--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We don't choose the books we write; they…" description: "\"We don't choose the books we write; they choose us.\" — Miriam Toews" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64f/miriam-toews-3632_books_we-don-t-choose-the-books-we-write-they_2092595.png" --- # We don't choose the books we write; they choose us. ![“We don't choose the books we write; they choose us.” quote by Miriam Toews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64f/miriam-toews-3632_books_we-don-t-choose-the-books-we-write-they_2092595.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64f/miriam-toews-3632_books_we-don-t-choose-the-books-we-write-they_2092595.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64f/miriam-toews-3632_books_we-don-t-choose-the-books-we-write-they_2092595.png) > “We don't choose the books we write; they choose us.” [Miriam Toews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miriam-toews/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writers are compelled by stories that seem to choose them, reflecting deeper forces beyond conscious control. **In simple terms:** Stories choose the writer. Key Takeaway Listen to the stories that call to you. Themes creativity destiny writing Mood introspective creative Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - authorial process - personal reflection - creative blocks Key Concepts literature psychology fate Questions to Reflect On - What story feels chosen for you? - How do you respond to unexpected inspiration? A Different Perspective Not all choices are fully autonomous. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [ Ye who write, choose a subject suited to your abilities. \[Lat., Sumite materiam vestris, qui scribitis, aequam Viribus.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/ye-who-write-choose-a-subject-suited-to-your-abilities-lat-sumite/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [I don't like the idea of a book being a test or being used for a test. The way - in my opinion -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avi/i-don-t-like-the-idea-of-a-book-being-a-test-or-being-used-for-a-test/) [Avi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avi/) > [If you are lazy, and accept your lot, you may live in it. 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It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“No one cares about books, that’s why you can write anything you want in them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-stanley-robinson/no-one-cares-about-books-that-s-why-you-can-write-anything-you-want/) [Kim Stanley Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-stanley-robinson/) > [Becoming a writer is not a 'career decision' like becoming a doctor or a policeman. You don't choose it so much as get chosen,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/becoming-a-writer-is-not-a-career-decision-like-becoming-a-doctor-or/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [You don't choose who you love...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-montag/you-don-t-choose-who-you-love/) [Heidi Montag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heidi-montag/) > [We don't choose a life, we live one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-sheen/we-don-t-choose-a-life-we-live-one/) [Martin Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-sheen/) > [Too many women are being chosen by men that they don't choose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-hussey/too-many-women-are-being-chosen-by-men-that-they-don-t-choose/) [Matthew Hussey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-hussey/) > [“You can not go back. That's why it's hard to choose. You have to make the right choice. 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Get a grip. Walk away. What have I taught you? And I thought: You taught me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-toews/i-heard-tash-say-nomi-you-re-sad-man-get-a-grip-walk-away-what-have-i/) [Miriam Toews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miriam-toews/) > [“Where are they going to get a camera? I asked. I don't know, said Noehmi. They'll probably get sidetracked along the way. Or they'll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-toews/where-are-they-going-to-get-a-camera-i-asked-i-don-t-know-said-noehmi/) [Miriam Toews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miriam-toews/) > [“The director said he's got a haunted soul and a natural sweetness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-toews/the-director-said-he-s-got-a-haunted-soul-and-a-natural-sweetness/) [Miriam Toews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miriam-toews/) > [“Nomi, he said, you just need to wake up to the fact that other people need to know where you're going. But there's nobody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-toews/nomi-he-said-you-just-need-to-wake-up-to-the-fact-that-other-people/) [Miriam Toews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miriam-toews/) > [I would never want to deny my Mennonite background and culture; I'll always feel like and be identified as a Mennonite and therefore possess…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-toews/i-would-never-want-to-deny-my-mennonite-background-and-culture-i-ll/) [Miriam Toews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miriam-toews/) > [“When I opened up the bottle of wine, Thebes said whoa, you yanked that cork out of there like you were saving it from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-toews/when-i-opened-up-the-bottle-of-wine-thebes-said-whoa-you-yanked-that/) [Miriam Toews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miriam-toews/) > [The writing life is one long, never-ending search for narrative. Well, it's not even a conscious searching. It happens even while you're busy buying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-toews/the-writing-life-is-one-long-never-ending-search-for-narrative-well/) [Miriam Toews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miriam-toews/) > [“I think Ray might have wanted a son. One night when I was seven or eight I announced to my family that I wanted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-toews/i-think-ray-might-have-wanted-a-son-one-night-when-i-was-seven-or/) [Miriam Toews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miriam-toews/) > [The theme of sisters - of missing sisters, of needing sisters, the special love that sisters share or the antagonism sisters share - is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-toews/the-theme-of-sisters-of-missing-sisters-of-needing-sisters-the/) [Miriam Toews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miriam-toews/) > [“..I followed her out the door and watched her walk down the road towards home, hers, and the bright yard light, and her own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-toews/i-followed-her-out-the-door-and-watched-her-walk-down-the-road/) [Miriam Toews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miriam-toews/) > [“someday you’ll be gone, you’ll be dust, and then even less than dust. Nothing. There’s no other place to be. This world is good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-toews/someday-you-ll-be-gone-you-ll-be-dust-and-then-even-less-than-dust/) [Miriam Toews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miriam-toews/) > [...and I put on "All My Love" and watched the sun rise yet again and thought thank you Robert Plant for all your love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-toews/and-i-put-on-all-my-love-and-watched-the-sun-rise-yet-again-and/) [Miriam Toews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miriam-toews/) > [If, along the way, something is gained, then something will also be lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-toews/if-along-the-way-something-is-gained-then-something-will-also-be-lost/) [Miriam Toews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miriam-toews/) > [Things shouldn't hinge on so very little. Sneeze and you're highway carnage. Remove one tiny stone and you're an avalanche statistic. But I guess…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-toews/things-shouldn-t-hinge-on-so-very-little-sneeze-and-you-re-highway/) [Miriam Toews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miriam-toews/) [Explore all 125 Miriam Toews quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miriam-toews/) ## 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 don't choose the books we write; they choose us.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Miriam Toews" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-toews/we-don-t-choose-the-books-we-write-they-choose-us/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-toews/we-don-t-choose-the-books-we-write-they-choose-us/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64f/miriam-toews-3632_books_we-don-t-choose-the-books-we-write-they_2092595.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64f/miriam-toews-3632_books_we-don-t-choose-the-books-we-write-they_2092595.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64f/miriam-toews-3632_books_we-don-t-choose-the-books-we-write-they_2092595.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We don't choose the books we write; they choose us.” — Miriam Toews", "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": "Miriam Toews", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miriam-toews/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We don't choose the books we...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-toews/we-don-t-choose-the-books-we-write-they-choose-us/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-toews/we-don-t-choose-the-books-we-write-they-choose-us/#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 } } ] } ```