You don’t need a religious background to strive for something good, for genuine compassion and love for others. Miriam Toews Read Quote
This is a cliche, but in fiction, I feel it is easier for me to get to some sort of truth, some kind of more honest writing. Miriam Toews Read Quote
A lot of times, people think that it doesn’t make sense for people to be depressed when they have everything, a loving husband, a successful career, fame and fortune. I wanted to make this point that profound despair can strike anybody. Miriam Toews Read Quote
A depressed person is often a person who will push others away. If you are pushed away and pushed away and pushed away, you have to have an enormous amount of inner resources to keep going back. Miriam Toews Read Quote
When everything does seem out of control, writing fiction is a way I can order that chaos and restore some sort of meaning. I like the playful aspect of writing fiction. You know how it is when we are kids and we make up our worlds: You be this guy, and I am going to be this guy, and we are going to go slay dragons. Miriam Toews Read Quote
Irma Voth’ is my sixth book, but it’s only the third time I’ve featured Mennonite settings and characters. Miriam Toews Read Quote
I would never want to deny my Mennonite background and culture; I’ll always feel like and be identified as a Mennonite and therefore possess that little extra authority on our beliefs. I also see myself as a Canadian writer. Miriam Toews Read Quote
Like every Canadian, I have been taught that one of the most important functions of art is to supply and elaborate the myths and narratives of nationhood. Miriam Toews Read Quote
My father died beside trees on iron rails… He had 77 dollars on him at the time, and we used the money for Thai takeout because, as my friend Julie says about times like this, ‘You still have to eat.’ Miriam Toews Read Quote
Writing helps me to create order out of chaos and make sense of things. It helps me to understand what I’ve experienced, what I’ve felt and seen, so it becomes a little easier to handle. On the other hand, I don’t want it to be just a cathartic experience, an outpouring of grief or whatever it is. Miriam Toews Read Quote