How to get what you want
“Whatever you want emotionally, you have to start giving away.” ~Mary Karr
In her best-selling memoir, The Liar’s Club, Mary Karr chronicles her troubled youth and descent into alcoholism. Published in 1995, the book’s raw emotional honesty and humor resonated with readers and topped the NYT bestseller list for a year. Now considered a classic, it’s often studied in memoir writing workshops.
Karr’s quote issues a lifelong challenge: You must reach for what you want in your relationships; don’t wait for it all to come to you.
If you’re looking for honesty and authenticity, be honest and authentic. If you want more love and attention, give more love and attention. If you want others to listen deeply to you, stop talking and listen to others. If you need to receive more of anything, give more. Each of us has the power to enjoy stronger, deeper emotional connections. ~CL
Cindy La Ferle
Throughout my career, I've worked as a book production editor, travel magazine editor, features writer, and weekly newspaper columnist. My award-winning lifestyles features and essays have appeared in many national magazines and anthologies, including Newsweek, Reader's Digest, The Christian Science Monitor, Writer's Digest, Victoria, Better Homes & Gardens, Bella Grace, and more. My weekly Sunday "Life Lines" column ran for 14 years in The Daily Tribune (Royal Oak, MI) and won a First Place (Local Columns) award from the Michigan Press Association. My essay collection, Writing Home, includes 93 previously published columns and essays focusing on parenthood and family life.
2 Comments
Sheryl Kraft
Such an important reminder to ask for what we want. I do think that gets so much easier with age, don’t you?
Cindy La Ferle
So true, Sheryl — I find it much easier now that I’m older.