---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think I just felt a sadness at some…"
description: "\"I think I just felt a sadness at some points in my career that what is available to a straight writer is not available to a gay writer.\" — Kevin Sessums"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e4f/kevin-sessums-9486_available_i-think-i-just-felt-a-sadness-at-some-po_2550872.jpg"
---

#  I think I just felt a sadness at some points in my career…

![“I think I just felt a sadness at some points in my career that what is available to a straight writer is not available to a gay writer.” quote by Kevin Sessums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e4f/kevin-sessums-9486_available_i-think-i-just-felt-a-sadness-at-some-po_2550872.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e4f/kevin-sessums-9486_available_i-think-i-just-felt-a-sadness-at-some-po_2550872.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e4f/kevin-sessums-9486_available_i-think-i-just-felt-a-sadness-at-some-po_2550872.jpg)

> “I think I just felt a sadness at some points in my career that what is available to a straight writer is not available to a gay writer.”

[Kevin Sessums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-sessums/)

## About This Quote

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

The author notes unequal opportunities for gay writers compared to straight peers, highlighting systemic bias.

**In simple terms:** Gay writers face extra barriers.

Key Takeaway

Advocate for inclusive publishing.

Themes

inequality representation career challenges

Mood

reflective determined

Type

social literary

When to use this quote

- publishing houses
- literary awards
- writing workshops
- activism

Key Concepts

systemic bias literary market visibility

Questions to Reflect On

- How can allies support gay writers?
- What steps can industry take to level the field?

A Different Perspective

Changing norms may take time and resistance.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gay/) [Sadness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sadness/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/)

## Related quotes

> [“When I'd looked back up at the window, the white curtain flapping in the gusty breeze, I'd felt both sadness and relief, the oppositional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gayle-forman/when-i-d-looked-back-up-at-the-window-the-white-curtain-flapping-in/)

[Gayle Forman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gayle-forman/)

> [“I felt melancholy, I felt joy, I felt dread, I felt a sadness so deep it cannot be described in words. I felt emotions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-yu/i-felt-melancholy-i-felt-joy-i-felt-dread-i-felt-a-sadness-so-deep-it/)

[Charles Yu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-yu/)

> [Thoughts of the girl crashed around his mind, made him remember the connection he felt. A sadness washed over him, as if he missed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dashner/thoughts-of-the-girl-crashed-around-his-mind-made-him-remember-the/)

[James Dashner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-dashner/)

> [“Picking them up and reading them, I felt sadness do deep that it will never really be gone. It was a sobering moment-- sobering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/picking-them-up-and-reading-them-i-felt-sadness-do-deep-that-it-will/)

[David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/)

> [“I had waited for the tears to stop before I called him, waited until my whole body was empty and dry, hard as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aryn-kyle/i-had-waited-for-the-tears-to-stop-before-i-called-him-waited-until/)

[Aryn Kyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aryn-kyle/)

> [I think Chris Brown gets kind of dismissed as a gay writer, and I think Chris's books are really, really smart. I wish his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/i-think-chris-brown-gets-kind-of-dismissed-as-a-gay-writer-and-i/)

[Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/)

> [As a gay writer and someone who began by writing autobiographical fiction, it's hard to get away from chatter of "You're just a narcissist,"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-a-martin/as-a-gay-writer-and-someone-who-began-by-writing-autobiographical/)

[Douglas A. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-a-martin/)

> [I am a gay writer, absolutely. And in no way does that fact limit the reach or importance of what I write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-greenwell/i-am-a-gay-writer-absolutely-and-in-no-way-does-that-fact-limit-the/)

[Garth Greenwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-greenwell/)

> [I don't buy into the idea that an Irish writer should write about Ireland, or a gay writer should write about being gay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boyne/i-don-t-buy-into-the-idea-that-an-irish-writer-should-write-about-2/)

[John Boyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boyne/)

> [I am a gay writer, but I am also a Scottish writer and some days a lazy writer, or a funny writer. Being gay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damian-barr/i-am-a-gay-writer-but-i-am-also-a-scottish-writer-and-some-days-a/)

[Damian Barr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damian-barr/)

> [I don't buy into the idea that an Irish writer should write about Ireland, or a gay writer should write about being gay. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boyne/i-don-t-buy-into-the-idea-that-an-irish-writer-should-write-about/)

[John Boyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boyne/)

> [ \[Larry Kramer\] thinks Charles de Gaulle was gay. He thinks Max Schmeling was gay. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-sessums/larry-kramer-thinks-charles-de-gaulle-was-gay-he-thinks-max-schmeling/)

