--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: True stories, autobiographical stories…" description: "\"True stories, autobiographical stories, like some novels, begin long ago, before the acts in the account, before the birth of some of the people in the..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca2/harold-brodkey-14369_accounts_true-stories-autobiographical-stories-li_2572224.png" --- # True stories, autobiographical stories, like some novels… ![“True stories, autobiographical stories, like some novels, begin long ago, before the acts in the account, before the birth of some of the people in the tale.” quote by Harold Brodkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca2/harold-brodkey-14369_accounts_true-stories-autobiographical-stories-li_2572224.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca2/harold-brodkey-14369_accounts_true-stories-autobiographical-stories-li_2572224.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca2/harold-brodkey-14369_accounts_true-stories-autobiographical-stories-li_2572224.png) > “True stories, autobiographical stories, like some novels, begin long ago, before the acts in the account, before the birth of some of the people in the tale.” [Harold Brodkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-brodkey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Stories often start before the events they recount, rooted in earlier histories and births. **In simple terms:** Narratives have deep origins before their main events. Key Takeaway Consider the deeper origins of any story. Themes history narrative structure origin Mood reflective analytical Type historical philosophical When to use this quote - genealogical research - historical fiction writing - family history projects Key Concepts temporal layering contextual depth storytelling techniques Questions to Reflect On - How do origins shape current narratives? - When is it useful to trace a story's roots? A Different Perspective Focusing too much on origins may distract from present relevance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accounts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accounts/) [Autobiographical Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autobiographical-stories-464651/) [Birth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birth/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Long ago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-ago/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Novels Begin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novels-begin-868113/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Stories Autobiographical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories-autobiographical-722617/) [Stories Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories-like-341084/) [Storytelling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/storytelling/) [Tales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tales/) [True story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/true-story/) ## Related quotes > [“...novels do not begin the way you want them to, but the way they want to.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/novels-do-not-begin-the-way-you-want-them-to-but-the-way-they-want-to/) [Gabriel García Márquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [Novels begin, not on the page, but in meditation and day-dreaming - In thinking, not writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/novels-begin-not-on-the-page-but-in-meditation-and-day-dreaming-in/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [Even if the experience in my stories is not autobiographical and the actual plot is not autobiographical, the emotion is always somewhat autobiographical. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-wech/even-if-the-experience-in-my-stories-is-not-autobiographical-and-the/) [Katie Wech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-wech/) > [The stories are not autobiographical, but they're personal in that way. I seem to know only the things that I've learned. Probably some things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/the-stories-are-not-autobiographical-but-they-re-personal-in-that-way/) [Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/) > [I categorically resist this idea that films are supposed to be autobiographical and the only stories you tell are about your own life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-daldry/i-categorically-resist-this-idea-that-films-are-supposed-to-be/) [Stephen Daldry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-daldry/) > [It's actually easier to do autobiographical stories. The story is already there. It's a matter of carving away what doesn't fit rather than building…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-thompson/it-s-actually-easier-to-do-autobiographical-stories-the-story-is/) [Craig Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-thompson/) > [I read a lot of autobiographical stories, and I write plays and prose. And I play piano and cello. A lot of my downtime…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-dziena/i-read-a-lot-of-autobiographical-stories-and-i-write-plays-and-prose/) [Alexis Dziena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-dziena/) > [I liked that sort of thing, those one-off stories like 'Tales of the Unexpected,' 'Hammer House of Horror,' 'The Twilight Zone' and 'Alfred Hitchcock…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-brooker/i-liked-that-sort-of-thing-those-one-off-stories-like-tales-of-the/) [Charlie Brooker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-brooker/) > [Stories are like birds flying, here and gone in a moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-l-travers/stories-are-like-birds-flying-here-and-gone-in-a-moment/) [P. L. Travers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-l-travers/) > [I receive emails from readers that both break my heart and give me a profound sense of connection. Several months ago, I received an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-lu/i-receive-emails-from-readers-that-both-break-my-heart-and-give-me-a/) [Marie Lu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-lu/) > [“Sometimes I think that maybe we are just stories. Like we may as well just be words on a page, because we’re only what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-lynn-anderson/sometimes-i-think-that-maybe-we-are-just-stories-like-we-may-as-well/) [Jodi Lynn Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-lynn-anderson/) > [I'm not someone who is driven by big external stories. I like big emotional stories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-moore/i-m-not-someone-who-is-driven-by-big-external-stories-i-like-big/) [Julianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-moore/) > [All my stories are like the Greek and Roman myths, and the Egyptian myths, and the Old and New Testament.