Jessamyn West (writer)

Jessamyn West (July 18, 1902 – February 23, 1984) was an American Quaker who wrote numerous stories and novels, notably The Friendly Persuasion (1945).

Quotes

• 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.
  • To See the Dream, part 1 (1956)

• In their sympathies, children feel nearer animals than adults. They frolic with animals, caress them, share with them feelings neither has words for. Have they ever stroked any adult with the love they bestow on a cat? Hugged any grownup with the ecstasy they feel when clasping a puppy?
  • The Life I Really Lived, part 1 (1979)

• 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?
  • The Life I Really Lived, part 7 (1979)

• We can love an honest rogue, but what is more offensive than a false saint?
  • To See the Dream, part 1 (1956)

• I never meet anyone nowadays who admits to having had a happy childhood. Everyone appears to think happiness betokens a lack of sensitivity.
  • The Life I Really Lived, part 1 (1979)

External links

• Jessamyn West at Encyclopaedia Britannica
• Jessamyn West on IMDb