--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Writing has always allowed me to escape…" description: "\"Writing has always allowed me to escape. I was a very lonely child. Because I was very socially awkward, I would always have trouble making friends. An..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a06/roxane-gay-520_active_writing-has-always-allowed-me-to-escape_368094.png" --- # Writing has always allowed me to escape. I was a very… ![“Writing has always allowed me to escape. I was a very lonely child. Because I was very socially awkward, I would always have trouble making friends. And so reading and writing allowed me to have friends and to have an active imaginary life that really sort of kept me sane.” quote by Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a06/roxane-gay-520_active_writing-has-always-allowed-me-to-escape_368094.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a06/roxane-gay-520_active_writing-has-always-allowed-me-to-escape_368094.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a06/roxane-gay-520_active_writing-has-always-allowed-me-to-escape_368094.png) > “Writing has always allowed me to escape. I was a very lonely child. Because I was very socially awkward, I would always have trouble making friends. And so reading and writing allowed me to have friends and to have an active imaginary life that really sort of kept me sane.” [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing provided a safe refuge and a way to create imagined friendships, helping a lonely, socially awkward child maintain mental health. **In simple terms:** Writing gave escape and imagined friends, keeping sanity. Key Takeaway Use creative outlets to build supportive inner worlds. Themes escape mental health creativity Mood reflective hopeful Type personal inspirational When to use this quote - childhood loneliness - writing practice - therapy - building confidence Key Concepts imagination self‑therapy social connection Questions to Reflect On - How can writing foster real connections? - What other creative outlets help you feel less isolated? A Different Perspective Imaginary friends cannot replace real social support. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Imaginary life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imaginary-life/) [Lonely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lonely/) [Lonely child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lonely-child/) [Making friends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/making-friends/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Reading and writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading-and-writing/) [Socially awkward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/socially-awkward/) [Trouble making](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trouble-making/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“Scientologist community and was still invited to get-togethers. You are allowed to be friends with non- or ex-Scientologists, as long as they aren’t antagonistic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leah-remini/scientologist-community-and-was-still-invited-to-get-togethers-you/) [Leah Remini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leah-remini/) > [“I never knew why or how writing could be so important until I learned about the no-talking rule and found that writing was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karol-jackowski/i-never-knew-why-or-how-writing-could-be-so-important-until-i-learned/) [Karol Jackowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karol-jackowski/) > [The best bit of novel writing is being allowed to write exactly what you want at the speed that you want, and to include…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/the-best-bit-of-novel-writing-is-being-allowed-to-write-exactly-what/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [ When it is going well, it is the best job \[writing\] in the world. For those few hours, you are god, in control of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-scott/when-it-is-going-well-it-is-the-best-job-writing-in-the-world-for/) [Michael Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-scott/) > [I was a lonely child. My brother Tony and I were never very close, neither as children nor as adults, but I was tightly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anjelica-huston/i-was-a-lonely-child-my-brother-tony-and-i-were-never-very-close/) [Anjelica Huston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anjelica-huston/) > [Of all the needs (there are none imaginary) a lonely child has, the one that must be satisfied, if there is going to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/of-all-the-needs-there-are-none-imaginary-a-lonely-child-has-the-one-2/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I never get lonely; even as a child, I didn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-rigg/i-never-get-lonely-even-as-a-child-i-didn-t/) [Diana Rigg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-rigg/) > [Lonely children often have imaginary playmates but I was never lonely; rather, I was solitary, and wanted no company at all other than books…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/lonely-children-often-have-imaginary-playmates-but-i-was-never-lonely/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Of all the needs (there are none imaginary) a lonely child has, the one that must be satisfied, if there is going to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/of-all-the-needs-there-are-none-imaginary-a-lonely-child-has-the-one/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I had the lonely child's habit of making up stories and holding conversations with imaginary persons, and I think from the very start my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/i-had-the-lonely-child-s-habit-of-making-up-stories-and-holding/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [I was never a lonely child who sat looking at the rain sliding down the