--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I first met Susan Sontag in spring 1976…" description: "\"I first met Susan Sontag in spring 1976 when she was recovering from cancer surgery and needed someone to help type her correspondence. I had been reco..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/778/sigrid-nunez-23375_books_i-first-met-susan-sontag-in-spring-1976_2050024.jpg" --- # I first met Susan Sontag in spring 1976 when she was… ![“I first met Susan Sontag in spring 1976 when she was recovering from cancer surgery and needed someone to help type her correspondence. I had been recommended by the editors of 'The New York Review of Books,' where I'd worked as an editorial assistant.” quote by Sigrid Nunez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/778/sigrid-nunez-23375_books_i-first-met-susan-sontag-in-spring-1976_2050024.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/778/sigrid-nunez-23375_books_i-first-met-susan-sontag-in-spring-1976_2050024.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/778/sigrid-nunez-23375_books_i-first-met-susan-sontag-in-spring-1976_2050024.jpg) > “I first met Susan Sontag in spring 1976 when she was recovering from cancer surgery and needed someone to help type her correspondence. I had been recommended by the editors of 'The New York Review of Books,' where I'd worked as an editorial assistant.” [Sigrid Nunez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigrid-nunez/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She describes meeting Sontag while assisting her after surgery, highlighting personal connection and professional opportunity. **In simple terms:** Met Sontag while helping her after surgery. Key Takeaway Value personal assistance in professional contexts. Themes connection career healthcare Mood reflective empathetic Type narrative personal When to use this quote - Editorial work - health recovery - networking Key Concepts Mentorship literary circles Questions to Reflect On - How can we balance personal aid with professional growth? - What ethical boundaries exist in assisting vulnerable individuals? A Different Perspective Reliance on personal networks may limit broader access. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [First met](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-met/) [Help](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/help/) [New york](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-york/) [Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sontag/) [Spring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spring/) [Surgery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surgery/) ## Related quotes > [I was friends with Susan Sontag the last four years of her life. She had this amazing charisma and so much energy, but she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-abramovic/i-was-friends-with-susan-sontag-the-last-four-years-of-her-life-she-2/) [Marina Abramovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-abramovic/) > [Susan Sontag: What she really wanted, throughout her career, was to grow up to be a Frenchman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/susan-sontag-what-she-really-wanted-throughout-her-career-was-to-grow/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“During the Bosnian war in the late 1990s, I spent several days traveling around the country with Susan Sontag and her son, my dear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/during-the-bosnian-war-in-the-late-1990s-i-spent-several-days/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Simultaneously, my two biggest heroes are Susan Sontag and Morticia Addams from 'The Addams Family.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caitlin-moran/simultaneously-my-two-biggest-heroes-are-susan-sontag-and-morticia/) [Caitlin Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caitlin-moran/) > [I was friends with Susan Sontag the last four years of her life. 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Sontag makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-grumbach/these-short-stories-establish-sontag-s-originality-her-unique-vision/) [Doris Grumbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-grumbach/) > [I believe in the soul ... the small of a woman's back, the hanging curveball, high fiber, good scotch, that the novels of Susan…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-costner/i-believe-in-the-soul-the-small-of-a-woman-s-back-the-hanging/) [Kevin Costner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-costner/) > [Practically as soon as the towers hit the ground on Sept. 11, pundits of the left like Noam Chomsky and Susan Sontag took advantage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norah-vincent/practically-as-soon-as-the-towers-hit-the-ground-on-sept-11-pundits/) [Norah Vincent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norah-vincent/) > [“Well, I believe in the soul, the cock, the pussy, the small of a woman's back, the hangin' curveball, high fiber, good scotch, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-shelton/well-i-believe-in-the-soul-the-cock-the-pussy-the-small-of-a-woman-s/) Ron Shelton ## More by Sigrid Nunez > [No one's memory is infallible, of course - quite the opposite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigrid-nunez/no-one-s-memory-is-infallible-of-course-quite-the-opposite/) [Sigrid Nunez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigrid-nunez/) > [When I was a kid and wanted to grow up to be a writer, I assumed I would be writing about animals and children…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigrid-nunez/when-i-was-a-kid-and-wanted-to-grow-up-to-be-a-writer-i-assumed-i/) [Sigrid Nunez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigrid-nunez/) > [I'm not someone who has a list of great books I would read if I only had the time. 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Never wait for inspiration…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigrid-nunez/read-as-much-as-possible-especially-the-work-of-writers-who-most/) [Sigrid Nunez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigrid-nunez/) > [You might not remember what you had for dinner last night, but you remember everything about one particular summer of your youth. It's like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigrid-nunez/you-might-not-remember-what-you-had-for-dinner-last-night-but-you/) [Sigrid Nunez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigrid-nunez/) > [“I did not yet know that, contrary to youth's sense of itself as tolerant, freethinking, and egalitarian, it is more often stubbornly critical and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigrid-nunez/i-did-not-yet-know-that-contrary-to-youth-s-sense-of-itself-as/) [Sigrid Núñez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigrid-nunez/) > [“She said, "I wish I had been born poor." ("I wish I'd been born an Indian" - Robert Kennedy.) 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