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/all-my-stories-are-like-the-greek-and-roman-myths-and-the-egyptian/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“I like stories more than I like books.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-s-magalh-es/i-like-stories-more-than-i-like-books/) [Tomás Magalhães](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-s-magalh-es/) > [The only thing that I am trying to do is to find stories that I like, stories that are meaningful and that can connect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfonso-herrera/the-only-thing-that-i-am-trying-to-do-is-to-find-stories-that-i-like/) [Alfonso Herrera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfonso-herrera/) ## More by Harold Brodkey > [Being ill like this combines shock - this time I will die - with a pain and agony that are unfamiliar, that wrench me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-brodkey/being-ill-like-this-combines-shock-this-time-i-will-die-with-a-pain/) [Harold Brodkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-brodkey/) > [“I figured I had kept her from being too depressed after fucking--it's hard for a girl with any force in her and any brains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-brodkey/i-figured-i-had-kept-her-from-being-too-depressed-after-fucking-it-s/) [Harold Brodkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-brodkey/) > [I was always crazy about New York, dependent on it, scared of it - well, it is dangerous - but beyond that there was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-brodkey/i-was-always-crazy-about-new-york-dependent-on-it-scared-of-it-well/) [Harold Brodkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-brodkey/) > [In our opposed forms of loneliness and self-recognition and recognition of the other, we touched each other often as we spoke; and on shore…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-brodkey/in-our-opposed-forms-of-loneliness-and-self-recognition-and/) [Harold Brodkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-brodkey/) > [It is death that goes down to the center of the earth, the great burial church the earth is, and then to the curved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-brodkey/it-is-death-that-goes-down-to-the-center-of-the-earth-the-great/) [Harold Brodkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-brodkey/) > [“Reading is an intimate act, perhaps more intimate than any other human act. I say that because of the prolonged (or intense) exposure of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-brodkey/reading-is-an-intimate-act-perhaps-more-intimate-than-any-other-human/) [Harold Brodkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-brodkey/) > [“There is a certain shade of red brick--a dark, almost melodious red, sombre and riddled with blue--that is my childhood in St.Louis. Not the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-brodkey/there-is-a-certain-shade-of-red-brick-a-dark-almost-melodious-red/) [Harold Brodkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-brodkey/) > [I'm sixty-two, and it's ecological sense to die while you're still productive, die and clear a space for others, old and young.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-brodkey/i-m-sixty-two-and-it-s-ecological-sense-to-die-while-you-re-still/) [Harold Brodkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-brodkey/) > [It is like visiting one's funeral, like visiting loss in its purest and most monumental form, this wild darkness, which is not only unknown…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-brodkey/it-is-like-visiting-one-s-funeral-like-visiting-loss-in-its-purest/) [Harold Brodkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-brodkey/) > [In New York one lives in the moment rather more than Socrates advised, so that at a party or alone in your room it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-brodkey/in-new-york-one-lives-in-the-moment-rather-more-than-socrates-advised/) [Harold Brodkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-brodkey/) > [I have thousands of opinions still - but that is down from millions - and, as always, I know nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-brodkey/i-have-thousands-of-opinions-still-but-that-is-down-from-millions-and/) [Harold Brodkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-brodkey/) > [Almost the first thing I did when I became ill was to buy a truly good television set.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-brodkey/almost-the-first-thing-i-did-when-i-became-ill-was-to-buy-a-truly/) [Harold Brodkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-brodkey/) > [I am startled when people are themselves and are not my thoughts of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-brodkey/i-am-startled-when-people-are-themselves-and-are-not-my-thoughts-of/) [Harold Brodkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-brodkey/) > [You really can’t write unless you read. You have to know what the game is all about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-brodkey/you-really-can-t-write-unless-you-read-you-have-to-know-what-the-game/) [Harold Brodkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-brodkey/) > [I often thought men stank of rage; it is why I preferred women, and homosexuals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-brodkey/i-often-thought-men-stank-of-rage-it-is-why-i-preferred-women-and/) [Harold Brodkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-brodkey/) [Explore all 47 Harold Brodkey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-brodkey/) ## More Accounts quotes > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [Think of these things, whence you came, where you are going, and to whom you must account.