--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I wrote to find beauty and purpose, to…" description: "\"I wrote to find beauty and purpose, to know that love is possible and lasting and real, to see day lilies and swimming pools, loyalty and devotion, eve..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0da/alice-hoffman-427_beauty_i-wrote-to-find-beauty-and-purpose-to-kn_192297.jpg" --- # I wrote to find beauty and purpose, to know that love is… ![“I wrote to find beauty and purpose, to know that love is possible and lasting and real, to see day lilies and swimming pools, loyalty and devotion, even though my eyes were closed, and all that surrounded me was a darkened room. I wrote because that was who I was at the core, and if I was too…” quote by Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0da/alice-hoffman-427_beauty_i-wrote-to-find-beauty-and-purpose-to-kn_192297.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0da/alice-hoffman-427_beauty_i-wrote-to-find-beauty-and-purpose-to-kn_192297.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0da/alice-hoffman-427_beauty_i-wrote-to-find-beauty-and-purpose-to-kn_192297.jpg) > “I wrote to find beauty and purpose, to know that love is possible and lasting and real, to see day lilies and swimming pools, loyalty and devotion, even though my eyes were closed, and all that surrounded me was a darkened room. I wrote because that was who I was at the core, and if I was too damaged to walk around the block, I was lucky all the same. Once I got to my desk, once I started writing, I still believed anything was possible.” [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The writer seeks beauty, love, and purpose despite darkness, using writing as a lifeline to affirm possibility. **In simple terms:** Writing helps find love and purpose even in darkness. Key Takeaway Write to discover hope. Themes creativity resilience hope Mood reflective optimistic Type personal inspirational When to use this quote - personal crisis - creative block - mental health - artistic expression Key Concepts existentialism self‑actualization Questions to Reflect On - How does writing change your perception of pain? - What does “possible” mean to you? A Different Perspective Writing alone cannot fix external hardships. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Devotion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/devotion/) [Lilies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lilies/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Loyalty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loyalty/) [Lucky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lucky/) [Purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Swimming pool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/swimming-pool/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I wrote to find beauty and purpose, to know that love is possible and lasting and real… Once I got to my desk, once…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/i-wrote-to-find-beauty-and-purpose-to-know-that-love-is-possible-and-2/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [“I never used to write down all the ideas that occur to me while writing. I believed if I forgot them they were not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/i-never-used-to-write-down-all-the-ideas-that-occur-to-me-while/) [Gabriel García Márquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [“O my Love sent me a lusty list, Did not compare me to a summer's day Wrote not the beauty of mine eyes But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olena-kalytiak-davis/o-my-love-sent-me-a-lusty-list-did-not-compare-me-to-a-summer-s-day/) [Olena Kalytiak Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olena-kalytiak-davis/) > [Sometimes I felt like my columns were like little novels in themselves. But I wasn't writing what I believed. I'm not interested in what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-jacobson/sometimes-i-felt-like-my-columns-were-like-little-novels-in/) [Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/) > [The Brazilian poet Vinicius de Moraes wrote that beauty is fundamental. Well, with the poet's permission, so is courage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tina-brown/the-brazilian-poet-vinicius-de-moraes-wrote-that-beauty-is/) [Tina Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tina-brown/) > [I quickly realised that it is difficult to get started when writing a novel. You have this dream of what you want to create,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-modiano/i-quickly-realised-that-it-is-difficult-to-get-started-when-writing-a/) [Patrick Modiano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-modiano/) > [I'm an actor, not a star. Stars are people who live in Hollywood and have heart-shaped swimming pools.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-pacino/i-m-an-actor-not-a-star-stars-are-people-who-live-in-hollywood-and/) [Al Pacino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-pacino/) > [“Last night you dreamt of a room - a room full of fish, and a swimming pool where you waded knee-deep and hauled them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/talvikki-ansel/last-night-you-dreamt-of-a-room-a-room-full-of-fish-and-a-swimming/) Talvikki Ansel > [“No one likes to be typecast or stereotyped, especially actors. But who would know Esther Williams without a swimming pool, Bela Lugosi without a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-marg/no-one-likes-to-be-typecast-or-stereotyped-especially-actors-but-who/) Susan Marg > [“Why do people say trees are majestic?" --- "Because they've earned it. After a sapling's roots take hold, they spread out to give it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-kennedy/why-do-people-say-trees-are-majestic-because-they-ve-earned-it-after/) [Holly Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-kennedy/) > [Nothing says 'I'm a fat ass' like wearing a T-shirt in a swimming pool..