Alan Ball Quotes

Alan Ball is the creator of “Six Feet Under”, and also wrote "American Beauty".

"What grief can do for us is teach us that the ability to feel tremendous pain increases our capacity to feel joy. You can't just have it one way. Life is filled with both. If you really drop your guard, if you fully love something or someone, you'll lose them eventually, or die first."

"What's necessary, what's important, is not failing or succeeding, it's the struggle that's important. Our culture is so much about success, which I think is very -- very -- shallow. You learn more from failure."

"’If I chase away my devils, my angels may leave too.’ This whole Puritan notion -- be pure, be clean, strive for perfection -- it really encourages us to deny what's human about us. Only if we forgive our own shortcomings can we forgive others."

“Redemption comes through darkness, I think. A lot of times pain and suffering go hand in hand with redemption and grace.”