“Desperation is the raw material of drastic change. Only those who can leave behind everything they have ever believed in can hope to escape.”

— William S. Burroughs , book The Western Lands

Source: The Western Lands (1987), ch. 5, as cited in The Columbia Dictionary of Quotations (1993), pg. 234

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "Desperation is the raw material of drastic change. Only those who can leave behind everything they have ever believed i…" by William S. Burroughs?

William S. Burroughs 110

American novelist, short story writer, essayist, painter, a… 1914–1997

Antonio Porchia (1885–1968) Italian Argentinian poet

Todo lo que cambia, donde cambia, deja detrás de sí un aibsmo.
Voces (1943)

“Only those who still have hope can benefit from tears.”

Nathanael West book The Day of the Locust

Source: The Day of the Locust

“Human beings have hope. Not matter how desperate things are, they convince themselves that they can change things for the better."

- John Gregory (Clash of the Demons)”

Joseph Delaney book The Spook's Sacrifice

Source: The Spook's Sacrifice

“A democratic government is the only one in which those who vote for a tax can escape the obligation to pay it.”

Alexis De Tocqueville book Democracy in America

Source: Democracy in America, Volume I (1835), Chapter X-XIV, Chapter XIII.

“Books don't offer real escape but they can stop a mind scratching itself raw.”

David Mitchell book Cloud Atlas

"Letters from Zedelghem"
Cloud Atlas (2004)

“I only believe in those who can still blush.”

Nélson Rodrigues (1912–1980) Brazilian writer and playwright

Asfalto Selvagem: Engraçadinha, seus amores e seus pecados: novel - Page 176, by Nelson Rodrigues, Ruy Castro - Published by Companhia das Letras, 1994 ISBN 8571643717, 9788571643710 - 555 páginas