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/think-of-these-things-whence-you-came-where-you-are-going-and-to-whom/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [There is nothing that we can properly call our own but our time, and yet everybody fools us out of it who has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/there-is-nothing-that-we-can-properly-call-our-own-but-our-time-and/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [The Hindus have a peculiar slovenliness in business matters, not being sufficiently methodical and strict in keeping accounts etc.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/the-hindus-have-a-peculiar-slovenliness-in-business-matters-not-being/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [With the Truman book, I wrote the entire account of his experiences in World War I before going over to Europe to follow his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/with-the-truman-book-i-wrote-the-entire-account-of-his-experiences-in/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [A great read; an exciting, frightening account of organized crime today. But like all important works of nonfiction, it goes further… This book is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/le-ly-hayslip/a-great-read-an-exciting-frightening-account-of-organized-crime-today/) [Le Ly Hayslip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/le-ly-hayslip/) > [I had a very blessed journey with the upbringing I had. When you're working on sets as a stuntman, you have a firsthand account…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ric-roman-waugh/i-had-a-very-blessed-journey-with-the-upbringing-i-had-when-you-re/) [Ric Roman Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ric-roman-waugh/) > [The suppression of uncomfortable ideas may be common in religion or in politics, but it is not the path to knowledge; it has no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-suppression-of-uncomfortable-ideas-may-be-common-in-religion-or/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [You've got to exercise. Your health account, your bank account, they're the same thing. The more you put in, the more you can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-lalanne/you-ve-got-to-exercise-your-health-account-your-bank-account-they-re/) [Jack LaLanne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-lalanne/) > [No physiologist who calmly considers the question in connection with the general truths of his science, can long resist the conviction that different parts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/no-physiologist-who-calmly-considers-the-question-in-connection-with/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [God puts you where God needs you. You are where you are supposed to be. The job you are doing may not be any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-kushner/god-puts-you-where-god-needs-you-you-are-where-you-are-supposed-to-be/) [Lawrence Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-kushner/) > [Stop trying to treat music like it's a tennis shoe, something to be branded. If the music industry wants to save money, they should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-tweedy/stop-trying-to-treat-music-like-it-s-a-tennis-shoe-something-to-be/) [Jeff Tweedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-tweedy/) > [Anyone who thinks science is trying to make human life easier or more pleasant is utterly mistaken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/anyone-who-thinks-science-is-trying-to-make-human-life-easier-or-more/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [That surely must be a concern to anyone who decides this drug must be given to stop transmissions, again from mother to child, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thabo-mbeki/that-surely-must-be-a-concern-to-anyone-who-decides-this-drug-must-be/) [Thabo Mbeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thabo-mbeki/) [Browse all 2,677 Accounts quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accounts/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "True stories, autobiographical stories, like some novels, begin long ago, before the acts in the account, before the birth of some of the people in the tale.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Harold Brodkey" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-brodkey/true-stories-autobiographical-stories-like-some-novels-begin-long-ago/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Accounts" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-brodkey/true-stories-autobiographical-stories-like-some-novels-begin-long-ago/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca2/harold-brodkey-14369_accounts_true-stories-autobiographical-stories-li_2572224.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca2/harold-brodkey-14369_accounts_true-stories-autobiographical-stories-li_2572224.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca2/harold-brodkey-14369_accounts_true-stories-autobiographical-stories-li_2572224.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“True stories, autobiographical stories, like some novels, begin long ago, before the acts in the account…” — Harold Brodkey", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Harold Brodkey", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-brodkey/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "True stories, autobiographical stories, like some...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-brodkey/true-stories-autobiographical-stories-like-some-novels-begin-long-ago/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-brodkey/true-stories-autobiographical-stories-like-some-novels-begin-long-ago/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```