Memory Interpretation Quotes

I will have spent my life trying to understand the function of remembering, which is not the opposite of forgetting, but rather its lining. We do not remember. We rewrite memory much as history is rewritten. How can one remember thirst?

Memory is a great artist. For every man and for every woman it makes the recollection of his or her life a work of art and an unfaithful record.

are memories pictures or the secret doorway?

Memories were moving pictures in which meaning was constantly in flux. They were stories people told themselves.

I love that the idea of examining memory, and the way memory is edited was made more interesting because it was being filtered through a writer.

Memory has no power but what the soul chooses to make of it.

Memory can change the shape of a room; it can change the color of a car. And memories can be distorted. They're just an interpretation, they're not a record, and they're irrelevant if you have the facts. (Leonard Shelby, Memento)

I'm interested in memory because it's a filter through which we see our lives, and because it's foggy and obscure, the opportunities for self-deception are there. In the end, as a writer, I'm more interested in what people tell themselves happened rather than what actually happened.

One man's remorse is another man's reminiscence.