Rabih Alameddine Quotes

Powerful Rabih Alameddine for Daily Growth

About Rabih Alameddine

Rabih Alameddine (born July 15, 1963) is an acclaimed Lebanese-American novelist, playwright, essayist, and visual artist known for his thought-provoking narratives that explore themes of identity, sexuality, exile, and love. Born in Kuwait to a Syrian father and a Lebanese mother, Alameddine spent his formative years in Beirut during the Civil War, which significantly influenced his work. In 1975, he immigrated to the United States with his family, settling in Portland, Oregon. He later moved to San Francisco, where he currently resides and finds inspiration for much of his writing. Alameddine's literary career began in the late 1980s with the publication of short stories and plays. His first novel, "The Magnificent Palace" (1998), was a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award and tells the story of a young boy growing up amidst the chaos of war-torn Beirut. His most celebrated work, "The Hakawati" (2008), is a multi-generational narrative centered around an Arab storyteller in San Francisco. It won the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction and was shortlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction. Alameddine's latest novel, "The Angel of New Orleans" (2021), delves into themes of loss, resilience, and the complexities of family relationships. It's set in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina against the backdrop of New Orleans' vibrant queer community. Throughout his career, Alameddine has been praised for his unique storytelling style and vivid portrayal of characters grappling with their identities in a world that often seeks to define them. His work continues to challenge readers, sparking conversations about cultural identity, sexuality, and the human condition.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"The most essential grown-up things to do are: forget suffering, glow breathing, and always, always, love."

This quote by Rabih Alameddine encapsulates a profound perspective on life. "Forgetting suffering" implies releasing oneself from the burden of past pains and traumas, learning to let go and move forward. "Glowing breathing" suggests finding peace, mindfulness, and contentment in each breath, embracing the present moment with tranquility. Lastly, "always, always, love" is a call to action to prioritize empathy, compassion, and affection in all our interactions, fostering connections that bring joy and meaning to our lives. Essentially, Alameddine's quote invites us to cultivate inner peace, mindfulness, and love as the fundamental pillars of maturity and well-being.


"We don't choose our families. We inherit them."

The quote "We don't choose our families. We inherit them" suggests that individuals do not have control over who their family members are, as they are predetermined by genetic relationships. It emphasizes the idea that familial bonds are often not based on choice but rather on circumstances of birth and ancestry. Despite any differences or challenges within a family, this quote recognizes the inherent, often unavoidable nature of our familial connections.


"I am not a hero. I am a survivor."

This quote by Rabih Alameddine emphasizes the distinction between the traits of a hero and a survivor, and affirms that the speaker identifies more with being a survivor rather than a hero. A survivor is someone who has endured adversity or hardship, often through sheer determination and resilience, rather than extraordinary feats or self-sacrifice – traits typically associated with heroes. The quote suggests that the individual acknowledges their own strength and resourcefulness in overcoming challenges, without seeking to be celebrated for it. It's a reminder of the everyday heroism present within each one of us who persevere in the face of life's difficulties.


"Everyone has a story. Some are just better at telling theirs than others."

This quote emphasizes that every individual possesses unique experiences, events, and perspectives, collectively known as their "story." The quality of sharing or expressing one's story varies among people, but the essential fact remains that everyone has a narrative worth telling. Effective communication of personal stories helps foster empathy, understanding, and unity in human connections.


"Love is a dangerous force, but without it, life is an empty room with no furniture."

This quote emphasizes that love, much like a piece of essential furniture, brings depth, warmth, and purpose to our lives. It suggests that the absence of love leaves us in an emptiness devoid of meaning, similar to an unoccupied room. Love, with all its risks and challenges, infuses life with vitality, making it more meaningful and worthwhile.


In 1982, Algeria made their first appearance at the World Cup. I believe it was the first Arab country to do so.

- Rabih Alameddine

World Cup, Country, Algeria

A soccer game is a Wagner opera. The narrative sets up, the tension builds, the music ebbs and flows, the strings, the horns, more tension, and suddenly a moment of pure bliss, trumpet-tongued Gabriel sings, and gods descend from Olympus to dance - this peak of ecstasy.

- Rabih Alameddine

Game, Opera, Sings, Bliss

In the summer of 1988, my father took me up to look at the remains of our home, the dream house that he'd built. It was my first time since our family left four years earlier. Political and obscene graffiti covered the half-torn walls. There was no ceiling and surprisingly no floor: the parquet, the stone, the marble, all looted.

- Rabih Alameddine

Father, Political, Obscene, Ceiling

My father and I rarely saw eye to eye when I was growing up. We saw the world differently. It was only when we were both adults that we were able to share spectacles. However, football, and particularly the World Cup, was when we, enemy combatants, could traverse trenches and be together.

- Rabih Alameddine

Father, Enemy, However, Adult

I oscillate between being cynical and being naive on a regular basis. I always think that not much shocks me until something much too obvious does.

- Rabih Alameddine

Think, Always, Being, Regular Basis

Now I love hoops. I'm a diehard UCLA fan, have been since my freshman year. But basketball is the '1812 Overture.' Pomp and circumstance, fireworks and cannons, lots and lots of fun, and in the end, still Tchaikovsky.

