If people choose to live their life in a way that does not confront the more troubling aspects of their experience, thats fine, if it works for them. But it will probably make them uncomfortable if they come up against somebody like me. So they just shouldnt! They shouldnt read my work! – Joyce Maynard
At Home in the World is the story of a young woman, raised in some difficult circumstances, and how she survives. It tells a story of redemption, not victimhood. – Joyce Maynard
The vehemence with which certain critics have chosen not simply to criticize what Ive written, but to challenge my writing this story at all, speaks of what the book is about: fear of disapproval. – Joyce Maynard
More than any other setting – more than battlefields or boardrooms or a spaceship headed for intergalactic travel – Ill put my money on the family to provide an endless source of comedy, tragedy and intrigue. – Joyce Maynard
An idea must not be condemned for being a little shy and incoherent; all new ideas are shy when introduced first among our old ones. We should have patience and see whether the incoherency is likely to wear off or to wear on, in which latter case the sooner we get rid of them the better. – Samuel Butler