How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
And even though their son will always be alive in their hearts, like Pammy and my dad will be alive in mine—and maybe this is the only way we ever really have anyone—there is still something to be said for painting portraits of the people we have loved, for trying to express those moments that seem so inexpressibly beautiful, the ones that change us and deepen us. (25.20)
Maybe writing is a way of teaching ourselves to appreciate something more. When we try to express something so far beyond us, maybe we grow just a little in our ability to experience it.
Quote #8
I gave her a finished copy four months before she died. It was another love letter, mostly to her and Sam, and for her daughter, Rebecca. Pammy knew there was something that was going to exist on paper after she was gone, something that was going to be, in a certain way, part of her immortality. (25.6)
There's a long tradition of writers talking about how writing gives them (and others) a certain kind of immortality. This idea might seem a little hollow—isn't it better not to die than to be famous just on paper? But maybe the idea is more encouraging if you know you're dying, and you're leaving behind a family member. Pammy's daughter can at least experience her mother in some way through Lamott's writing.
Quote #9
I got to write books about my father and my best friend, and they got to read them before they died. Can you imagine? I wrote for an audience of two whom I loved and respected, who loved and respected me. So I wrote for them as carefully and soulfully as I could—which is, needless to say, how I wish I could write all the time. (25.22)
Maybe an audience of two is more important than an audience of millions. Maybe the right small audience teaches you which kind of book to write. Who could be your small audience?