--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I certainly couldn't have survived my…" description: "\"“I certainly couldn't have survived my childhood without books. All that deprivation and pain--abuse, broken home, a runaway sister, a brother with can..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bad/junot-diaz-531_books_i-certainly-couldn-t-have-survived-my-ch_831292.jpg" --- # I certainly couldn't have survived my childhood without… ![“I certainly couldn't have survived my childhood without books. All that deprivation and pain--abuse, broken home, a runaway sister, a brother with cancer--the books allowed me to withstand. They sustained me. I read still, prolifically, with great passion, but never like I read in those days: in…” quote by Junot Díaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bad/junot-diaz-531_books_i-certainly-couldn-t-have-survived-my-ch_831292.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bad/junot-diaz-531_books_i-certainly-couldn-t-have-survived-my-ch_831292.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bad/junot-diaz-531_books_i-certainly-couldn-t-have-survived-my-ch_831292.jpg) > ““I certainly couldn't have survived my childhood without books. All that deprivation and pain--abuse, broken home, a runaway sister, a brother with cancer--the books allowed me to withstand. They sustained me. I read still, prolifically, with great passion, but never like I read in those days: in those days it was life or death.”” [Junot Díaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Books were essential for survival amid trauma, providing resilience and purpose. **In simple terms:** Books saved him from hardship. Key Takeaway Read to find strength. Themes survival literature resilience Mood reflective hopeful Type personal inspirational When to use this quote - therapy - education - personal growth - support groups Key Concepts Coping mechanisms storytelling healing Questions to Reflect On - How do books shape identity? - What other tools aid recovery? A Different Perspective Reading alone may not heal all wounds. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Broken home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/broken-home/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Life or death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-or-death/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Surviving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surviving/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [A childhood without books – that would be no childhood. That would be like being shut out from the enchanted place where you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/astrid-lindgren/a-childhood-without-books-that-would-be-no-childhood-that-would-be/) [Astrid Lindgren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/astrid-lindgren/) > [“Perhaps it is only in childhood that books have any deep influence on our lives. In later life we admire, we are entertained, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/perhaps-it-is-only-in-childhood-that-books-have-any-deep-influence-on/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [Of all my childhood books, 'The Giving Tree and Hope for the Flowers' really did change my early world, but after reading 'Momo' in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/devendra-banhart/of-all-my-childhood-books-the-giving-tree-and-hope-for-the-flowers/) [Devendra Banhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/devendra-banhart/) > [“Anybody who has survived his childhood has enough information about life to last him the rest of his days.” – FLANNERY O’CONNOR”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-lategan/anybody-who-has-survived-his-childhood-has-enough-information-about-2/) Herman Lategan > [The fact is that anybody who has survived his childhood has enough information about life to last him the rest of his days. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/the-fact-is-that-anybody-who-has-survived-his-childhood-has-enough/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [Anybody who has survived his childhood has enough information about life to last him the rest of his days.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/anybody-who-has-survived-his-childhood-has-enough-information-about/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [You people who have survived childhood don't remeber any longer what it was like. You think children are whole, uncomplicated creatures, and if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/you-people-who-have-survived-childhood-don-t-remeber-any-longer-what/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [“Anyone who survived childhood has enough material to write for the rest of his life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/anyone-who-survived-childhood-has-enough-material-to-write-for-the/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [There's a ton of truth in Flannery O'Connor's notion that "Anybody who has survived his childhood has enough information about life to last him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-singleton/there-s-a-ton-of-truth-in-flannery-o-connor-s-notion-that-anybody-who/) [George Singleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-singleton/) > [I survived my childhood by birthing many separate identities to stand in for one another in times of great stress and fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roseanne-barr/i-survived-my-childhood-by-birthing-many-separate-identities-to-stand/) [Roseanne Barr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roseanne-barr/) > [Oh, my other goal was that I wanted to talk about this area and this time in history. I wanted to talk about growing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moshe-kasher/oh-my-other-goal-was-that-i-wanted-to-talk-about-this-area-and-this/) [Moshe