---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: That's the thing with a diary, though. In…"
description: "\"“That's the thing with a diary, though. In order to record your life, you sort of need to live it. Not at your desk, but beyond it. Out in the world wh..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/668/david-sedaris-333_diary_that-s-the-thing-with-a-diary-though-in_2579100.jpg"
---

#  That's the thing with a diary, though. In order to record…

![“That's the thing with a diary, though. In order to record your life, you sort of need to live it. Not at your desk, but beyond it. Out in the world where it's so beautiful and complex and painful that sometimes you just need to sit down and write about it.” quote by David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/668/david-sedaris-333_diary_that-s-the-thing-with-a-diary-though-in_2579100.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/668/david-sedaris-333_diary_that-s-the-thing-with-a-diary-though-in_2579100.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/668/david-sedaris-333_diary_that-s-the-thing-with-a-diary-though-in_2579100.jpg)

> ““That's the thing with a diary, though. In order to record your life, you sort of need to live it. Not at your desk, but beyond it. Out in the world where it's so beautiful and complex and painful that sometimes you just need to sit down and write about it.””

[David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Writing requires living fully; experiences become material for reflection and expression.

**In simple terms:** Live fully to write meaningfully.

Key Takeaway

Seek experiences, then reflect.

Themes

writing experience reflection

Mood

contemplative inspirational

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

- travel
- daily observations
- journaling

Key Concepts

memoir creative nonfiction mindfulness

Questions to Reflect On

- What moments deserve to be written?
- How do you balance action and reflection?

A Different Perspective

Writing can become an escape from living.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Diary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diary/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/)

## Related quotes

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[Lenny Kravitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lenny-kravitz/)

> [DIARY, n. A daily record of that part of one's life, which he can relate to himself without blushing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/diary-n-a-daily-record-of-that-part-of-one-s-life-which-he-can-relate/)

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> [Of course, the diary helps me as well. 'That wasn't your position on July 7, 1991,' I'll remind Hugh an hour after we've had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/of-course-the-diary-helps-me-as-well-that-wasn-t-your-position-on/)

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> [I've been keeping a diary for thirty-three years and write in it every morning. Most of it's just whining, but every so often there'll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/i-ve-been-keeping-a-diary-for-thirty-three-years-and-write-in-it/)

[David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/)

> [If you read somebody's diary, you get what you deserve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/if-you-read-somebody-s-diary-you-get-what-you-deserve/)

[David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/)

> [I think that every record has its own life and a different sound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claudio-simonetti/i-think-that-every-record-has-its-own-life-and-a-different-sound/)

Claudio Simonetti

> [My books are, in a way, a record of my life - that part of it that came to flower and fruit in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burroughs/my-books-are-in-a-way-a-record-of-my-life-that-part-of-it-that-came/)

[John Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burroughs/)

> [Writers are the custodians of memory, and that's what this chapter is about: how to leave some kind of record of your life and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/writers-are-the-custodians-of-memory-and-that-s-what-this-chapter-is/)

[William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/)

> [I have never made a cent off a record in my life. I have never recouped enough, and I never sold enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-sobule/i-have-never-made-a-cent-off-a-record-in-my-life-i-have-never/)

[Jill Sobule](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-sobule/)

> [When you live your life through records, the records are a record of your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/questlove/when-you-live-your-life-through-records-the-records-are-a-record-of/)

[Questlove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/questlove/)

> [I told all kinds of stories about going to Japan, about playing ball with my father... I wanted to record my life in case…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/i-told-all-kinds-of-stories-about-going-to-japan-about-playing-ball/)

[Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/)

> [“...the air a library and the record of every life lived, every sentence spoken, every word transmitted still reverberating within it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-doerr/the-air-a-library-and-the-record-of-every-life-lived-every-sentence/)

[Anthony Doerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-doerr/)

> [I know that attaching memories to books may be going out of the world, but while it lasts, it's a strong record of your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/i-know-that-attaching-memories-to-books-may-be-going-out-of-the-world/)

[Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/)

## More by David Sedaris

> [“Plenty of animals had pets, but few were more devoted than the mouse, who owned a baby corn snake—“A rescue snake, she’d be quick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/plenty-of-animals-had-pets-but-few-were-more-devoted-than-the-mouse/)

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> [“It was a father, one hand resting teapot-style on his hip, and the other - what would be the spout - formed into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/it-was-a-father-one-hand-resting-teapot-style-on-his-hip-and-the/)

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[David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/)

> [One thing I like about the United States, and I kind of miss about the United States, is there's an election coming up here…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/one-thing-i-like-about-the-united-states-and-i-kind-of-miss-about-the/)

[David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/)

> [When you read comic material and people aren't laughing how do you know they're listening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/when-you-read-comic-material-and-people-aren-t-laughing-how-do-you/)

[David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/)

> [“You have how many children in your family?" the teacher would ask. "I'm guessing you must be Catholic, am I right?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/you-have-how-many-children-in-your-family-the-teacher-would-ask-i-m/)

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[David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/)

> [Write relentlessly, until you find your voice. Then, use it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/write-relentlessly-until-you-find-your-voice-then-use-it/)

[David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/)

[Explore all 667 David Sedaris quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/)

## More Diary quotes

> [I don't want to be singing my diary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norah-jones/i-don-t-want-to-be-singing-my-diary/)

[Norah Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norah-jones/)

> [“What a vast fertility of pleasure books hold for me! (...) I think I could happily live here & read forever.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/what-a-vast-fertility-of-pleasure-books-hold-for-me-i-think-i-could/)

[Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/)

> [“The platonic love I feel for my cousin, made me write this diary ...” Leione”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pet-torres/the-platonic-love-i-feel-for-my-cousin-made-me-write-this-diary-leione/)

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[Elizabeth Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-scott/)

> [I'm so open to different things. The only thing I'd say is I've set the bar pretty high in terms of good female roles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bel-powley/i-m-so-open-to-different-things-the-only-thing-i-d-say-is-i-ve-set/)

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> [A man's diary is a record in youth of his sentiments, in middle age of his actions, in old age of his reflections.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-quincy-adams/a-man-s-diary-is-a-record-in-youth-of-his-sentiments-in-middle-age-of/)

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> [I keep a diary - one for each film and foreign land I travel to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-mcconaughey/i-keep-a-diary-one-for-each-film-and-foreign-land-i-travel-to/)

[Matthew McConaughey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-mcconaughey/)

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> [Memory is the diary that chronicles things that never happened or couldn't possibly have happened.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/memory-is-the-diary-that-chronicles-things-that-never-happened-or/)

[Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/)

> [“What will become of me? I do not know where am I going or what tomorrow will bring.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-ne-berr/what-will-become-of-me-i-do-not-know-where-am-i-going-or-what/)

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[Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/)

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