--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We read novels because we need stories…" description: "\"We read novels because we need stories; we crave them; we can’t live without telling them and hearing them. Stories are how we make sense of our lives ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65b/john-dufresne-11991_books_we-read-novels-because-we-need-stories-w_1456895.png" --- # We read novels because we need stories; we crave them; we… ![“We read novels because we need stories; we crave them; we can’t live without telling them and hearing them. Stories are how we make sense of our lives and of the world. When we’re distressed and go to therapy, our therapist’s job is to help us tell our story. Life doesn’t come with plots; it’s…” quote by John Dufresne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65b/john-dufresne-11991_books_we-read-novels-because-we-need-stories-w_1456895.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65b/john-dufresne-11991_books_we-read-novels-because-we-need-stories-w_1456895.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65b/john-dufresne-11991_books_we-read-novels-because-we-need-stories-w_1456895.png) > “We read novels because we need stories; we crave them; we can’t live without telling them and hearing them. Stories are how we make sense of our lives and of the world. When we’re distressed and go to therapy, our therapist’s job is to help us tell our story. Life doesn’t come with plots; it’s messy and chaotic; life is one damn, inexplicable thing after another. And we can’t have that. We insist on meaning. And so we tell stories so that our lives make sense.” [John Dufresne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dufresne/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Stories help us organize chaotic experiences into understandable narratives, providing meaning and emotional relief. **In simple terms:** Stories give order to chaos. Key Takeaway Use storytelling to process emotions. Themes meaning psychology storytelling therapy human nature Mood reflective empathetic introspective Type psychological therapeutic literary When to use this quote - counseling sessions - personal journaling - group therapy - creative writing workshops Key Concepts narrative construction identity formation emotional regulation Questions to Reflect On - How does your personal story shape your identity? - Can you find meaning without a narrative? A Different Perspective Stories may oversimplify complexity and ignore contradictory facts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jobs/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story/) [Therapists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/therapists/) [Therapy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/therapy/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“Stories are important. We need them. It is through telling and hearing stories that we make sense of the world. Like dreams, they come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-joyce/stories-are-important-we-need-them-it-is-through-telling-and-hearing/) [Rachel Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-joyce/) > [Life, to me, doesn't feel like a straightforward story; it doesn't make sense for me to get up there and just tell a story.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bo-burnham/life-to-me-doesn-t-feel-like-a-straightforward-story-it-doesn-t-make/) [Bo Burnham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bo-burnham/) > [I love playing live and meeting a lot of the people and hearing their stories and how the music touches their lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-tedeschi/i-love-playing-live-and-meeting-a-lot-of-the-people-and-hearing-their/) [Susan Tedeschi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-tedeschi/) > [We learn best - and change - from hearing stories that strike a chord within us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-p-kotter/we-learn-best-and-change-from-hearing-stories-that-strike-a-chord/) [John P. Kotter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-p-kotter/) > [There are so many people I would love to meet and say thank you for posting their videos, because hearing their stories and everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/troye-sivan/there-are-so-many-people-i-would-love-to-meet-and-say-thank-you-for/) [Troye Sivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/troye-sivan/) > [The slave narratives, there is a wealth of research there, because you are hearing stories from the first person account, and that's a whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jurnee-smollett-bell/the-slave-narratives-there-is-a-wealth-of-research-there-because-you/) [Jurnee Smollett-Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jurnee-smollett-bell/) > [A Woman Never Say: I love hearing stories about your old girlfriends, tell me more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/a-woman-never-say-i-love-hearing-stories-about-your-old-girlfriends/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) > [I love talking to people and hearing their stories. Everyone's got their own story to tell, and when you sit down with someone and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-wells/i-love-talking-to-people-and-hearing-their-stories-everyone-s-got/) [Dan Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-wells/) > [Sometimes hearing the stories is going to change people's lives much more than if they read it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-cisneros/sometimes-hearing-the-stories-is-going-to-change-people-s-lives-much/) [Sandra Cisneros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-cisneros/) > [Over the years I have become convinced that we learn best - and change - from hearing stories that strike a chord within us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-p-kotter/over-the-years-i-have-become-convinced-that-we-learn-best-and-change-2/) [John P. Kotter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-p-kotter/) > [I think if you go back to the '60s and '70s, that music felt newer, you were hearing stories told for the first time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giveon/i-think-if-you-go-back-to-the-60s-and-70s-that-music-felt-newer-you/) [Giveon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giveon/) > [I've always been involved with charities and things like that, but when I started communicating with the fans and hearing their stories