window,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-moggach/i-was-never-a-lonely-child-who-sat-looking-at-the-rain-sliding-down/) [Deborah Moggach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-moggach/) > [True majorities, in a TV-dominated and anti-intellectual age, may need sound bites and flashing lights and I am not against supplying such lures if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/true-majorities-in-a-tv-dominated-and-anti-intellectual-age-may-need/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [I wasn't lonely as a child. I was the eldest of four and always had lots of people around me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-dahl/i-wasn-t-lonely-as-a-child-i-was-the-eldest-of-four-and-always-had/) [Sophie Dahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-dahl/) > [“I was an only, and often lonely, child. After they’d had me, my parents, who’d met back in Pakistan when they were both around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/i-was-an-only-and-often-lonely-child-after-they-d-had-me-my-parents/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [I was very moved to see that the name of the boat was Hamlet - an imaginary character becomes so important to people, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/i-was-very-moved-to-see-that-the-name-of-the-boat-was-hamlet-an/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) ## More by Roxane Gay > [“Human endurance fascinates me, probably too much because more often than not, I think of life in terms of enduring instead of living.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/human-endurance-fascinates-me-probably-too-much-because-more-often/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [“Being useful was a balm.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/being-useful-was-a-balm/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [No woman or man is any one thing and the men in my stories, well, some of them are good and some of them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/no-woman-or-man-is-any-one-thing-and-the-men-in-my-stories-well-some/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [“I was a daydreamer and I resented being pulled out of my daydreams to deal with the business of living.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/i-was-a-daydreamer-and-i-resented-being-pulled-out-of-my-daydreams-to/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [Feminism is, I hope, a way to a better future for everyone who inhabits this world. Feminism should not be something that needs a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/feminism-is-i-hope-a-way-to-a-better-future-for-everyone-who-inhabits/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [Fiction offers escape but it also interrogates the world we live in, whether the past, present or future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/fiction-offers-escape-but-it-also-interrogates-the-world-we-live-in/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [“I've noticed while cooking, how ingredients in their individual and naked state and be a bit repulsive but necessary, kind of like people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/i-ve-noticed-while-cooking-how-ingredients-in-their-individual-and/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [“I shouted, “This is not right,” knowing my words were useless. There’s no room for such distinctions in a country where too many people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/i-shouted-this-is-not-right-knowing-my-words-were-useless-there-s-no/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [Most of my favorite tweets go completely ignored but most of my favorite tweets are probably really lame or inside jokes between me and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/most-of-my-favorite-tweets-go-completely-ignored-but-most-of-my/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [“What about other women of color? For Hispanic and Latina women, Indian women, Middle Eastern women, Asian women, their absence in popular culture is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/what-about-other-women-of-color-for-hispanic-and-latina-women-indian/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [There has been, and there will continue to be, vigorous discussions about race in America. I worry that little will come of these discussions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/there-has-been-and-there-will-continue-to-be-vigorous-discussions/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [Writing, at its best and truest, can offer solace and salvation for both readers and writers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/writing-at-its-best-and-truest-can-offer-solace-and-salvation-for/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [“I knew I was in love with The Hunger Games when I did not want to get off the treadmill”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/i-knew-i-was-in-love-with-the-hunger-games-when-i-did-not-want-to-get/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [“Just because you survive something does not mean you are strong.