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Shame Quotes

Browse 2566 quotes about Shame.

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Shame Quotes

“Growing up, I was constantly reminded to not to air our family's dirty laundry. Part of why domestic violence is allowed to continue is because there is often an unwritten rule in many families of abuse: Don't ask. Don't tell. Keeping quiet does no good. I found that sharing my story liberated me from my past. There is power in storytelling and, in that, healing. Owning my truth also empowered me. I will no longer be manipulated or controlled by guilt or shame.”

PastHealingGrowing UpViolenceQuietAbuseShameGuiltStorytellingDirtyOur FamilyDomestic ViolenceEmpoweredMy PastLaundry
Author:Kambri Crews
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“We do not always remember the things that do no credit to us. We justify them, cover them in bright lies or with the thick dust of forgetfulness. All of the things that Shadow had done in his life of which he was not proud, all the things he wished he had done otherwise or left undone, came at him then in a swirling storm of guilt and regret and shame, and he had nowhere to hide from them. He was as naked and as open as a corpse on a table, and dark Anubis the jackal god was his prosector and his prosecutor and his persecutor.”

DoneRememberLyingLeftDarkRegretProudShadowShameTablesGuiltCreditStormNakedDustJustifyThickCorpsesUndoneForgetfulnessProsecutorJackalsAnubis
Author:Neil Gaiman
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“A wave of blood goes up to my head, my stomach shrinks together, as if something dangerous has just missed hitting me. It's as if I've been caught stealing, or telling a lie; or as if I've heard other people talking about me, saying bad things about me, behind my back. There's the same flush of shame, of guilt and terror, and of cold disgust with myself. But I don't know where these feelings have come from, what I've done.”

PeopleIfsKnowsDoneFeelingsTogetherLyingBehindsTalkingHeardBloodDangerousColdShameGuiltWaveCaughtTerrorStealingBad ThingsStomachDisgustingHittingShrinksPeople TalkingBehind My BackTalking About MeSaying Bad Things
Book:Cat's Eye
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“What should our second generation have done, what should it do with the knowledge of the horrors of the extermination of the Jews? We should not believe we can comprehend the incomprehensible, we may not compare the incomparable, we may not inquire because to inquire is to make the horrors an object of discussion, even if the horrors themselves are not questioned, instead of accepting them as something in the face of which we can only fall silent in revulsion, shame and guilt. Should we only fall silent in revulsion, shame and guilt? To what purpose?”

IfsShouldBelieveMayDoneFacesPurposeFallAcceptingGenerationsObjectsHorrorShameGuiltSilentJewCompareDiscussionIncomparableExterminationRevulsionShame And Guilt
Book:The Reader
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“There is a certain kind of pain that can change you. Even the strongest sword, when placed in a raging fire, will soften and bend and change its form... Trust me on this one. I know this from personal experience. I hope that you never will, but, since you're a person, and therefore prone to making horrible, soul-splitting mistakes, you probably will one day know what this kind of guilt and shame feels like. And when that time comes, I hope you have the strength...to take advantage of the fire and reshape your own sword.”

KnowsFeelsKindPersonsSoulPainFormCertainMistakeFireOne DayAdvantageShameGuiltRageHorribleStrongestTrust MePersonal ExperiencesSplitting
Author:Adam Gidwitz
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“And no, it wasn't shame I now felt, or guilt, but something rarer in my life and stronger than both: remorse. A feeling which is more complicated, curdled, and primeval. Whose chief characteristic is that nothing can be done about it: too much time has passed, too much damage has been done, for amends to be made.”

Has BeensMadeDoneFeelingsFeltToo MuchStrongerShameGuiltComplicatedChiefsDamageCharacteristicsRemorseAmendsPrimeval
Book:The Sense of an Ending
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“I do not view suicide as wicked, just terribly sad. There is only one death, but it is like a stone cast into a pond - the ripples stretch far. Such an act must leave a burden of sorrow, guilt, shame and confusion on an entire family. A natural death, such as my father suffered, is hard enough to deal with. A decision to end one's life must be still more devastating for those left behind. I cannot imagine the degree of hopelessness someone must feel to contemplate such an act.”

