--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I write to escape from my life. Writing…" description: "\"I write to escape from my life. Writing about men separates 'me' from my work in a way that I find comforting.\" — Jennifer Egan" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c7/jennifer-egan-825_escape_i-write-to-escape-from-my-life-writing-a_1767511.jpg" --- # I write to escape from my life. Writing about men… ![“I write to escape from my life. Writing about men separates 'me' from my work in a way that I find comforting.” quote by Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c7/jennifer-egan-825_escape_i-write-to-escape-from-my-life-writing-a_1767511.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c7/jennifer-egan-825_escape_i-write-to-escape-from-my-life-writing-a_1767511.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c7/jennifer-egan-825_escape_i-write-to-escape-from-my-life-writing-a_1767511.jpg) > “I write to escape from my life. Writing about men separates 'me' from my work in a way that I find comforting.” [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing serves as a refuge, allowing the author to detach personal identity from creative output, providing comfort through separation. **In simple terms:** Writing is a safe escape from personal life. Key Takeaway Use writing to create emotional distance. Themes escape creativity identity comfort Mood reflective introspective Type personal therapeutic When to use this quote - journaling - fiction writing - creative therapy - personal reflection Key Concepts self‑distinction therapeutic expression Questions to Reflect On - How does distance affect authenticity? - Can comfort hinder vulnerability? A Different Perspective Separation may limit authentic self‑expression. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Comforting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comforting/) [Escape](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/escape/) [Find](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/find/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-writing/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) [Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-men-439077/) ## Related quotes > [Writing is for men who can think and feel, not mindless sensation seekers out of nightclubs and bars. But these are bad times. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naguib-mahfouz/writing-is-for-men-who-can-think-and-feel-not-mindless-sensation/) [Naguib Mahfouz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naguib-mahfouz/) > [I'm not an especially male novelist, but I think men are better at writing about men, and the same is true for women. Reading…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-cartwright/i-m-not-an-especially-male-novelist-but-i-think-men-are-better-at/) [Justin Cartwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-cartwright/) > [I like writing about women, weak and strong, pathetic and heroic. I like writing about men, ditto. And all the variants of men and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanith-lee/i-like-writing-about-women-weak-and-strong-pathetic-and-heroic-i-like/) [Tanith Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanith-lee/) > [I love writing about men. To get by in the world you have to know how men think. Not that all guys think alike,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-jo-campbell/i-love-writing-about-men-to-get-by-in-the-world-you-have-to-know-how/) [Bonnie Jo Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-jo-campbell/) > [“Then it dawned on me that men throughout the country had to know about nu shu (women's written word). How could they not? They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-see/then-it-dawned-on-me-that-men-throughout-the-country-had-to-know/) [Lisa See](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-see/) > [People say I'm not good at writing about men. My dad left when I was 16. Give me a break. I'm doing the best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-weiner/people-say-i-m-not-good-at-writing-about-men-my-dad-left-when-i-was/) [Jennifer Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-weiner/) > [The imaginative leap for me of writing for women is no more difficult than the one of writing for men. I've always wanted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-minghella/the-imaginative-leap-for-me-of-writing-for-women-is-no-more-difficult/) [Anthony Minghella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-minghella/) > [I worry sometimes that I'm a bit moralistic; always writing about men who are learning to grow up, not be so self-absorbed, selfish or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/i-worry-sometimes-that-i-m-a-bit-moralistic-always-writing-about-men/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [Writing 'Men We Reaped' broke me in different ways at different spots in the drafting process. The first draft was hard because I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/writing-men-we-reaped-broke-me-in-different-ways-at-different-spots/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [For me, writing the 'X-Men' was easy - is easy. I know these people, they're my friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-claremont/for-me-writing-the-x-men-was-easy-is-easy-i-know-these-people-they-re/) [Chris Claremont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-claremont/) > [“There are more similarities between the writing of men and women than there are differences. Aren't we all just trying to tell stories? How…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxanne-gay/there-are-more-similarities-between-the-writing-of-men-and-women-than/) [Roxanne Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxanne-gay/) > [In the old times, women did not get their lives written, though I don't doubt many of them were much better worth writing than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-beecher-stowe/in-the-old-times-women-did-not-get-their-lives-written-though-i-don-t/) [Harriet Beecher Stowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-beecher-stowe/) > [the writing of some men is like a vast bridge that carries you over the many things that claw and tear. The Wine of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/the-writing-of-some-men-is-like-a-vast-bridge-that-carries-you-over/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“I do use husbands a bit (in books). It's