--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: (The new boyfriend) knows I write every…" description: "\"(The new boyfriend) knows I write every day for hours but has no idea that all I’m writing about is me. It seems wiser to let him think I’m an aspiring..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eff/augusten-burroughs-603_alcoholics_the-new-boyfriend-knows-i-write-every-da_1425440.jpg" --- # (The new boyfriend) knows I write every day for hours but… ![“(The new boyfriend) knows I write every day for hours but has no idea that all I’m writing about is me. It seems wiser to let him think I’m an aspiring novelist instead of just an alcoholic with a year of sobriety who spends eight hours a day writing about the other 16.” quote by Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eff/augusten-burroughs-603_alcoholics_the-new-boyfriend-knows-i-write-every-da_1425440.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eff/augusten-burroughs-603_alcoholics_the-new-boyfriend-knows-i-write-every-da_1425440.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eff/augusten-burroughs-603_alcoholics_the-new-boyfriend-knows-i-write-every-da_1425440.jpg) > “(The new boyfriend) knows I write every day for hours but has no idea that all I’m writing about is me. It seems wiser to let him think I’m an aspiring novelist instead of just an alcoholic with a year of sobriety who spends eight hours a day writing about the other 16.” [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker hides their true struggle behind a more socially acceptable identity, fearing judgment and seeking validation. **In simple terms:** Hiding pain behind a nicer story. Key Takeaway Be honest about your struggles. Themes self‑deception identity addiction sobriety Mood conflicted hopeful Type personal confessional When to use this quote - therapy sessions - support groups - writing workshops - personal relationships Key Concepts psychology self‑presentation stigma Questions to Reflect On - What would change if you revealed the truth? - How does self‑deception protect you? A Different Perspective Honesty may expose vulnerability and risk rejection. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alcoholics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alcoholics/) [Boyfriend Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boyfriend-knows-603279/) [Day Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/day-writing/) [Eight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eight/) [Every day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/every-day/) [Hours](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hours/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Knows Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows-write-2973202/) [New boyfriend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-boyfriend/) [Novelists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novelists/) [Sobriety](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sobriety/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Wiser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wiser/) [Write Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write-day/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing Wiser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-wiser-5060222/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) ## Related quotes > [I spend most of every day writing. I like to write every day if I can. I don't start extremely early.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/i-spend-most-of-every-day-writing-i-like-to-write-every-day-if-i-can/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) > [A good day's writing, when I turn off my computer after I know that I've written okay, or as well as I can write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-lipton/a-good-day-s-writing-when-i-turn-off-my-computer-after-i-know-that-i/) [James Lipton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-lipton/) > [There isn't a single day I don't do some writing -- if you don't, you won't have a book. When you're self-employed it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-lint/there-isn-t-a-single-day-i-don-t-do-some-writing-if-you-don-t-you-won/) [Charles de Lint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-lint/) > [“Make time to write every day. The writing muscle is like any other muscle; the more you exercise it, the stronger it becomes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-penz-sheluk/make-time-to-write-every-day-the-writing-muscle-is-like-any-other/) [Judy Penz Sheluk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-penz-sheluk/) > [I write every day. Writing is a necessity - like eating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-maclane/i-write-every-day-writing-is-a-necessity-like-eating/) [Mary MacLane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-maclane/) > [Write every day. Writing is a muscle that gets stronger with use.