Writing Quote by Saša Stanišić
““Grandpa, I haven't remembered all your stories, but I've written a few of my own adn as soon as the rain stops I'll read them to you. I got the idea from Nena Fatima, I got Grandpa Rafik's voice, I got the veins on your son's upper arms, he's painting coconuts now, I got my mother's melencholy. But still I don't have all the things i'd need to tell my story as one of us: I don't have the courage of the river Drina, or the voice of the hawk, or the rock hard backbone of our mountains, or Walrus's infalibility, or the enthusiasum of the man who misses, honorably. And I don't have Armin the stationmaster, Cika Hasan and Cika Sead in their eternal argument, Kiko's leg, Edin who forgets he's imitating a wolf and takes fright at the sound of his own voice, Cauliflower, the names of trees, a stomache for schnapps, the goals scored in the school yard. But most of all I miss the truth, the truth in which we are no longer listeners or storytellers, but we give and forgive.””
About This Quote
Source Novel: The Book of Missing Stories, Saša Stanišić, 2023
The narrator longs for the richness of inherited stories and the courage to tell his own, feeling incomplete without cultural and personal legacies.
In simple terms: He feels missing stories and courage to share his own.
Seek and honor your own narrative.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- family gatherings
- writing workshops
- intergenerational dialogues
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- What stories from your past shape you?
- How can you create space for your own voice?
The weight of legacy can overwhelm and silence personal voice.