Normal, in our house, is like a blanket too short for a bed--sometimes it covers you just fine, and other times it leaves you cold and shaking; and worst of all, you never know which of the two it's going to be.
Jodi PicoultRead
Everyone has a story; everyone hides his past as a means of self-preservation. Some just do it better, and more thoroughly, than others.
Interpretation
What this quote means
People conceal their past experiences to protect themselves, each doing so with varying levels of success.
This quote highlights the universal human experience of having a personal history that shapes who we are, while also emphasizing the tendency to hide certain aspects of that history for self-preservation. It suggests that while everyone has their unique tales of struggle and growth, the ability to manage or mask these stories can differ greatly among individuals, often reflecting deeper psychological strategies for coping with pain or vulnerability.
Themes
StoryPastSelf-PreservationHuman ExperiencePsychology
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about personal growth, one could use this quote to highlight the importance of acknowledging our past.
More from Jodi Picoult
All quotes →Whether it was power they sought, or revenge, or love-well, those were all just different forms of hunger. The bigger the hole inside you, the more desperate you became to fill it.
Jodi PicoultRead
she told me she'd be a phoenix." The image of the mythical creature rising from the ashes glitters in my mind. "They don't really exist." "She said that depends on whether or not there's someone who can see them.
Jodi PicoultRead
for 100,000 (dollars), you [can] flatten a house with a wrecking ball. Imagine how much less it [takes] to destroy something than it [does] to build it in the first place.
Jodi PicoultRead
But if you seek forgiveness, doesn't that automatically mean you cannot be a monster? By definition, doesn't that desperation make you human again?
Jodi PicoultRead
when you [lose someone], it feels like the hole in your gum when a tooth falls out. You can chew, you can eat, you have plenty of other teeth, but your tongue keeps going back to that empty place, where all nerves are still a little raw
Jodi PicoultRead
Similar quotes
The secret was such an old one now, had so grown into me and become a part of myself, that I could not tear it away.
Charles DickensRead
He, however, who begins with Metaphysics, will not only become confused in matters of religion, but will fall into complete infidelity.
MaimonidesRead
Do you honestly believe God likes you, not just loves you because theologically God has to love you?
Brennan ManningRead
Unity is plural and, at a minimum, is two.
R. Buckminster FullerRead
Every sensation shares the same characteristic: it arises and passes away, arises and passes away. It is this arising and passing that we have to experience through practice, not just accept as truth because Buddha said so, not just accept because intellectually it seems logical enough to us. We must experience sensation’s nature, understand its flux, and learn not to react to it.
S. N. GoenkaRead
The arc of the moral universe may bend towards justice, but it doesn't bend on its own.
Barack ObamaRead