Life with most teenagers was like having a low-grade bladder infection. It hurts, but you had to tough it out.
I am the woman I grew to be partly in spite of my mother, and partly because of the extraordinary love of her best friends, and my own best friends' mothers, and from surrogates, many of whom were not women at all but gay men. I have loved them my entire life, even after their passing.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The speaker reflects on how various influences shaped her identity, emphasizing the impact of both her mother and her wider support network.
In this quote, Anne Lamott shares her journey of self-discovery and personal growth, highlighting how both her mother and the love of her mother's friends, along with her own friends' mothers and supportive figures of diverse identities, contributed to her development as a woman. This acknowledgment of a broad spectrum of influences underscores the importance of community and the deep bonds formed through unconditional love, regardless of traditional roles or gender. It suggests that one’s identity is often shaped not just by family but also by the diverse relationships we build throughout our lives.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the importance of community support in personal development.
More from Anne Lamott
All quotes →Or you might shout at the top of your lungs or whisper into your sleeve, "I hate you, God." That is a prayer too, because it is real, it is truth, and maybe it is the first sincere thought you've had in months.
Your problem is how you are going to spend this one odd and precious life you have been issued. Whether you're going to spend it trying to look good and creating the illusion that you have power over people and circumstances, or whether you are going to taste it, enjoy it and find out the truth about who you are.
It is hard to remember that you are a cherished spiritual being when you're burping up apple fritters and Cheetos.
Gorgeous, amazing things come into our lives when we are paying attention: mangoes, grandnieces, Bach, ponds. This happens more often when we have as little expectation as possible. If you say, "Well, that's pretty much what I thought I'd see," you are in trouble. At that point you have to ask yourself why you are even here. [...] Astonishing material and revelation appear in our lives all the time. Let it be. Unto us, so much is given. We just have to be open for business.
...because when people have seen you at their worst, you don't have to put on the mask as much.
Similar quotes
Canada and the United States have reached the point where we no longer think of each other as 'foreign' countries. We think of each other as friends, as peaceful and cooperative neighbors on a spacious and fruitful continent.
A youth, when at home, should be filial, and, abroad, respectful to his elders.
It seems essential, in relationships and all tasks, that we concentrate only on what is most significant and important.
It’s hard to communicate anything exactly and that’s why perfect relationships between people are difficult to find.
For both of us, I think, it had to do with our weakened power to love. It is strange that enslavement should have that effect – not just the fantastic degradation, not just the fear and the boredom and all the rest, but also the layered injustice, the silent injustice. So all right. We’re back where we started. To you, nothing – from you, everything. They took it from me, it seems, for no reason, other than that I value it so much.
You may be as different as the sun and the moon, but the same blood flows through both your hearts. You need her, as she needs you.