--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The odd thing is, that I wrote The Great…" description: "\"The odd thing is, that I wrote The Great Spring while I had cancer and it's not about cancer. It was after I was done with cancer that I wrote a book a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/014/natalie-goldberg-1741_book_the-odd-thing-is-that-i-wrote-the-great_2671331.png" --- # The odd thing is, that I wrote The Great Spring while I… ![“The odd thing is, that I wrote The Great Spring while I had cancer and it's not about cancer. It was after I was done with cancer that I wrote a book about it.” quote by Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/014/natalie-goldberg-1741_book_the-odd-thing-is-that-i-wrote-the-great_2671331.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/014/natalie-goldberg-1741_book_the-odd-thing-is-that-i-wrote-the-great_2671331.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/014/natalie-goldberg-1741_book_the-odd-thing-is-that-i-wrote-the-great_2671331.png) > “The odd thing is, that I wrote The Great Spring while I had cancer and it's not about cancer. It was after I was done with cancer that I wrote a book about it.” [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing a book during illness can transform personal struggle into universal insight, often unrelated to the disease itself. **In simple terms:** Writing during illness yields broader insights. Key Takeaway Channel personal challenges into creative work. Themes creativity illness transformation writing Mood introspective hopeful Type literary motivational When to use this quote - journaling - therapy - public speaking - workshops Key Concepts memoir psychology spirituality Questions to Reflect On - How does illness shape creativity? - What can we learn from personal narratives? A Different Perspective Audience may misinterpret focus on disease. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Cancer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cancer/) [Cancer Wrote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cancer-wrote-2504913/) [Done](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/done/) [Odd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/odd/) [Odd things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/odd-things/) [Spring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spring/) [Spring Cancer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spring-cancer-2504915/) [Wrote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wrote/) [Wrote Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wrote-book/) [Wrote Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wrote-great-646752/) ## Related quotes > [My father died of brain cancer in 1991. I do not know anyone whose life has not been touched by the loss of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alicia-coppola/my-father-died-of-brain-cancer-in-1991-i-do-not-know-anyone-whose/) [Alicia Coppola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alicia-coppola/) > [While I had cancer, I wrote these twenty-two personal essays about how I lived my life backed by Zen and writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/while-i-had-cancer-i-wrote-these-twenty-two-personal-essays-about-how/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [“He said when he went to sell a man a flue, he asked first about that man's wife's health and how his children were.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/he-said-when-he-went-to-sell-a-man-a-flue-he-asked-first-about-that/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [Jack Kerouac did what he most wanted to do. He wrote great prose. He became the writer he wanted to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-johnson/jack-kerouac-did-what-he-most-wanted-to-do-he-wrote-great-prose-he/) [Joyce Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-johnson/) > [Well, I came the second year. I mean I just fit right in. They wrote a great person and I'm so lucky that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aida-turturro/well-i-came-the-second-year-i-mean-i-just-fit-right-in-they-wrote-a/) [Aida Turturro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aida-turturro/) > [I've always been creative verbally, had a flair, my teachers said - wrote great expository essays in elementary school, scribbled little poems, embraced all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/i-ve-always-been-creative-verbally-had-a-flair-my-teachers-said-wrote/) [Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/) > [ I wrote a great deal during the next ten \[early\] years,but very little of any importance; there are not more than four or five… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-h-hardy/i-wrote-a-great-deal-during-the-next-ten-early-years-but-very-little/) [G. H. Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-h-hardy/) > [I wrote a great deal... but very little of any importance; there are not more than four of five papers which I can still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-wrote-a-great-deal-but-very-little-of-any-importance-there-are-not/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I wrote a great deal of verse. In fact, every time I fell in love, which was rather often, I burst into the emotional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rheta-childe-dorr/i-wrote-a-great-deal-of-verse-in-fact-every-time-i-fell-in-love-which/) [Rheta Childe Dorr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rheta-childe-dorr/) > [Whatever a writer gets paid for his book, it's never enough. I think that's true. It's hard work. But in the end, you wrote…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-gaffigan/whatever-a-writer-gets-paid-for-his-book-it-s-never-enough-i-think/) [Jim Gaffigan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-gaffigan/) > [I wrote my first book at 20, but my whole focus from about the age of 12 was to be a writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boyne/i-wrote-my-first-book-at-20-but-my-whole-focus-from-about-the-age-of/) [John Boyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boyne/) > [When I wrote the book, I thought that I was the hero of my story. And in writing it, I came to realize over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-noah/when-i-wrote-the-book-i-thought-that-i-was-the-hero-of-my-story-and/) [Trevor Noah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-noah/) > [Wrote the book on pain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shinedown/wrote-the-book-on-pain/) [Shinedown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shinedown/) > [I guess if I wrote a book one day, it would be about hair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-louis-dreyfus/i-guess-if-i-wrote-a-book-one-day-it-would-be-about-hair/) [Julia Louis-Dreyfus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-louis-dreyfus/) > [“I stopped writing the book that I wanted to write, and wrote the one the book wanted to write.