FeelsStillsEndsHardEnoughFatherLeftNaturalDecisionViewsDealsBehindsImagineSorrowDegreesStonesShameSuicideGuiltCastsBurdenConfusionWickedContemplatingHopelessnessLeft BehindPondsRippleNatural Death
Author:Juliet Marillier
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“Quite often I have been faced with people who were praised and admired for their talents and their achievements... According to prevailing attitudes, these people-the pride and joy of their parents-should have had a strong and stable sense of self-assurance. But the case is exactly the opposite... Whenever they suddenly get the feeling they have failed to live up to some ideal image or have not measured up to some standard, then they are plagued by anxiety or deep feelings of guilt and shame. What are the reasons for such disturbances in these competent, accomplished people?”

PeopleShouldHas BeensSelfReasonFeelingsJoyStrongParentAttitudeCasesTalentPrideAchievementAnxietyStandardsIdealsShould HaveOppositesShameGuiltAccomplishedStableAssuranceCompetentSense Of SelfPrevailingDisturbanceSelf AssuranceDeep Feeling
Author:Alice Miller
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“Nothing more unqualified the man to act with prudence than a misfortune that is attended with shame and guilt.”

MenHe ManShameGuiltMisfortunesPrudenceUnqualifiedShame And Guilt
Book:The works of D. Jonathan Swift ...: To which is prefixed, the doctor's life, with remarks on his writings, from the Earl of Orrery and others, not to be found in any former edition of his works.Dublin printed
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“Devil does not bring sinners to Hell with their eyes open: he first blinds them with the malice of their own sins. He thus leads them to eternal perdition. Before we fall into sin, the enemy labours to blind us, that we may not see the evil we do, and the ruin we bring upon ourselves by offending God. After we commit sin, he seeks to make us dumb, that, through shame, we may conceal our guilt in confession.”

FirstsMayDoeEyeFallEvilSinEnemyHellDevilShameBlindGuiltCommitRuinsDumbLabourSinnerConfessionMaliceOffending
Author:Alphonsus Liguori
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“Nile perch are enormous but lethargic fish, easy to catch once they have taken your bait. Some are bright golden yellow, some grey pink with the large, round surprised eyes of all fish, in which we humans cannot read any expression of pain or suffering, so that, as with insects or mollusks, we feel absolved of their deaths.”

FeelsHumansEyePainSufferingEasyTakenExpressionShameGuiltRoundsFishesEnormousGoldenYellowGreyInsectsBaitNileLethargicMollusks
Author:Kuki Gallmann
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“I haven't felt the excitement for so many years. I feel guilty beyond words about these things. When we're back-stage and the lights go out, and the manic roar of the crowd begins, it does not affect me. The fact is, I can't fool you. It isn't fair to you or to me. The worst crime I can think of is to trick people by faking it, and pretending to be having 100% fun.”

PeopleThinkingFeelsYearsDoeI CanFactsLightFunFeltWorstStageCrimeHavensFoolFairsShameGuiltCrowdsTricksGuiltyExcitementPretendingManicFaking It
Author:Robert Hilburn
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“When I was fifteen, I remember my mum taking me to the posh clothes shop on London Road to get my first grown-up coat. It was royal-blue and very adult, and I thought, Gosh, this is great! But when my mum said to the assistant, "What's the lowest price you'll take for this?" I nearly died of shame, and wanted to run away.”

FirstsSaidRunningWantedRememberClothesAdultsDiedShameBlueGuiltLondonShopsRunning AwayMumFifteenCoatsLowestRoyalAssistantsPoshRoyal Blue
Author:Cilla Black
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“There is the guilt all soldiers feel for having broken the taboo against killing, a guilt as old as war itself. Add to this the soldier's sense of shame for having fought in actions that resulted, indirectly or directly, in the deaths of civilians. Then pile on top of that an attitude of social opprobrium, an attitude that made the fighting man feel personally morally responsible for the war, and you get your proverbial walking time bomb.”

MenFeelsMadeWarActionFightingSocialAttitudeMilitaryBrokenWalkingResponsibleShameAddGuiltKillingSoldierBombsCiviliansTabooVietnam WarProverbialTime Bomb
Author:Philip Caputo
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