Wikiquote cites the title essay in Didion’s The White Album for this sentence. It describes the human impulse to arrange experience into stories; the short quotation alone should not be turned into a blanket endorsement of every story people tell themselves. Source and attribution evidence ↗
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Evoking the world of Joan Didion — Essayist. Theme: "We tell ourselves stories in order to live". Atmospheric and restrained, cinematic directional light, a muted period-appropriate palette, fine grain and texture. Compose with generous empty space for the quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.
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Provenance
The source
Source
The White Album
Evidence
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We tell ourselves stories in order to live
An excerpt of the wording under discussion; see the source and attribution limitations below.
Wikiquote cites the title essay in Didion’s The White Album for this sentence. It describes the human impulse to arrange experience into stories; the short quotation alone should not be turned into a blanket endorsement of every story people tell themselves. Source and attribution evidence ↗
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The identified text or film belongs to the modern copyright period. This short quotation is presented for identification and criticism; no general reuse permission is claimed.
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Joan Didion wrote The White Album. The sentence about stories is presented as a literary quotation, whose interpretation requires more care than simply turning it into a motivational motto.
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The White Album. See the linked evidence for the wording and attribution limitations.
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Quotle.info. “Who really said ‘We tell ourselves stories in order to live’?” Last verified 9 Nov 2026. https://quotle.info/who-said/we-tell-ourselves-stories-in-order-to-live/