Jodi Picoult Quotes: A Literary Trailblazer Redefining Storytelling

By Stephanie Kirby | Published November 6, 2023

Find inspiration in these Jodi Picoult quotes about writing and from her popular novels.

There are some authors who people seem to believe have an enormous amount of quote-worthy words to share with the world.

As someone who spends lots of time scouring the internet for quotes on a variety of topics, it doesn’t take long for me to spot those names who show up over and over again—and Jodi Picoult is one of those people.

Who is Jodi Picoult?

Jodi Picoult is an award-winning author known for her fictional writing, which largely focuses on difficult family dynamics and moral dilemmas.

She is known for including hot-button issues in her stories with the goal of getting people to think outside of their normal perspective.

She has published close to 30 novels with 40+ million copies.

Currently, six of her novels have been turned into films, including Lifetime Original movies, a featured film, and a Netflix original.

What is Jodi Picoult’s best-selling book?

While Picoult has a long list of popular books, My Sister’s Keeper is the most popular, which is also the novel that was turned into a feature film in 2009.

Some of her other popular books include:

Nineteen Minutes
Handle with Care
Small Great Things
House Rules
Lone Wolf
Keeping Faith

You can get a feel for her writing style, along with her approach to writing and reading, in the following Jodi Picoult quotes.

Best Jodi Picoult Quotes About Reading and Writing

The author shares her words of advice for others who desire to write.

1. “Writer’s block is having too much time on your hands.” — Jodi Picoult

2. “Writer’s block is for the people who have the luxury of time.” — Jodi Picoult

3. “Everyone has a book inside of them—but it doesn’t do any good until you pry it out.” — Jodi Picoult

4. “If you read the first page of one of my novels, I can guarantee that you will read the last one.” — Jodi Picoult

5.“On a shelf above my computer are five letters that spell out W-R-I-T-E. Just in case I forget why I’m there.” — Jodi Picoult

6. “When you’re stuck, and sure you’ve written absolute garbage, force yourself to finish and then decide to fix or scrap it—or you will never know if you can.” — Jodi Picoult

7. “The act of writing… is the act of trying to understand why my opinion is what it is. And ultimately, I think that’s the same experience the reader has when they pick up one of my books.” — Jodi Picoult

8. “For me, it’s more important that I outline all the facets of a controversial issue and let the reader make up his or her mind. I don’t care if readers change their minds, but I would like readers to ask themselves why their opinions is what it is.” — Jodi Picoult

Jodi Picoult Quotes About Her Style, Life, and Work

Learn more about the author in the following quotes.

9. “My friends say I have two speeds: fast and blistering.” — Jodi Picoult

10. “I am an activist. I have a really big pulpit with my fiction, and I love knowing that I can make people think.” — Jodi Picoult

11. “I think love changes the way we think. It’s the thing that takes you out of what your normal set of beliefs would be.” — Jodi Picoult

12. “It’s certainly my honor to be able to, hopefully, change the world a tiny bit, one mind at a time.” — Jodi Picoult

13. “Everyone has a role, and if you act within the parameters of your role, the whole pack succeeds, and when that falls apart, so does the pack.” — Jodi Picoult

14. “People are always afraid of the unknown—and banding together against the Thing That Is Different From Us is a time-honored tradition for rallying the masses.” — Jodi Picoult

Jodi Picoult Quotes from Her Novels

Get a taste of how Picoult writes in the following quotes.

15. “You can believe something really hard and still be wrong.” — Keeping Faith

16. “Like a missing tooth, sometimes an absence is more noticeable than a presence.” — Lone Wolf

17. “Extraordinary things are always hiding in places people never think to look.” — My Sister’s Keeper

18. “If it’s possible to die of grief, then why on earth can’t someone be healed by happiness?” — Keeping Faith

19. “Missed opportunities were never superficial wounds; they cut straight to the bone.” —Salem Falls

20. “When you love someone, you say their name different. Like it’s safe inside your mouth.” — Handle with Care

21. “You don’t love someone because they’re perfect; you love them in spite of the fact that they’re not.” — My Sister’s Keeper

22. “You know, and I know, that when you love someone, everything in the world matters a little bit more.” — Handle with Care

23. “Maybe who we are isn’t so much about what we do, but rather what we’re capable of when we least expect it.” — My Sister’s Keeper

24. “If you gave someone your heart and they died, did they take it with them? Did you spend the rest of forever with a hole inside you that couldn’t be filled?” — Nineteen Minutes

25. “They say that there are moments that open up your life like a walnut cracked, that change your point of view so that you never look at things the same way again.” — Keeping Faith