"You know sit with your arm around a little kid and read. It not only teaches them to read but it keeps the family strong."

Literature

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Insight & Reflection

This reflection on literature by Barbara Bush resonates across generations. It highlights a fundamental truth about human nature: our continuous search for meaning in literature is what ultimately defines our character and our path forward.

About Barbara Bush

Barbara Bush was the first lady of the United States from 1989 to 1993, as the wife of George H. W. Bush, the 41st president of the United States. She was previously second lady of the United States from 1981 to 1989, when her husband was vice president under President Ronald Reagan, and founded the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy. Among her children are George W. Bush, the 43rd president of the United States, and Jeb Bush, the 43rd governor of Florida. Bush and Abigail Adams are the only two women to be the wife of one U.S. president and the mother of another. At the time she became first lady, she was the second oldest woman to hold the position, behind only Anna Harrison, who never lived in the capital. Bush was generally popular as first lady, recognized for her apolitical grandmotherly image.

More quotes by Barbara Bush  ’
Editorial Note: This quote is curated and fact-checked by the Quotes Archive Editorial Team. Verified Literature Specialist.

More by Barbara Bush

"Family and friends and faith are the most important things in your life and you should be building friendships."

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More about Literature

"The only obligation to which in advance we may hold a novel, without incurring the accusation of being arbitrary, is that it be interesting."

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"As an actor, there is room for a certain amount of creativity, but you're always ultimately going to be saying somebody else's words. I don't think I'd have the stamina, skill or ability to write a novel, but I'd love to write short stories and poetry, because those are my two passions."

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"Mine is just a simple old human story - of one person trying, with great rigor and discipline, to comprehend her personal relationship with divinity."

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"If you are working 50 hours a week in a factory, you don't have time to read 10 newspapers a day and go back to declassified government archives. But such people may have far-reaching insights into the way the world works."

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