about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-ve-always-been-involved-with-charities-and-things-like-that-but/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I love hearing stories, telling stories, sharing stories. I've shared 37,000 on the Oprah show! Every day I was like the town crier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oprah-winfrey/i-love-hearing-stories-telling-stories-sharing-stories-i-ve-shared-37/) [Oprah Winfrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oprah-winfrey/) > [Over the years I have become convinced that we learn best - and change - from hearing stories that strike a chord within us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-p-kotter/over-the-years-i-have-become-convinced-that-we-learn-best-and-change/) [John P. Kotter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-p-kotter/) > [I'm so happy that we're finally hearing the stories and voices of women who make America. We do what we see, not what we're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/i-m-so-happy-that-we-re-finally-hearing-the-stories-and-voices-of/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) ## More by John Dufresne > [You lose a wallet or keys or something and you notice in a second, but your life can go missing and you don't even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dufresne/you-lose-a-wallet-or-keys-or-something-and-you-notice-in-a-second-but/) [John Dufresne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dufresne/) > [“At 9:15 on Thursday morning, June 4, while Jordan Delreese was bludgeoning his two young children to death, I was sitting in Dr. Hamburger's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dufresne/at-9-15-on-thursday-morning-june-4-while-jordan-delreese-was/) [John Dufresne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dufresne/) > [We all sleep with the corpses of our dead lovers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dufresne/we-all-sleep-with-the-corpses-of-our-dead-lovers/) [John Dufresne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dufresne/) > [I learned to love stories by listening to them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dufresne/i-learned-to-love-stories-by-listening-to-them/) [John Dufresne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dufresne/) > [You will feel discouraged; you will lose confidence in your abilities; you will be bored with the characters–and the only way to overcome these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dufresne/you-will-feel-discouraged-you-will-lose-confidence-in-your-abilities/) [John Dufresne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dufresne/) > [There were the fairy tales my father told to me at bedtime. All the standards. I thought my father invented wolves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dufresne/there-were-the-fairy-tales-my-father-told-to-me-at-bedtime-all-the/) [John Dufresne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dufresne/) > [If you think about it, fiction is nothing more than gossip about the people you've made up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dufresne/if-you-think-about-it-fiction-is-nothing-more-than-gossip-about-the/) [John Dufresne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dufresne/) > [I revise like crazy. I start revising before the pen hits the paper.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dufresne/i-revise-like-crazy-i-start-revising-before-the-pen-hits-the-paper/) [John Dufresne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dufresne/) > [“I loved her for what I couldn't understand about her. Love searches for the mystery in the beloved, seeks the unknowable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dufresne/i-loved-her-for-what-i-couldn-t-understand-about-her-love-searches/) [John Dufresne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dufresne/) > [“I told her how I thought you could always revise your life, how you could work and work on it, finesse the details, see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dufresne/i-told-her-how-i-thought-you-could-always-revise-your-life-how-you/) [John Dufresne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dufresne/) > [A lack of narrative structure, as you know, will cause anxiety.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dufresne/a-lack-of-narrative-structure-as-you-know-will-cause-anxiety/) [John Dufresne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dufresne/) > [I write with a fountain pen. And then revise word by word and line by line so that the first draft of a scene…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dufresne/i-write-with-a-fountain-pen-and-then-revise-word-by-word-and-line-by/) [John Dufresne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dufresne/) > [With each draft, the work gets better, and usually that means tighter. It means getting the precise word, not the approximate word.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dufresne/with-each-draft-the-work-gets-better-and-usually-that-means-tighter/) [John Dufresne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dufresne/) > [Novels are written, not wished into existence. You have to sit your ass in the chair or nothing gets done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dufresne/novels-are-written-not-wished-into-existence-you-have-to-sit-your-ass/) [John Dufresne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dufresne/) > [In revision, your imagination becomes deeply engaged with your material. It's when you come to know your characters and begin to perceive their motivations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dufresne/in-revision-your-imagination-becomes-deeply-engaged-with-your/) [John Dufresne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dufresne/) [Explore all 57 John Dufresne quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dufresne/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. Krebs > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) Markus Herz > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We read novels because we need stories; we crave them; we can’t live without telling them and hearing them. Stories are how we make sense of our lives and of the world. When we’re distressed and go to therapy, our therapist’s job is to help us tell our story. Life doesn’t come with plots; it’s messy and chaotic; life is one damn, inexplicable thing after another. And we can’t have that. We insist on meaning. 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