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/just-because-you-survive-something-does-not-mean-you-are-strong/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [“Celebrities understand the economy of thinness, and most of them are willing to participate in that economy, taking to social media, where they pose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/celebrities-understand-the-economy-of-thinness-and-most-of-them-are/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) [Explore all 503 Roxane Gay quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) ## More Active quotes > [Listening is a very active awareness of the coming together of at least two lives. Listening, as far as I'm concerned, is certainly a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-rogers/listening-is-a-very-active-awareness-of-the-coming-together-of-at/) [Fred Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-rogers/) > [we need not avoid our active lives, but simply bring to them a new vision and shift of gravity. for in the center we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/we-need-not-avoid-our-active-lives-but-simply-bring-to-them-a-new/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [We in US need active intelligence: people being on the streets, people being able to stop and ask questions of individuals that they suspect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberly-guilfoyle/we-in-us-need-active-intelligence-people-being-on-the-streets-people/) [Kimberly Guilfoyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberly-guilfoyle/) > [Nothing is worse than active ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/nothing-is-worse-than-active-ignorance/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [I eat healthy most of the time. Whole foods are the best for you when you are super active, so I get plenty of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/witney-carson/i-eat-healthy-most-of-the-time-whole-foods-are-the-best-for-you-when/) [Witney Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/witney-carson/) > [Art shows us how to see things that are constructive and good, and to be an active part of that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/art-shows-us-how-to-see-things-that-are-constructive-and-good-and-to/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [Love, like truth and beauty, is concrete. Love is not fundamentally a sweet feeling; not, at heart, a matter of sentiment, attachment, or being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carter-heyward/love-like-truth-and-beauty-is-concrete-love-is-not-fundamentally-a/) [Carter Heyward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carter-heyward/) > [Studying Sol's interior by looking for analogous patterns on its incandescent face is known as helioseismology, an active - if largely unpronounceable - research…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/studying-sol-s-interior-by-looking-for-analogous-patterns-on-its/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [Science manipulates things and gives up living in them. It makes its own limited models of things; operating upon these indices or variables to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/science-manipulates-things-and-gives-up-living-in-them-it-makes-its/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [I stayed in L.A. long enough to get on my feet, and then I moved back to New York. The reason I moved here…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iggy-pop/i-stayed-in-l-a-long-enough-to-get-on-my-feet-and-then-i-moved-back/) [Iggy Pop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iggy-pop/) > [The answer to any challenge you are having has nothing to do with God's willingness to help. It has to do with your acceptance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-beckwith/the-answer-to-any-challenge-you-are-having-has-nothing-to-do-with-god/) [Michael Beckwith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-beckwith/) > [Pete Townsend for me was a huge influence. Because essentially they were a three-piece band and the way he structured his chords and took…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-lifeson/pete-townsend-for-me-was-a-huge-influence-because-essentially-they/) [Alex Lifeson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-lifeson/) > [There is an enemy. There is an intelligent, active, malign force working against us. Step one is to recognize this. This recognition alone is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/there-is-an-enemy-there-is-an-intelligent-active-malign-force-working/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [Few, if any, creatures are equally active all night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/few-if-any-creatures-are-equally-active-all-night/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [You need to enjoy yourself and just get into the routine of keeping fit and enjoying being active. That's always easier once you've made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alistair-brownlee/you-need-to-enjoy-yourself-and-just-get-into-the-routine-of-keeping/) [Alistair Brownlee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alistair-brownlee/) Browse all 2,212 Active quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Writing has always allowed me to escape. I was a very lonely child. Because I was very socially awkward, I would always have trouble making friends. And so reading and writing allowed me to have friends and to have an active imaginary life that really sort of kept me sane.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Roxane Gay" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/writing-has-always-allowed-me-to-escape-i-was-a-very-lonely-child/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Active" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/writing-has-always-allowed-me-to-escape-i-was-a-very-lonely-child/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a06/roxane-gay-520_active_writing-has-always-allowed-me-to-escape_368094.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a06/roxane-gay-520_active_writing-has-always-allowed-me-to-escape_368094.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a06/roxane-gay-520_active_writing-has-always-allowed-me-to-escape_368094.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Writing has always allowed me to escape. I was a very lonely child. Because I was very socially awkward, I…” — Roxane Gay", "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": "Roxane Gay", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Writing has always allowed me to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/writing-has-always-allowed-me-to-escape-i-was-a-very-lonely-child/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/writing-has-always-allowed-me-to-escape-i-was-a-very-lonely-child/#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 } } ] } ```