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-lewis/i-stopped-writing-the-book-that-i-wanted-to-write-and-wrote-the-one/) [Jim Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-lewis/) ## More by Natalie Goldberg > [“We heard about people who go back to their roots. That is good, but don't get stuck in the root. There is the branch,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/we-heard-about-people-who-go-back-to-their-roots-that-is-good-but-don/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [Over and over, we have to go back to the beginning. We should not be ashamed of this. It is good. It's like drinking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/over-and-over-we-have-to-go-back-to-the-beginning-we-should-not-be/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [I feel very rich when I have time to write and very poor when I get a regular paycheck and no time at my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/i-feel-very-rich-when-i-have-time-to-write-and-very-poor-when-i-get-a/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [Actually, when I look at my old notebooks, I think I have been a bit self-indulgent and have given myself too much time to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/actually-when-i-look-at-my-old-notebooks-i-think-i-have-been-a-bit/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [Our bodies are garbage heaps: we collect experience, and from the decomposition of the thrown-out eggshells, spinach leaves, coffee grinds, and old steak bones…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/our-bodies-are-garbage-heaps-we-collect-experience-and-from-the/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [Know that you will eventually have to leave everything behind; the writing will demand it of you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/know-that-you-will-eventually-have-to-leave-everything-behind-the/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [To encounter a fine book and have time to read it is a wonderful thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/to-encounter-a-fine-book-and-have-time-to-read-it-is-a-wonderful-thing/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [In the past few years I've assigned books to be read before a student attends one of my weeklong seminars. I have been astonished…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/in-the-past-few-years-i-ve-assigned-books-to-be-read-before-a-student/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [“When you draw and pay attention to what is, it's a form of being present. This inspires the mind, makes it happy, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/when-you-draw-and-pay-attention-to-what-is-it-s-a-form-of-being/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [Poetry is a dumb Buddha who thinks a donkey is as important as a diamond.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/poetry-is-a-dumb-buddha-who-thinks-a-donkey-is-as-important-as-a/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [I told all kinds of stories about going to Japan, about playing ball with my father... I wanted to record my life in case…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/i-told-all-kinds-of-stories-about-going-to-japan-about-playing-ball/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [“No matter what a person does to cover up and conceal themselves, when we write and lose control, I can spot a person from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/no-matter-what-a-person-does-to-cover-up-and-conceal-themselves-when/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [To stay close and intimate with experience is to stay close to the mind; the nitty gritty mind of the way things really are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/to-stay-close-and-intimate-with-experience-is-to-stay-close-to-the/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [I read Eve Ensler and thought it was fabulous. Not only that, but it was really the only thing I could relate to about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/i-read-eve-ensler-and-thought-it-was-fabulous-not-only-that-but-it/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [If you feel bored or uncomfortable as you're writing, ask yourself what's bothering you and write about that. Sometimes your creative energy is like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/if-you-feel-bored-or-uncomfortable-as-you-re-writing-ask-yourself/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) [Explore all 212 Natalie Goldberg quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) ## More Book 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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [I don't think I have made as much of my life as I should have. I should have written more books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/i-don-t-think-i-have-made-as-much-of-my-life-as-i-should-have-i/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. 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/) > [There are great books in this world and great worlds in books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/there-are-great-books-in-this-world-and-great-worlds-in-books/) [Anne Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [The purpose of this book is to supply, in the form suitable for laymen, guidance in the adoption and execution of an investment policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/the-purpose-of-this-book-is-to-supply-in-the-form-suitable-for-laymen/) [Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/) > [But I think that of all the literature that I studied, the book that did more than any other to fire my enthusiasm was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-nkrumah/but-i-think-that-of-all-the-literature-that-i-studied-the-book-that/) [Kwame Nkrumah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-nkrumah/) > [It's amazing to see things that are suggested in the book fully developed and so brilliantly realized through the artistry of the designers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/it-s-amazing-to-see-things-that-are-suggested-in-the-book-fully/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [“But I’ve developed a great reputation for wisdom by ordering more books than I ever had time to read, and reading more books, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/but-i-ve-developed-a-great-reputation-for-wisdom-by-ordering-more/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) [Browse all 29,378 Book quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The odd thing is, that I wrote The Great Spring while I had cancer and it's not about cancer. 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