Life can be reset, it seems to say; time can be separated. But that logic appears to me as unlikely as traveling to another place to become a different person. Altered sceneries are at best distractions, or else new settings for old habits. What one carries from one point to another, geographically or temporally, is one’s self. Even the most inconsistent person is consistently himself.
—Yiyun Li
Somebody saw something in you once – and that is partly why you’re where you are today. Find a way to thank them.
—Yiyun Li
Topics: Thankfulness
Much of what one does–to avoid suffering, to seek happiness, to stay healthy–is to keep a safe space for one’s private language.
—Yiyun Li
But loneliness is as delusive a belief in the pertinence of the world as is love: in choosing to feel lonely, as in choosing to love, one carves a space next to oneself to be filled by others—a friend, a lover, a toy poodle, a violinist on the radio.
—Yiyun Li
A real dreamer must have a mutual trust with time.
—Yiyun Li
If your dream is big enough, the facts don’t count.
—Yiyun Li
Every place is a good place, only time goes wrong.
—Yiyun Li
Wondering Whom to Read Next?
Joyce Carol Oates American Novelist
Jonathan Lethem American Novelist, Essayist
Mark Strand American Poet, Essayist
Richard Rorty American Philosopher
John Irving American Novelist
Kimberly Johnson American Poet
Ann Patchett American Novelist
David Sedaris American Humorist, Essayist
Haruki Murakami Japanese Novelist
Malcolm Gladwell Canadian Journalist, Author