This is why I read novels: so I can escape my own unrelenting monologue.
I don't think I would have been a writer if I hadn't been a mother. I wanted to construct something that contained some of these feelings that I had, some of these discoveries or revelations.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Being a mother deeply influenced Carol Shields' writing, driving her to express her feelings and insights through literature.
In this quote, Carol Shields reflects on how her experiences and emotions as a mother shaped her identity as a writer. She emphasizes the importance of personal experiences in creating art, highlighting that her revelations and feelings about motherhood inspired her to develop narratives that capture the complexity of these emotions. This connection between life experiences and creative expression illustrates the profound impact of motherhood on her literary work.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech at a literary festival, this quote could resonate with aspiring writers reflecting on their personal experiences.
More from Carol Shields
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I want to go everywhere, look at and listen to everything. You can go crazy with some of the wonderful stuff there is in life.
Grieving allows us to heal, to remember with love rather than pain. It is a sorting process. One by one you let go of the things that are gone and you mourn for them. One by one you take hold of the things that have become a part of who you are and build again.
I think anybody who goes away finds you appreciate home more when you return.
Youth! There is nothing like youth. The middle-aged are mortgaged to Life. The old are in Life's lumber
When you're eighteen your emotions are violent, but they're not durable.
No matter how old I get, the race remains one of life's most rewarding experiences. My times become slower and slower, but the experience of the race is unchanged: each race a drama, each race a challenge, each race stretching me in one way or another, and each race telling me more about myself and others.