Kasher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moshe-kasher/) > [Womenfolk raised me and I was full-grown before I knew I came from a broken home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gil-scott-heron/womenfolk-raised-me-and-i-was-full-grown-before-i-knew-i-came-from-a/) [Gil Scott-Heron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gil-scott-heron/) > [Domestic violence doesn't count when it's in a broken home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/domestic-violence-doesn-t-count-when-it-s-in-a-broken-home/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [No mama, no papa, and I live in the ghetto. I'm just a child from a broken home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurel-aitken/no-mama-no-papa-and-i-live-in-the-ghetto-i-m-just-a-child-from-a/) [Laurel Aitken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurel-aitken/) > [“The hunger for power has made them cruel They shed humanity and shed every rule They bow to the devil, deny what is just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-zaki-ansari/the-hunger-for-power-has-made-them-cruel-they-shed-humanity-and-shed/) [Mohammed Zaki Ansari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-zaki-ansari/) ## More by Junot Díaz > [It might interest you that just as the U.S. was ramping up its involvement in Vietnam, LBJ launched an illegal invasion of the Dominican…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/it-might-interest-you-that-just-as-the-u-s-was-ramping-up-its/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [Tell her that you love her hair, that you love her skin, her lips, because, in truth, you love them more than you love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/tell-her-that-you-love-her-hair-that-you-love-her-skin-her-lips/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [It took me sixteen years to write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/it-took-me-sixteen-years-to-write/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [You ask everybody you know: How long does it usually take to get over it? There are many formulas. One year for every year…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/you-ask-everybody-you-know-how-long-does-it-usually-take-to-get-over/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [Instead of finding himself in nerd heaven—where every nerd gets fifty-eight virgins to role-play with—he woke up in Robert Wood Johnson with two broken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/instead-of-finding-himself-in-nerd-heaven-where-every-nerd-gets-fifty/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [The one thing about being a dude and writing from a female perspective is that the baseline is, you suck. The baseline is it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/the-one-thing-about-being-a-dude-and-writing-from-a-female/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [“I used to think those were the barrio rules, Latinos and blacks in, whites out —a place we down cats weren’t supposed to go.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/i-used-to-think-those-were-the-barrio-rules-latinos-and-blacks-in/) [Junot Díaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [“I put my hand on her knee. I just wish you'd say you love me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/i-put-my-hand-on-her-knee-i-just-wish-you-d-say-you-love-me/) [Junot Díaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [I've always thought that you don't love a country by turning a blind eye to its crimes and to a problem. The way that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/i-ve-always-thought-that-you-don-t-love-a-country-by-turning-a-blind/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [“Called her a whore and attacked her walls, tearing down her posters and throwing her books everywhere. I found out because some whitegirl ran…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/called-her-a-whore-and-attacked-her-walls-tearing-down-her-posters/) [Junot Díaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [You're Dominican only if you do this, this, and that. And if you do this and that, you'll be accepted to a certain degree…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/you-re-dominican-only-if-you-do-this-this-and-that-and-if-you-do-this/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [“Ramfis fled the country after Trujillo's death, lived dissolutely off his father's swag, and ended up dying in a car crash of his own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/ramfis-fled-the-country-after-trujillo-s-death-lived-dissolutely-off/) [Junot Díaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [If you didn't grow up like I did then you don't know, and if you don't know it's probably better you don't judge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/if-you-didn-t-grow-up-like-i-did-then-you-don-t-know-and-if-you-don-t/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [“If you ask me I don't think there are any such things as curses. I think there is only life. That's enough.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/if-you-ask-me-i-don-t-think-there-are-any-such-things-as-curses-i/) [Junot Díaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [The only difference between a published and unpublished writer is a tolerance for imperfection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/the-only-difference-between-a-published-and-unpublished-writer-is-a/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) [Explore all 486 Junot Díaz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) ## 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": "“I certainly couldn't have survived my childhood without books. All that deprivation and pain--abuse, broken home, a runaway sister, a brother with cancer--the books allowed me to withstand. They sustained me. 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