- Rabih Alameddine

Love, Year, Been, Fireworks

A player should be disparaged if he gives less than his all, if he doesn't give 100%, no matter what shirt he's wearing. Whether it's your national team, your club, or little league. Yes, there are friendly matches, recreational ones, and so on, but sport in its essence is about giving your best.

- Rabih Alameddine

Friendly, Essence, About, Recreational

All living languages are promiscuous. We promiscuous speakers shamelessly shoplift words, plucking bons mots and phrases from any tempting language. We wear these words when we wish to be more formal, more elegant, more mysterious, worldly, precise, vague.

- Rabih Alameddine

Language, Vague, Wear, Promiscuous

No one needs to be reminded of racism in soccer: the xenophobia, the nativism and, yes, nationalism.

- Rabih Alameddine

Soccer, Needs, Reminded, Xenophobia

In Lebanon, there are completely different opinions and values in one country in terms of religion, modernity, tradition, East and West - which allows for a kind of intellectual development not available anywhere else.

- Rabih Alameddine

Values, Country, Available, Lebanon

The relationship between France and its 'foreign' players - blacks and North African Arabs - has always been troubled, particularly with Algerians.

- Rabih Alameddine

Always, Been, Particularly, Arabs

In school in Lebanon, we were not allowed to speak Arabic during breaks - it had to be French or English.

- Rabih Alameddine

School, Breaks, Were, Lebanon

There are over 1 million refugees in Lebanon, a country of 4 million people. How do we solve that? I have no idea. What's going on, I really don't know.

- Rabih Alameddine

Country, Over, Refugees, Lebanon

'Harat' is actually - it's a Lebanese dialect word. It comes from 'the mapmaker,' somebody who makes a map. And it basically means somebody who tells fibs or exaggerate tales a little bit.

- Rabih Alameddine

Makes, Means, Dialect, Lebanese

I jokingly say if there was one great thing about, you know, the Lebanese Civil War was that it forced me to read.

- Rabih Alameddine

Civil War, Read, Forced, Lebanese

When the Lebanese Civil War started in 1975, I was 15. I was shipped to boarding school in England and, after that, to UCLA.

- Rabih Alameddine

War, England, Civil War, Lebanese

The Lebanese Civil War, 1975-1990, spanned four World Cups. It would have been a more symmetrical five had the Lebanese begun in 1974, but you know, we're Mediterranean, and timing isn't our forte.

- Rabih Alameddine

Been, Begun, World Cups, Lebanese

English has always had a special fondness for other European languages, a neighborly soft spot - perhaps because Britain has been invaded by speakers of those languages from the onset of its recorded history.

- Rabih Alameddine

Always, Other, Been, Soft Spot

A phoenix, Beirut seems to always pull itself out its ashes, reinvents itself, has been conquered numerous times in its 7,000-year history, yet it survives by both becoming whatever its conquerors wished it to be and retaining its idiosyncratic persona.

- Rabih Alameddine

Been, Becoming, Numerous, Retaining

I stuck out more in an English public school than I would have had I marched in a May Day parade with the Red Army in Moscow or sashayed the Yves St. Laurent catwalk with supermodels or hunted seals with the Inuit or - well, you get the idea.

- Rabih Alameddine

Idea, Moscow, Public School, Seals

I loved problems on paper, and I was good at math, but I was a mechanical engineer, and I never understood - or cared to - how a car worked.

- Rabih Alameddine

Good, Engineer, Mechanical, Understood

In 1975, I left the burning city of Beirut for the quiet insanity of England. To say that short, frail and wispy 15-year-old me didn't fit in would be such an understatement as to be a joke.

- Rabih Alameddine

City, Insanity, England, Beirut

Language, after all, is organic. You can't force words into existence. You can't force new meanings into words. And some words can't or won't or shouldn't be laundered or neutered. Language develops naturally.

- Rabih Alameddine

Words, New, Some, Organic

Close friends consider me a literary snob.

- Rabih Alameddine

Me, Close Friends, Literary, Snob

My father loved Brazilian football, a diehard follower, so of course, he hated Germany and always rooted against them, always.

- Rabih Alameddine

Follower, Always, Against, Diehard

I get upset about what is taken as great literature and what is cute and exotic.

- Rabih Alameddine

Literature, Upset, Get, Exotic

Homophobia is rampant in soccer, probably more so than in any other sport. I'm not sure why.

- Rabih Alameddine

Soccer, Other, Sure, Rampant

Every writer uses his own way to motivate oneself.

- Rabih Alameddine

Own, His, Uses, Motivate

I allegedly am an outsider writer, so I write from the perspective of somebody who doesn't completely fit in. But at the same time, I can state the fact that I don't know of any good writer who is not an outsider writer.

- Rabih Alameddine

Fact, Good Writer, I Write, Outsider

If I were to pray in Arabic, I'd pray to Allah. If I were to pray in English, I'd pray to God.

- Rabih Alameddine

Allah, English, Were, Arabic

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