[Kevin Sessums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-sessums/)

> [I just felt that if I went into Speed 2, I just... wouldn't have come up out of the water.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keanu-reeves/i-just-felt-that-if-i-went-into-speed-2-i-just-wouldn-t-have-come-up/)

[Keanu Reeves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keanu-reeves/)

> [After I got hurt, animals to me were a great comfort, because I went through a very long, dismal period where I just felt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wahl/after-i-got-hurt-animals-to-me-were-a-great-comfort-because-i-went/)

[Ken Wahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wahl/)

> [When I worked in Asia for a long time, I just felt like I needed a break.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fala-chen/when-i-worked-in-asia-for-a-long-time-i-just-felt-like-i-needed-a/)

[Fala Chen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fala-chen/)

## More by Kevin Sessums

> [ \[Calvin Trilllin\] is not writing about things that I can criticize. I can call these other people out for what I think they are… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-sessums/calvin-trilllin-is-not-writing-about-things-that-i-can-criticize-i/)

[Kevin Sessums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-sessums/)

> [I get rejections from the New Yorker. When I had to give a little talk to the people graduating from the MBA program at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-sessums/i-get-rejections-from-the-new-yorker-when-i-had-to-give-a-little-talk/)

[Kevin Sessums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-sessums/)

> [ \[Larry Kramer\] thinks Charles de Gaulle was gay. He thinks Max Schmeling was gay. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-sessums/larry-kramer-thinks-charles-de-gaulle-was-gay-he-thinks-max-schmeling/)

[Kevin Sessums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-sessums/)

> [I was raped. That was a hard thing to write about. I never owned that part of it. Guys don't look at themselves as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-sessums/i-was-raped-that-was-a-hard-thing-to-write-about-i-never-owned-that/)

[Kevin Sessums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-sessums/)

> [ Sometimes if I am walking down the street and thinking about my panoply of God, Ganesha, Parvati \[Ganesha's mother\], I say "Lucifer," because he… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-sessums/sometimes-if-i-am-walking-down-the-street-and-thinking-about-my/)

[Kevin Sessums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-sessums/)

> [To some people, knowledge and science are everything. To me, God is everything I don't know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-sessums/to-some-people-knowledge-and-science-are-everything-to-me-god-is/)

[Kevin Sessums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-sessums/)

> [I was not "shoe." That's a misuse of the term "shoe," which is derived from "white shoe."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-sessums/i-was-not-shoe-that-s-a-misuse-of-the-term-shoe-which-is-derived-from/)

[Kevin Sessums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-sessums/)

> [My father always wanted me to be president of the United States, and his fallback position was that I not become a ward of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-sessums/my-father-always-wanted-me-to-be-president-of-the-united-states-and/)

[Kevin Sessums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-sessums/)

> [I just so desperately wanted to be published in New Yorker, and I'd so desperately try to get something in it. But I'd always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-sessums/i-just-so-desperately-wanted-to-be-published-in-new-yorker-and-i-d-so/)

[Kevin Sessums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-sessums/)

> [ We didn't know each other \[with Larry Kramer at Yale\], but we had a lot of mutual friends. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-sessums/we-didn-t-know-each-other-with-larry-kramer-at-yale-but-we-had-a-lot/)

[Kevin Sessums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-sessums/)

> [ David Remnick \[the New Yorker's editor in chief\]is about as interested in anything gay as I am interested in anything to do with baseball.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-sessums/david-remnick-the-new-yorker-s-editor-in-chief-is-about-as-interested/)

[Kevin Sessums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-sessums/)

> [ I believe we really became friends \[with Larry Kramer\] when we bonded at our fifteenth class reunion in 1972. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-sessums/i-believe-we-really-became-friends-with-larry-kramer-when-we-bonded/)

[Kevin Sessums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-sessums/)

> [ One of the few nice things about \[time in Yale\] was you got to know people before there were labels on them, so you… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-sessums/one-of-the-few-nice-things-about-time-in-yale-was-you-got-to-know/)

[Kevin Sessums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-sessums/)

> [I wrote an essay too, and mine started something like, "When I was asked to contribute to this book, I said, 'I could do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-sessums/i-wrote-an-essay-too-and-mine-started-something-like-when-i-was-asked/)

[Kevin Sessums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-sessums/)

> [When one person mentors, two lives are changed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-sessums/when-one-person-mentors-two-lives-are-changed/)

[Kevin Sessums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-sessums/)

[Explore all 72 Kevin Sessums quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-sessums/)

