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John Steinbeck on fatherhood, character, and how to live

5 sourced quotes from John Steinbeck, each with the original work, the year, and links to a primary or scholarly source you can check yourself. Selected for what they say to a man raising children.

“The Hebrew word timshel—'Thou mayest'—that gives a choice. It might be the most important word in the world. That says the way is open... 'Thou…”
East of Eden, Chapter 24, 1952
“And so I will tell them one of the greatest, perhaps the greatest story of all—the story of good and evil, of strength and weakness, of love and…”
Journal of a Novel: The East of Eden Letters (letter to Pascal Covici), 1951
“I am choosing to write this book to my sons. They are little boys now and they will never know what they came from through me, unless I tell them...…”
Journal of a Novel: The East of Eden Letters (opening letter to Pascal Covici), 1951
“The main thing is not to hurry. Nothing good gets away.”
Letter to Thom Steinbeck, November 10, 1958, 1958
“There are several kinds of love. One is a selfish, mean, grasping, egotistical thing which uses love for self-importance. The other is an outpouring…”
Letter to Thom Steinbeck, November 10, 1958, 1958

The right words for exactly where you are right now.

DadVice matches wisdom like this to the real situations of fatherhood — the hard conversation, the long night, the moment you do not know what to say. Every quote is sourced. No motivational filler.

Works quoted here: East of Eden, Chapter 24, Journal of a Novel: The East of Eden Letters (letter to Pascal Covici), Journal of a Novel: The East of Eden Letters (opening letter to Pascal Covici), Letter to Thom Steinbeck, November 10, 1958.