what writers of this kind do, actually. I am quite careful to try to keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fay-weldon/i-do-use-husbands-a-bit-in-books-it-s-what-writers-of-this-kind-do/) [Fay Weldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fay-weldon/) > [I write in bed, too. I find it very comforting. I want to sort of, like, crawl in a fetal position if I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ringwald/i-write-in-bed-too-i-find-it-very-comforting-i-want-to-sort-of-like/) [Molly Ringwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ringwald/) ## More by Jennifer Egan > [“Behind the desk was nothing but view-the whole city flung out in front of us the way street vendors fling out their towels packed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/behind-the-desk-was-nothing-but-view-the-whole-city-flung-out-in/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [I just think that, for my particular personality, feeling slightly invisible is always a help.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/i-just-think-that-for-my-particular-personality-feeling-slightly/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [Between books, I have to throw out everything I did before, because the tools I've used to write the previous book will not only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/between-books-i-have-to-throw-out-everything-i-did-before-because-the/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [As a reader and a writer, I'm happiest when apparently mutually exclusive states can somehow coexist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/as-a-reader-and-a-writer-i-m-happiest-when-apparently-mutually/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [I teach intermittently, and while I enjoy it, I don't find that it's a calling for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/i-teach-intermittently-and-while-i-enjoy-it-i-don-t-find-that-it-s-a/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [Like all failed experiments, that one taught me something I didn’t expect: one key ingredient of so-called experience is the delusional faith that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/like-all-failed-experiments-that-one-taught-me-something-i-didn-t/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [“Thousands of solar panels lift and tilt at the same time, in the same way. I clutch at Dad's arm: "Why are they doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/thousands-of-solar-panels-lift-and-tilt-at-the-same-time-in-the-same/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [It was the hat. He looked sweet in the hat. How could a man in a fuzzy blue hat have used human bones to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/it-was-the-hat-he-looked-sweet-in-the-hat-how-could-a-man-in-a-fuzzy/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [I was a stepchild in two different families. The hardest thing about being a stepchild is you know that in some way everything would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/i-was-a-stepchild-in-two-different-families-the-hardest-thing-about/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [“The seconds pass. I know what’s going on because it’s the same thing that always happens: give me something nice, something I love or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/the-seconds-pass-i-know-what-s-going-on-because-it-s-the-same-thing/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [I had this idea that I could hire myself out as a person to go on archeological digs and dig, without any training! I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/i-had-this-idea-that-i-could-hire-myself-out-as-a-person-to-go-on/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [At night, the house thick with sleep, she would peer out her bedroom window at the trees and sky and feel the presence of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/at-night-the-house-thick-with-sleep-she-would-peer-out-her-bedroom/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [I number my drafts, and by the time a book is done, I'll have 75 or 80 drafts of some sections.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/i-number-my-drafts-and-by-the-time-a-book-is-done-i-ll-have-75-or-80/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [Read at the level at which you want to write. Reading is the nourishment that feeds the kind of writing you want to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/read-at-the-level-at-which-you-want-to-write-reading-is-the/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [I was a stepchild in two different families. The hardest thing about being a stepchild is you know that in some way everything would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/i-was-a-stepchild-in-two-different-families-the-hardest-thing-about-2/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) [Explore all 358 Jennifer Egan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) ## More Comforting quotes > [“When you get lost in a really strange place, nothing is more comforting than found your friend whom you trust and can show the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/when-you-get-lost-in-a-really-strange-place-nothing-is-more/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [But victimhood was seductive, a release from responsibility and caring. 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I am grateful to whoever invented it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bram-stoker/euthanasia-is-an-excellent-and-comforting-word-i-am-grateful-to/) [Bram Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bram-stoker/) > [At first, I had such stage fright, and it was always comforting to look over and see my big brother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sasha-spielberg/at-first-i-had-such-stage-fright-and-it-was-always-comforting-to-look/) [Sasha Spielberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sasha-spielberg/) > [Truth is often uncomfortable. It is only comforting to those who do not wish to ignore it. Then, truth becomes not only comforting, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/truth-is-often-uncomfortable-it-is-only-comforting-to-those-who-do/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [I've been sent down to the minor leagues six or seven times in my career. You've just got to have that stability. 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