## More Available quotes

> [I wrote when I was a young teen, but I didn't put an eye on the available markets until I was seventeen. The next…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reed/i-wrote-when-i-was-a-young-teen-but-i-didn-t-put-an-eye-on-the/)

[Robert Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reed/)

> [One of the worst things to come out of the Consumer Protection Board's misleading claims is the impression that government resources are to hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-lesko/one-of-the-worst-things-to-come-out-of-the-consumer-protection-board/)

[Matthew Lesko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-lesko/)

> [Tell the truth about your wound, and then you will get a truthful picture of the remedy to apply to it. Don't pack whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarissa-pinkola-estes/tell-the-truth-about-your-wound-and-then-you-will-get-a-truthful/)

[Clarissa Pinkola Estes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarissa-pinkola-estes/)

> [No actor wants to choose - they just want all of the options available to them all the time; we tend to be pretty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-jacobs/no-actor-wants-to-choose-they-just-want-all-of-the-options-available/)

[Gillian Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-jacobs/)

> [Never belong to a crowd; Never belong to a nation; Never belong to a religion; Never belong to a race. Belong to the whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/never-belong-to-a-crowd-never-belong-to-a-nation-never-belong-to-a/)

[Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/)

> [I used practically all the money I had available.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-ebbers/i-used-practically-all-the-money-i-had-available/)

[Bernard Ebbers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-ebbers/)

> [But we need to be very clear: because of our decades of collective denial, no gradual, incremental options are now available to us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-klein/but-we-need-to-be-very-clear-because-of-our-decades-of-collective/)

[Naomi Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-klein/)

> [There was no mistake in us making abortion legal and available on demand. That was what we call progress. Just like it was no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-ruffalo/there-was-no-mistake-in-us-making-abortion-legal-and-available-on/)

[Mark Ruffalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-ruffalo/)

> [I m Single , Eligible But Not Available .. Limited Edition :D](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faisal-khan-neal/i-m-single-eligible-but-not-available-limited-edition-d/)

Faisal Khan Neal

> [I do worry because it takes all types to make our culture, to make our art. We need it to be available to all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neve-mcintosh/i-do-worry-because-it-takes-all-types-to-make-our-culture-to-make-our/)

[Neve McIntosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neve-mcintosh/)

> [So-called Western Civilization, as practised in half of Europe, some of Asia and a few parts of North America, is better than anything else…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/so-called-western-civilization-as-practised-in-half-of-europe-some-of/)

[P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/)

> [The internal peace of every country depends upon the knowledge that force is available to uphold law.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-grey-1st-viscount-grey-of-fallodon/the-internal-peace-of-every-country-depends-upon-the-knowledge-that/)

[Edward Grey, 1st Viscount Grey of Fallodon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-grey-1st-viscount-grey-of-fallodon/)

> [It is truly amazing that, with much less neuroscientific knowledge available, Hayek's model comes closer, in some respects, to being neurophysiologically verifiable than those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-fuster/it-is-truly-amazing-that-with-much-less-neuroscientific-knowledge/)

Joaquin Fuster

> [While it's wonderful that investors have access to all the data now available to them, it has become a full-time job to sift through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-bartiromo/while-it-s-wonderful-that-investors-have-access-to-all-the-data-now/)

[Maria Bartiromo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-bartiromo/)

> [I'm in production year round. I work long hours. I have a dog and a wife. There's not a lot of available time for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ira-glass/i-m-in-production-year-round-i-work-long-hours-i-have-a-dog-and-a/)

[Ira Glass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ira-glass/)

Browse all 2,134 Available quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "I think I just felt a sadness at some points in my career that what is available to a straight writer is not available to a gay writer.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Kevin Sessums"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-sessums/i-think-i-just-felt-a-sadness-at-some-points-in-my-career-that-what/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Available"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-sessums/i-think-i-just-felt-a-sadness-at-some-points-in-my-career-that-what/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e4f/kevin-sessums-9486_available_i-think-i-just-felt-a-sadness-at-some-po_2550872.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e4f/kevin-sessums-9486_available_i-think-i-just-felt-a-sadness-at-some-po_2550872.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e4f/kevin-sessums-9486_available_i-think-i-just-felt-a-sadness-at-some-po_2550872.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I think I just felt a sadness at some points in my career that what is available to a straight writer is not…” — Kevin Sessums",
                "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": "Kevin Sessums",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-sessums/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I think I just felt a...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-sessums/i-think-i-just-felt-a-sadness-at-some-points-in-my-career-that-what/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-sessums/i-think-i-just-felt-a-sadness-at-some-points-in-my-career-that-what/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
