in me.
My father was a Little League dictator. That really affected me, his control-freakery, his impunity, his arbitrary unreasonable power.
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