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Express yourself Quote by David Grossman

“I write. I give intimate private names to an external and foreign world. In a sense, I make it mine. In a sense, I return from feeling exiled and foreign to feeling at home. By doing so, I am already making a small change in what appeared to me earlier as unchangeable. Also, when I describe the…” quote by David Grossman
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““I write. I give intimate private names to an external and foreign world. In a sense, I make it mine. In a sense, I return from feeling exiled and foreign to feeling at home. By doing so, I am already making a small change in what appeared to me earlier as unchangeable. Also, when I describe the impermeable arbitrariness that signs my destiny — arbitrariness at the hands of a human being, or arbitrariness at the hands of fate — I suddenly discover new nuances, subtleties. I discover that the mere act of writing about arbitrariness allows me to feel a freedom of movement in relation to it. That by merely facing up to arbitrariness I am granted freedom — maybe the only freedom a man may have against any arbitrariness: the freedom to put your tragedy into your own words. The freedom to express yourself differently, innovatively, before that which threatens to chain and bind one to arbitrariness and its limited, fossilizing definitions.””

David Grossman

About This Quote

Source Interview: The Art of Writing, Podcast, 2022

Writing personal narratives transforms feelings of alienation into agency, granting freedom over arbitrary fate.

In simple terms: Writing gives freedom over fate.

Key Takeaway

Write to reclaim agency.

Themes

writing agency freedom fate creativity

Mood

introspective thoughtful

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

  • journaling
  • creative writing
  • therapy sessions
  • academic essays

Key Concepts

narrative therapy self-expression existentialism

Questions to Reflect On

  • How does writing change your perception?
  • What limits does writing face?
A Different Perspective

Writing may not change external circumstances.

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