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abbi-glines/write-every-day-writing-is-a-muscle-that-gets-stronger-with-use/) [Abbi Glines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abbi-glines/) > [I write every day. Even if I'm not writing well, I write through it. I can fix a bad page. I can't fix a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/i-write-every-day-even-if-i-m-not-writing-well-i-write-through-it-i/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [I still don't know if I can write songs. I don't think anyone ever knows if they can write songs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellie-goulding/i-still-don-t-know-if-i-can-write-songs-i-don-t-think-anyone-ever/) [Ellie Goulding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellie-goulding/) > [“ (1) the Muse visits during, not before, the act of composition, and (2) the writer takes dictation from that place in his mind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/1-the-muse-visits-during-not-before-the-act-of-composition-and-2-the/) [Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/) > [No one knows how to write a novel until it's been written](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/no-one-knows-how-to-write-a-novel-until-it-s-been-written/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [Anyone who is going to be a writer knows enough at fifteen to write several novels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/anyone-who-is-going-to-be-a-writer-knows-enough-at-fifteen-to-write/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [Your intuition knows what to write, so get out of the way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/your-intuition-knows-what-to-write-so-get-out-of-the-way/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [My only ritual is to just sit down and write, write every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/my-only-ritual-is-to-just-sit-down-and-write-write-every-day/) [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) > [I don't have a fixed routine. I write every day but I don't "write" every day, if that makes any sense. In other words,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/i-don-t-have-a-fixed-routine-i-write-every-day-but-i-don-t-write/) [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) > [A Real Boyfriend knows that his number one goal is to KEEP HIS GIRL HAPPY! He will never give another man the opportunity to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enhance-dreams/a-real-boyfriend-knows-that-his-number-one-goal-is-to-keep-his-girl/) [Enhance Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enhance-dreams/) ## More by Augusten Burroughs > [There is nothing about myself that I wouldn't reveal or write about. I don't care how horrendous or ridiculous I may appear in person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/there-is-nothing-about-myself-that-i-wouldn-t-reveal-or-write-about-i/) [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) > [“We were alone together, we were an us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/we-were-alone-together-we-were-an-us/) [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) > [Like every child, I adored her. Until I formed a brain and got to know her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/like-every-child-i-adored-her-until-i-formed-a-brain-and-got-to-know/) [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) > [“You must hang onto the scraps of the bucking moment as if your sanity and life depended on it - because actually they do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/you-must-hang-onto-the-scraps-of-the-bucking-moment-as-if-your-sanity/) [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) > [Real optimism is not the pep talk you give yourself. It is earned through the labor involved in emotional housekeeping.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/real-optimism-is-not-the-pep-talk-you-give-yourself-it-is-earned/) [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) > [If you hate your life, you haven't' seen enough of it. If you hate your life, it's because your life is too small and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/if-you-hate-your-life-you-haven-t-seen-enough-of-it-if-you-hate-your/) [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) > [I think writers tend to be experience junkies, and I think they also tend to want to be on the outside looking in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/i-think-writers-tend-to-be-experience-junkies-and-i-think-they-also/) [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) > [I think part of the reason I'm attracted to Foster is because he's such a mess. I mean, the people I have loved in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/i-think-part-of-the-reason-i-m-attracted-to-foster-is-because-he-s/) [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) > [“On typical days, (dust) is simply irritating. On Roid Rage days, it made me want to stomp down to the highway, pull drivers out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/on-typical-days-dust-is-simply-irritating-on-roid-rage-days-it-made/) [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) > [I'm like the guy who prepares your taxes or a dentist. I'm very conservative and boring in a lot of ways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/i-m-like-the-guy-who-prepares-your-taxes-or-a-dentist-i-m-very/) [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) > [“Nothing surprises me now," I tell him. I am stoic. I am Joan of Arc, with liver damage and an unused penis.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/nothing-surprises-me-now-i-tell-him-i-am-stoic-i-am-joan-of-arc-with/) [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) > [“It's not that I was an outright nitwit of a child.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/it-s-not-that-i-was-an-outright-nitwit-of-a-child/) [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) > [What I really want is to sit next to someone under an L.L. bean blanket on the beach in the fall and drink coffee…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/what-i-really-want-is-to-sit-next-to-someone-under-an-l-l-bean/) [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) > [“My worth depended on where exactly the decimal was placed among the zeroes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/my-worth-depended-on-where-exactly-the-decimal-was-placed-among-the/) [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) > [“Bookman isn't a stable man. He has a lot of problems that run very, very deep." But he was really good at giving head.