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/nothing-says-i-m-a-fat-ass-like-wearing-a-t-shirt-in-a-swimming-pool/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I think England has served me very well. I like living in London for the reasons I gave. I have absolutely no intentions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-firth/i-think-england-has-served-me-very-well-i-like-living-in-london-for/) [Colin Firth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-firth/) > [Somebody said to me, 'But the Beatles were anti-materialistic.' That's a huge myth. John and I literally used to sit down and say, 'Now,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/somebody-said-to-me-but-the-beatles-were-anti-materialistic-that-s-a/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) > [They still talk about the night that Augie Pabst, a fresh-faced heir to the brewing fortune, drove a rented Falcon into the swimming pool…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brock-yates/they-still-talk-about-the-night-that-augie-pabst-a-fresh-faced-heir/) [Brock Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brock-yates/) > [ “It turned out to be just his sort of life in Melbourne \[Florida\] -- a little three-room mini apartment to himself, and down on… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wells-tower/it-turned-out-to-be-just-his-sort-of-life-in-melbourne-florida-a/) [Wells Tower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wells-tower/) ## More by Alice Hoffman > [Women know things that men will never know. We keep the best secrets. We tell the best stories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/women-know-things-that-men-will-never-know-we-keep-the-best-secrets/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [“All of the quarters in his hand were tarnished. He had no idea that the silver in a man’s pockets always turns black if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/all-of-the-quarters-in-his-hand-were-tarnished-he-had-no-idea-that/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [But most important of all, she explained that it was all right to say 'No. I disagree.' that was a gift. I understood it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/but-most-important-of-all-she-explained-that-it-was-all-right-to-say/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [“It was after dark when the woods were most filled with magic, when there were fireflies and the mist was rising from the streams.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/it-was-after-dark-when-the-woods-were-most-filled-with-magic-when/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [“Never look back, that's what she's told herself. Don't think about swans or being alone in the dark. Don't think of storms, or lightning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/never-look-back-that-s-what-she-s-told-herself-don-t-think-about/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [This was what it meant to be human, to know that time moved and all things changed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/this-was-what-it-meant-to-be-human-to-know-that-time-moved-and-all/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [“She preferred cats to human beings and turned down every offer from the men who fell in love with her.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/she-preferred-cats-to-human-beings-and-turned-down-every-offer-from/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [I'm a really eclectic reader.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/i-m-a-really-eclectic-reader/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [It's not the lie that's the problem; it's the distance the lie forges between you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/it-s-not-the-lie-that-s-the-problem-it-s-the-distance-the-lie-forges/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [“Her vision was going, but she could see him, the way people see clouds-beautiful, racing by, casting shadows.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/her-vision-was-going-but-she-could-see-him-the-way-people-see-clouds/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [That's why there are ten gates to pass through before you reach the garden. If life were easy there would be one gate. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/that-s-why-there-are-ten-gates-to-pass-through-before-you-reach-the/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [“...the summer of the gypsy moths when all the trees in their yard were bare, the leaves chewed by caterpillars. You could hear crunching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/the-summer-of-the-gypsy-moths-when-all-the-trees-in-their-yard-were/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [“The best way to die is when you're living.