--- title: "1 Tree Grows In Brooklyn Quotes By Betty Smith" description: "1 Tree Grows In Brooklyn quotes by Betty Smith. Plus more from Betty Smith and more Tree Grows In Brooklyn sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/843/betty-smith-1012_books_when-it-first-appeared-in-1943-it-was-ca_1965572.png" --- > [“When it first appeared, in 1943, it was called, by those critics who liked it, an honest book, and that is accurate as far as it goes. But it is more than that: It is deeply, indelibly true. Honesty is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/when-it-first-appeared-in-1943-it-was-called-by-those-critics-who/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/843/betty-smith-1012_books_when-it-first-appeared-in-1943-it-was-ca_1965572.png) ## More by Betty Smith > [“Yes, when I get big and have my own home, no plush chairs and lace curtains for me. And no rubber plants. I'll have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/yes-when-i-get-big-and-have-my-own-home-no-plush-chairs-and-lace/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [“Several times that day, the name or thought of Papa had come up. And each time, Francie had felt a flash of tenderness instead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/several-times-that-day-the-name-or-thought-of-papa-had-come-up-and/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [As long as one can suffer, one is living…live and suffer until life is gone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/as-long-as-one-can-suffer-one-is-living-live-and-suffer-until-life-is/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [“Sissy told them they were way behind the times; that midwives were things of the past. Besides, she informed them proudly, she had no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/sissy-told-them-they-were-way-behind-the-times-that-midwives-were/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [“Why, Mrs McGarrity's all right. Mr McGarrity's all right, too. Only I guess they aren't all right to each other.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/why-mrs-mcgarrity-s-all-right-mr-mcgarrity-s-all-right-too-only-i/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [“I drink because I don't stand a chance and I know it. I couldn't drive a truck and I couldn't get on the cops…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/i-drink-because-i-don-t-stand-a-chance-and-i-know-it-i-couldn-t-drive/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [“Pipe dreams, he thought to himself, even while he was telling her about his dream winnings. But oh, how wonderful, he thought, if everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/pipe-dreams-he-thought-to-himself-even-while-he-was-telling-her-about/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [“Who wants to die? Everything struggles to live. Look at that tree growing up there out of that grating. It gets no sun, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/who-wants-to-die-everything-struggles-to-live-look-at-that-tree/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [It takes a lot of doing to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/it-takes-a-lot-of-doing-to-die/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [“She sat in the sunshine watching the life on the street and guarding within herself, her own mystery of life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/she-sat-in-the-sunshine-watching-the-life-on-the-street-and-guarding/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [...the reading, the observing, the living from day to day. It was something that had been born into her and her only - the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/the-reading-the-observing-the-living-from-day-to-day-it-was-something/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [People always think that happiness is a faraway thing … something complicated and hard to get. Yet, what little things can make it up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/people-always-think-that-happiness-is-a-faraway-thing-something/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [“Hildy O’Dair is old for her age,” she thought. “It’s like powder was sprinkled on her yellow hair. But she’s not much older than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/hildy-o-dair-is-old-for-her-age-she-thought-it-s-like-powder-was/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [“One day they’re babies in buggies and the next day they’re in here taking picks. Kids grow up quick in this neighborhood.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/one-day-they-re-babies-in-buggies-and-the-next-day-they-re-in-here/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [“If she never had any lovers, she kicks herself around when the change comes, thinking of all the fun she could have had, didn’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/if-she-never-had-any-lovers-she-kicks-herself-around-when-the-change/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tree-grows-in-brooklyn/betty-smith/#itemlist", "name": "1 Tree Grows In Brooklyn Quotes By Betty Smith", "numberOfItems": 1, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“When it first appeared, in 1943, it was called, by those critics who liked it, an honest book, and that is accurate as far as it goes. But it is more than that: It is deeply, indelibly true. Honesty is casting bright light on your own experience; truth is casting it on the experiences of all, which is why, six decades after it was published and became an instant bestseller, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn continues to be read by people from all countries and all circumstances. Early on in its explosive success it was described as a book about city life, a story about grinding poverty, a tale of the struggles of immigrants in America. 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