Lauren Willig Quotes

I had access to books, and I could read... but that more foundational, basic historical awareness, I didn't have any of that.

I love history, and I thought I knew history well, but I was shocked by how little I knew about it.

I think people in general have neglected to learn about history.

As a kid, I sensed history going on all around me, but the basic thrust of it didn't move me.

I don't think you should ever run from history. You should learn from it and embrace it.

Backward is just not a natural direction for Americans to look - historical ignorance remains a national characteristic.

Americans today don’t know history—even the smart ones who went to Ivy League schools.

There can be no dedication to Canada's future without a knowledge of its past.

Histories are to educate so that we understand better for ourselves and for motivation.

Americans are in vital need of the instruction that historians can provide.

As somebody who thinks Tennessee history is important, I want to make certain that's still a part of the curriculum. I think that's critical for the people growing up in our school system.

Only by painting the great panorama of history, can the great history-reading public be entertained or satisfied.

Join the bold, the brazen, the unintimidated. Join not having excuses. Join the idea that fun is the source of all joy. Join the unwillingness to give up. Join doing things your way. Join not joining. Join that purpose is stronger than outcome. Join your gut. Join the constant challenge of seeking greatness. Join play. Join the hunger to find what makes you happy. Join karma and nature and the effect you have on your world. Join your philosophy. Join something bigger than you. Join what you believe.

Even the written history [of Abraham Lincoln's times] is poorly understood by most people.

Fun is not the same thing as fulfillment.

And this is the best success I can dream for my life: to have spread a new vision of the world.

I don't care about having a legacy, I don't care about being remembered. The most important thing to me is, while we're here, while we're having fun, while we're sleeping, breathng oxygen, living life, falling in love, having pain and having joy...what can we do with our voice to make things easier, to help someone to make it better for our kids.

I get letters from two kinds of readers. History buffs, who love to read history and biography for fun, and then kids who want to be writers but who rarely come out and say so in their letters. You can tell by the questions they ask - How did you get your first book published? How long do you spend on a book? So I guess those are the readers that I'm writing for - kids who enjoy that kind of book, because they're interested in history, in other people's lives, in what has happened in the world. I believe that they're the ones who are going to be the movers and shakers.

Make your life about something bigger than your life.

I want to run for eternal glory and track is great, but it's not what life is all about.

Historical awareness is a kind of resurrection.

If your life lease, your existence was canceled tomorrow, what would you wish you had done? What are the things you would like to impact? Start on those and you can change the world. Maybe you can only make your neighborhood a little bit better, or make someone's life a little bit better. Isn't that the kind of purpose?

Remember this. Bear Bryant retired at age 69, and he died 28 days after he stopped coaching. If you don't have something, and a purpose in your life, you're gonna die.

My life will be the best illustration of all my work.

Don't hesitate to learn the most painful aspects of our history, understand it.