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/the-best-way-to-die-is-when-you-re-living/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [“Haylin was given a good talking-to by the headmaster and made to write a paper about workers’ rights, which he considered a privilege rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/haylin-was-given-a-good-talking-to-by-the-headmaster-and-made-to/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [My darling girl, when are you going to realize that being normal is not necessarily a virtue? It rather denotes a lack of courage."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/my-darling-girl-when-are-you-going-to-realize-that-being-normal-is/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) [Explore all 571 Alice Hoffman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) ## More Beauty quotes > [We do not want nowadays temples of worship and outward rites and ceremonies. What we really want is an Asram. We want a place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/we-do-not-want-nowadays-temples-of-worship-and-outward-rites-and/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [How could anybody confuse truth with beauty, I thought as I looked at him. Truth came with sunken eyes, bony or scarred, decayed. Its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/how-could-anybody-confuse-truth-with-beauty-i-thought-as-i-looked-at/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [A thing of beauty is a joy for ever;It's loveliness increase;it will never pass into nothingness;but still will keep a bower quiet for us,and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/a-thing-of-beauty-is-a-joy-for-ever-it-s-loveliness-increase-it-will/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [To fathom the power, to witness the beauty, to bathe in the fountain, to swing on the spiral of our divinity, and still be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tool/to-fathom-the-power-to-witness-the-beauty-to-bathe-in-the-fountain-to/) [Tool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tool/) > [The term "black metal" has become a lot looser, or can include a larger range of sounds and extra-musical aesthetics, not just Satan and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-marston/the-term-black-metal-has-become-a-lot-looser-or-can-include-a-larger/) [Colin Marston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-marston/) > [“We've all met people who are beautiful on the outside, however, when they open their mouths to speak, they have nothing of substance to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-c-young/we-ve-all-met-people-who-are-beautiful-on-the-outside-however-when/) [Susan C. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-c-young/) > [There are various orders of beauty, causing men to make fools of themselves in various styles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/there-are-various-orders-of-beauty-causing-men-to-make-fools-of/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [To me, the beauty of a quilt or a dress lies within the stitches and the thought of the person who made them. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie/to-me-the-beauty-of-a-quilt-or-a-dress-lies-within-the-stitches-and/) [Natalie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie/) > [“do not misunderstand person by beauty You really do not know its real or Mask on dirty thoughts”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-zaki-ansari/do-not-misunderstand-person-by-beauty-you-really-do-not-know-its-real/) [Mohammed Zaki Ansari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-zaki-ansari/) > [“I already love in you your beauty, but I am only beginning to love in you that which is eternal and ever precious –…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/i-already-love-in-you-your-beauty-but-i-am-only-beginning-to-love-in/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [The more perfect the sight is the more delightful the beautiful object. The more perfect the appetite, the sweeter the food. The more musical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-baxter/the-more-perfect-the-sight-is-the-more-delightful-the-beautiful/) [Richard Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-baxter/) > [Call her beautiful a million times and she won't believe you. Call her ugly once, and she will never forget it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tumblr/call-her-beautiful-a-million-times-and-she-won-t-believe-you-call-her/) Tumblr > [Time can but make her beauty over again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/time-can-but-make-her-beauty-over-again/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [ The social \[media channel\] isn't about beauty contests and popularity contests. They're a distortion, a caricature of the real thing. It's about trust, connection,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umair-haque/the-social-media-channel-isn-t-about-beauty-contests-and-popularity/) [Umair Haque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umair-haque/) > [“What about you? What do you do?” I needed to ask questions, draw him out. I needed to find out all the information I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-avery-ellison/what-about-you-what-do-you-do-i-needed-to-ask-questions-draw-him-out/) [Kate Avery Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-avery-ellison/) [Browse all 24,662 Beauty quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I wrote to find beauty and purpose, to know that love is possible and lasting and real, to see day lilies and swimming pools, loyalty and devotion, even though my eyes were closed, and all that surrounded me was a darkened room. 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