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/bookman-isn-t-a-stable-man-he-has-a-lot-of-problems-that-run-very/) [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) [Explore all 448 Augusten Burroughs quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) ## More Alcoholics quotes > [Sometimes they were together so often that it felt as though they really were a couple; sometimes weeks and months would go by before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-they-were-together-so-often-that-it-felt-as-though-they/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I'm not an alcoholic, I am freedom fighter against the teetotal taliban.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-murray/i-m-not-an-alcoholic-i-am-freedom-fighter-against-the-teetotal-taliban/) [Al Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-murray/) > [If you decide on having an alcoholic at your party, make sure it's a large gathering. This way, until the alcoholic begins removing their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-sedaris/if-you-decide-on-having-an-alcoholic-at-your-party-make-sure-it-s-a/) [Amy Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sedaris/) > [I started drinking when I was like 15, and by the time I was 19 everybody knew I was an alcoholic. So I would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felipe-esparza/i-started-drinking-when-i-was-like-15-and-by-the-time-i-was-19/) [Felipe Esparza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felipe-esparza/) > [There are plenty of alcoholics who can be magnificent when drunk: it does not make them any less alcoholic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-bengis/there-are-plenty-of-alcoholics-who-can-be-magnificent-when-drunk-it/) [Ingrid Bengis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingrid-bengis/) > [The idea that the creative endeavor and mind-altering substances are entwined is one of the great pop-intellectual myths of our time. ... Substance abusing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-idea-that-the-creative-endeavor-and-mind-altering-substances-are/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [It is most absurdly said, in popular language, of any man, that he is disguised in liquor; for, on the contrary, most men are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-de-quincey/it-is-most-absurdly-said-in-popular-language-of-any-man-that-he-is/) [Thomas de Quincey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-de-quincey/) > [“Your alcoholics may include some of your brightest stars. The problem is to identify them, protected as they always are by their secretaries and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/your-alcoholics-may-include-some-of-your-brightest-stars-the-problem/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [I haven't had an alcoholic drink in 22 years, but when I did drink I'd go for either Canadian whisky or Budweiser. Sometimes both.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-cooper/i-haven-t-had-an-alcoholic-drink-in-22-years-but-when-i-did-drink-i-d/) [Alice Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-cooper/) > [I got thrown out of Alcoholics because when the other clients saw me they thought they were having the DT's](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-dutton/i-got-thrown-out-of-alcoholics-because-when-the-other-clients-saw-me/) [Dave Dutton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-dutton/) > [I placed myself in amongst the animal kingdom so that I would be able to confront myself actually. It did not start out as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-treadwell/i-placed-myself-in-amongst-the-animal-kingdom-so-that-i-would-be-able/) [Timothy Treadwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-treadwell/) > [I don't like the word 'alcoholic'. I like to think of myself as an advanced drinker.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-handler/i-don-t-like-the-word-alcoholic-i-like-to-think-of-myself-as-an/) [Chelsea Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-handler/) > [I feel that people who haven't read my books and haven't heard me lecture - who don't in fact know what my work is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/i-feel-that-people-who-haven-t-read-my-books-and-haven-t-heard-me/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [When people who believe themselves to be addicts or alcoholics come under great stress or trauma, they mentally give themselves permission to drink or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-prentiss/when-people-who-believe-themselves-to-be-addicts-or-alcoholics-come/) [Chris Prentiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-prentiss/) > [It took a great deal of acceptance to come to terms with being an alcoholic, but the acceptance was key to my sobriety. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-eckersley/it-took-a-great-deal-of-acceptance-to-come-to-terms-with-being-an/) [Dennis Eckersley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-eckersley/) [Browse all 377 Alcoholics quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alcoholics/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "(The new boyfriend) knows I write every day for hours but has no idea that all I’m writing about is me. 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