Jessamyn West Quotes

Powerful Jessamyn West for Daily Growth

About Jessamyn West

Jessamyn West (1907-1984) was an acclaimed American author and playwright, best known for her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, 'The Living is Easy' (1942). Born on June 23, 1907, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, West was the daughter of a Methodist minister, Frank West, and his wife, Elizabeth Patterson. Raised in a variety of small-town communities, these experiences influenced her later writing as she captured the essence of Midwestern life. West attended Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri, where she majored in English literature. Her early works were influenced by the works of Willa Cather and Sinclair Lewis, fellow American authors who also depicted Midwest rural life. After graduating in 1928, West moved to New York City, working as a secretary while pursuing her writing career. West's first major work, 'A Country Doctor' (1934), was based on her experiences growing up near a small-town doctor. The novel was well received and established West as a promising new voice in American literature. However, it was 'The Living is Easy,' which followed ten years later, that truly catapulted her to success. This poignant tale of an aging Midwestern couple, the Pendletons, examining their lives and regrets, won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1943. West continued writing throughout her life, producing plays, short stories, and novels that explored themes of loneliness, aging, and the human condition. Her works often portrayed complex characters living in rural communities, offering insightful commentary on their lives, values, and struggles. Jessamyn West passed away on February 27, 1984, leaving behind a significant body of work that continues to resonate with readers today.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"We can't help the way we feel, we can only help what we do about it."

Jessamyn West's quote suggests that while feelings are inherently personal and beyond our control, our actions and responses to those feelings are within our power. It encourages us to be proactive in managing our emotions rather than letting them dictate our behavior or decisions, thereby promoting personal growth, self-awareness, and responsible living.


"The secret of life is to make beginning easy — then you can make continuation enjoyable and end happy."

This quote by Jessamyn West emphasizes the importance of an easy start in any endeavor. By making the initial step effortless, we set ourselves up for a smoother journey and a more enjoyable experience throughout. The idea is that as we progress, the continuation becomes satisfying, leading us towards a contented conclusion. It suggests that a successful life is not just about reaching an end goal but also about finding pleasure in the process of achieving it.


"You can't go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending."

This quote by Jessamyn West signifies that we cannot undo past mistakes or change the course of our initial steps in life, but we possess the power to shape our future and alter the outcome starting from the present moment. It encourages resilience, optimism, and the idea that every moment presents an opportunity for growth and positive transformation.


"It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our habits."

Jessamyn West's quote, "It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our habits," suggests that challenging or altering established behaviors, routines, or ways of thinking requires courage. It is easier for individuals to follow the path of least resistance and adhere to their habitual patterns than it is to confront those patterns and make changes. This quote encourages readers to be bold and brave in breaking free from habits that may no longer serve them well, and to pursue personal growth and self-improvement despite the fear or discomfort that change might bring.


"It is never too late to become what you might have been."

Jessamyn West's quote, "It is never too late to become what you might have been," underscores the idea that personal growth and self-realization are lifelong pursuits. No matter one's age or current circumstances, it's possible to redefine oneself, change direction, learn new skills, or pursue dreams unfulfilled. It encourages individuals to embrace their potential, seize opportunities, and never give up on personal aspirations, as they may be achieved at any stage of life.


There are two barriers that often prevent communication between the young and their elders. The first is middle-aged forgetfulness of the fact that they themselves are no longer young. The second is youthful ignorance of the fact that the middle aged are still alive.

- Jessamyn West

Fact, Middle, Still, Barriers

We want the facts to fit the preconceptions. When they don't it is easier to ignore the facts than to change the preconceptions.

- Jessamyn West

Want, Fit, Than, Preconceptions

If you want a baby, have a new one. Don't baby the old one.

- Jessamyn West

New, Want, Old, Old One

A broken bone can heal, but the wound a word opens can fester forever.

- Jessamyn West

Anger, Broken, Wound, Opens

Teaching is the royal road to learning.

- Jessamyn West

Learning, Road, Teaching, Royal Road

In my time and neighborhood (and in my soul) there was only one standard by which a woman measured success: did some man want her?

- Jessamyn West

Measured, Standard, Which, Neighborhood

If you train people properly, they won't be able to tell a drill from the real thing. If anything, the real thing will be easier.

- Jessamyn West

Real, Will, Tell, Train

Writing is a solitary occupation. Family, friends, and society are the natural enemies of the writer. He must be alone, uninterrupted, and slightly savage if he is to sustain and complete an undertaking.

- Jessamyn West

Slightly, Occupation, Savage

Memory is a magnet. It will pull to it and hold only material nature has designed it to attract.

- Jessamyn West

Memory, Pull, Material, Designed

Sleeplessness is a desert without vegetation or inhabitants.

- Jessamyn West

Desert, Without, Inhabitants, Vegetation

A religious awakening which does not awaken the sleeper to love has roused him in vain.

- Jessamyn West

Love, Religious, Which, Sleeper

Talent is helpful in writing, but guts are absolutely necessary.

- Jessamyn West

Talent, Writing, Necessary, Helpful

The basic essential of a great actor is that he loves himself in acting.

- Jessamyn West

Actor, Himself, Loves, Essential

The West is color. Its colors are animal rather than vegetable, the colors of earth and sunlight and ripeness.

- Jessamyn West

Color, Sunlight, Rather, Vegetable

A big iron needle stitching the country together.

- Jessamyn West

Big, Country, Iron, Needle

A taste for irony has kept more hearts from breaking than a sense of humor, for it takes irony to appreciate the joke which is on oneself.

- Jessamyn West

Humor, Sense Of Humor, Which, Hearts

Faithfulness to the past can be a kind of death above ground. Writing of the past is a resurrection; the past then lives in your words and you are free.

- Jessamyn West

Death, Faithfulness, Lives, Resurrection

Only a fool would refuse to enter a fool's paradise when that's the only paradise he'll ever have a chance to enter.

- Jessamyn West

Chance, Ever, Refuse, Enter

Nothing is so dear as what you're about to leave.

- Jessamyn West

Nothing, Leave, About, Dear

In their sympathies, children feel nearer animals than adults.

- Jessamyn West

Children, Than, Nearer, Sympathies

It is very east to forgive others their mistakes; it takes more grit and gumption to forgive them for having witnessed your own.

- Jessamyn West

Forgiveness, Very, Having, Witnessed

A rattlesnake that doesn't bite teaches you nothing.

- Jessamyn West

Nothing, Bite, Teaches, Rattlesnake

We can love an honest rogue, but what is more offensive than a false saint?

- Jessamyn West

Love, Offensive, Saint, Rogue

I've done more harm by the falseness of trying to please than by the honesty of trying to hurt.

- Jessamyn West

Honesty, More, Harm, Please

The sick soon come to understand that they live in a different world from that of the well and that the two cannot communicate.

- Jessamyn West

Understand, Communicate, Different World

The source of one's joy is also often the source of one's sorrow.

- Jessamyn West

Joy, Often, Also, Sorrow

Fiction reveals truths that reality obscures.

- Jessamyn West

Imagination, Fiction, Truths

The past is really almost as much a work of the imagination as the future.

- Jessamyn West

Work, History, Almost, Past

You read a book from beginning to end. You run a business the opposite way. You start with the end, and then you do everything you must to reach it.

- Jessamyn West

Business, Beginning, Read, Opposite

If you're searching for quotes on a different topic, feel free to browse our Topics page or explore a diverse collection of quotes from various Authors to find inspiration.