When I was 11, I realised ...

When I was 11, I realised that I did not have to live the life my mother had: school, marriage, children, apartment, summer house.
 Maj Sjowall

Quotes from the same author

Yes, think what a lot of nonsense one can figure out with plenty of time. Brooding is the mother of ineffectiveness.
 Maj Sjowall
Sweden is a small country, and a Swedish writer can barely make a living as an author. We were able to quit our jobs as journalists only after we had been translated into, among others, German.
 Maj Sjowall