35 Inspirational Joyce Maynard Quotes On Success

Daphne Joyce Maynard is an American novelist and journalist. She began her career in journalism in the 1970s, writing for several publications, most notably Seventeen magazine and The New York Times. Maynard contributed to Mademoiselle and Harrowsmith magazines in the 1980s while also beginning a career as a novelist with the publication of her first novel, Baby Love (1981). Her second novel, To Die For (1992), drew from the Pamela Smart murder case and was adapted into the 1995 film of the same name. May these Joyce Maynard Quotes On Success inspire you to take action so that you may live your dreams.

1. “I continued to protect him with my silence.” Joyce Maynard

2. “Nothing like being visible, publishing one’s work, and speaking openly about one’s life, to disabuse the world of the illusion of one’s perfection and purity.” Joyce Maynard

3. “Before I had children I always wondered whether their births would be, for me, like the ultimate in gym class failures. And I discovered instead, that I’d finally found my sport.” Joyce Maynard

4. “The portrait of my parents is a complicated one, but lovingly drawn.” Joyce Maynard

5. “Not only did I avoid speaking of Salinger, I resisted thinking about him. I did not reread his letters to me. The experience had been too painful.” Joyce Maynard

6. “Wherever it is you make your home, there is always this other place, this other person, calling to you. Come to me. Come back.” Joyce Maynard

7. “I believe every one of us possesses a fundamental right to tell our own story.” Joyce Maynard

8. “Imagine if you succeeded in making the world perfect for your children what a shock the rest of life would be for them.” Joyce Maynard

9. “Although Salinger had long since cut me out of his life completely and made it plain that he had nothing but contempt for me, the thought of becoming the object of his wrath was more than I felt ready to take on.” Joyce Maynard

10. “Some literary types subscribe to the notion that being a writer like Salinger entitles a person to remain free of the standards that might apply to mere mortals.” Joyce Maynard

11. “The word NO, carries a lot more meaning when spoken by a parent who also knows how to say yes.” Joyce Maynard

12. “It troubles me that people speak about writing for money as ugly and distasteful.” Joyce Maynard

13. “It’s not only children who grow. Parents do too.” Joyce Maynard

14. “Every child, woman, and man should possess license to speak or sing in his or her true voice.” Joyce Maynard

15. “One of the sad realities of being a parent is that the same stuff you know is exciting, educational, and enriching in your child’s life is often messy, smelly and exhausting to deal with.” Joyce Maynard

16. “It’s sad but true that if you focus your attention on housework and meal preparation and diapers, raising children does start to look like drudgery pretty quickly. On the other hand, if you see yourself as nothing less than your child’s nurturer, role model, teacher, spiritual guide, and mentor, your days take on a very different cast.” Joyce Maynard

17. “I do not outline. There are writers I know and count as my friends who certainly do it the other way but for me part of the adventure is not knowing how it’s going to turn out.” Joyce Maynard

18. “To share our stories is not only a worthwhile endeavor for the storyteller, but for those who hear our stories and feel less alone because of it.” Joyce Maynard

19. “I believed my story would be helpful to young women my daughter’s age, who are still in the process of forming themselves as women, and in need of encouragement to remain true to themselves.” Joyce Maynard

20. “She felt everything too deeply, it was like the world was too much for her.” Joyce Maynard

21. “I have long observed that the act of writing is viewed, by some, as an elite and otherworldly act, all the more so if a person isn’t paid for what she writes.” Joyce Maynard

22. “A good home must be made, not bought.” Joyce Maynard

23. “The silence was part of the story I wanted to tell.” Joyce Maynard

24. “At Home in the World is the story of a young woman, raised in some difficult circumstances, and how she survives. It tells a story of redemption, not victimhood.” Joyce Maynard

25. “Those who rhapsodize about the ease and joy of childhood have perhaps forgotten what it’s like to be 12 years old.” Joyce Maynard

26. “For a parent, it’s hard to recognize the significance of your work when you’re immersed in the mundane details. Few of us, as we run the bath water or spread the peanut butter on the bread, proclaim proudly, “I’m making my contribution to the future of the planet.” But with the exception of global hunger, few jobs in the world of paychecks and promotions compare in significance to the job of parent.” Joyce Maynard

27. “It’s not only children who grow. Parents do too. As much as we watch to see what our children do with their lives, they are watching us to see what we do with ours. I can’t tell my children to reach for the sun. All I can do is reach for it, myself.” Joyce Maynard

28. “The painter who feels obligated to depict his subjects as uniformly beautiful or handsome and without flaws will fall short of making art.” Joyce Maynard

29. “A person who deserves my loyalty receives it.” Joyce Maynard

30. “There is a theme that runs through my work, and that is: the toxic property of keeping secrets.” Joyce Maynard

31. “Long after Salinger sent me away, I continued to believe his standards and expectations were the best ones.” Joyce Maynard

32. “A good home must be made, not bought. In the end, it’s not track lighting or a sun room that brings light into a kitchen.” Joyce Maynard

33. “If a man wishes to truly not be written about, he would do well not to write letters to 18-year-old girls, inviting them into his life.” Joyce Maynard

34. “My job is writing. I get paid to do it. When was the last time you heard someone challenge a doctor for making money off of cancer?” Joyce Maynard

35. “I had known there had been a serial killer on Mount Tamalpais, and it felt so incongruous in such a beautiful, peaceful spot.” Joyce Maynard

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Check Out Joyce Maynard interview (1998):

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