Home / Topics / Shame Quotes

Shame Quotes

Browse 2566 quotes about Shame.

Shame Quotes

“In journalism, there are only two stories - "Oh, the wonder of it," and "Oh, the shame of it."”

Two Stories Wonder Shame Journalism

Author:Robert Reich

“There is probably a smell of roasted chestnuts and other good comfortable things all the time, for we are telling Winter Stories - Ghost Stories, or more shame for us - round the Christmas fire; and we have never stirred, except to draw a little nearer to it.”

Littles Stories Fire Comfortable Draws Shame Rounds Winter Smell Ghost Spooky Ghost Stories Chestnuts

Book:Christmas Stories from

Source: Christmas Stories from

“I believe that we are a story-driven species and that we understand how things are put together, in the context of narrative. It's a shame that science hasn't been taught that way, in a long time. It's usually the fact completely devoid of any human experience or any idea of how the scientist came to that conclusion.”

Way Believe Humans Long Ideas Facts Stories Together I Believe Taught Long Time Scientist Shame Species Driven Conclusion Narrative Human Experience

Author:Ann Druyan

“Telling a story of illness, one pulls a thread through a narrow opening flanked on one side by shame and the other by trivia.”

Stories Sides Shame Illness Opening Thread Trivia

Book:What Her Body Thought: A Journey Into the Shadows

Source: What Her Body Thought: A Journey Into the Shadows

“Our life is so short that every time I see my children, I enjoy them as much as I can. Whenever I can, I enjoy my beloved, my family, my friends, my apprentices. But mainly I enjoy myself, because I am with myself all the time. Why should I spend my precious time with myself judging myself, rejecting myself, creating guilt and shame? Why should I push myself to be angry or jealous? If I don't feel good emotionally, I find out what is causing it and I fix it. Then I can recover my happiness and keep going with my story.”

“Kerry Cohen's powerful, transfixing story will be familiar to many women, most of whom won't want to admit it. In this heartfelt and authentic memoir, Cohen transcends the pain and shame of a promiscuous past, and leaves readers with a sense of hope and triumph.”

Want Stories Pain Past Powerful Reader Shame Memoir Familiar Triumph Heartfelt Promiscuous

Author:Janice Erlbaum

“Anyone who is suffering from shame and public humiliation needs to know one thing: You can survive it... You can insist on a different ending to your story. Have compassion for yourself. We all deserve compassion, and to live both online and off in a more compassionate world.”

Knows World Needs Different Stories Suffering Compassion One Thing Deserve Shame Online Compassionate Humiliation And Off Compassion For Yourself

Author:Monica Lewinsky

“I have a word for you. I know your whole life story. I know every skeleton in your closet. I know every moment of sin, shame, dishonesty and degraded love that has darkened your past. Right now I know your shallow faith, your feeble prayer life, your inconsistent discipleship. And my word is this: I dare you to trust that I love you just as you are, and not as you should be. Because you’re never going to be as you should be.”

“American Horror Story re-energized me; it re-energized my career. There’s no shame in recognizing that. It’s exposed me to a whole new generation, which is a little strange. I’m not used to young people thinking I’m cool.”

People Thinking Littles Whole Stories Young Used Careers Generations Strange Horror Shame Exposed Recognizing New Generation Horror Stories American Horror Story

Author:Jessica Lange

“I can't say anything other than the fact that I feel a range of emotions including guilt, shame, sadness, betrayal, freedom and appreciation for those who have stood by me, been tough on me, and have taken the time to understand that there is a deeper story and not to believe everything they read in the newspapers.”

Feels Believe I Can Facts Stories Emotion Taken Sadness Tough Shame Guilt Including Appreciation Deeper Betrayal Newspapers Range Say Anything Range Of Emotions

Author:Jayson Blair

“'Brokeback Mountain' is a sad love story about two people who can't be together, and the reason that they can't be together is because being gay is a stigmatized thing. It would be interesting to have the same movie in which the two guys weren't in the closet and there was no shame about them being gay and they couldn't be together for other reasons. I still feel like we're a long way from that happening.”

People Way Feels Long Stills Two Reason Stories Would Be Together Guy Interesting Gay Mountain Happenings Shame Love Story Closets Long Way Being Gay Sad Love Two Guys Brokeback Mountain

Author:Wesley Morris

“When I was writing the book, I thought "Who wants to hear another story about some actor who lost his way?" But my story is a little unique in that I realized when I was 14 years old that I was different. I think a lot of gay people use drugs and alcohol to quell that fear and shame - especially people of my age.”

People Thinking Way Want Writing Years Littles Book Different Stories Use Age Actors Lost Gay Drug Unique Shame Alcohol I Realized Gay People Drugs And Alcohol

Author:Leslie Jordan

“I think it's important to encourage young people to tell their own stories and to speak openly about their own experiences with the criminal justice system and the experiences of their family. We need to ensure that the classroom environment is a supportive one so that the shame and stigma can be dispelled.”

People Thinking Needs Important Stories Young Speak Justice Environment Shame Criminals Classroom Supportive Stigma Justice System Criminal Justice Criminal Justice System

Author:Michelle Alexander

“Our strategy should be not only to confront empire, but to lay siege to it. To deprive it of oxygen. To shame it. To mock it. With our art, our music, our literature, our stubbornness, our joy, our brilliance, our sheer relentlessness — and our ability to tell our own stories. Stories that are different from the ones we’re being brainwashed to believe. The corporate revolution will collapse if we refuse to buy what they are selling — their ideas, their version of history, their wars, their weapons, their notion of inevitability.”

Source: War Talk

“I think it's a shame that something as creative and vital to the nature of the human species as story-telling is largely controlled by the soulless cretins known as publishers.”

Thinking Humans Stories Known Creative Shame Species Controlled Publishers Human Species Soulless

Book:How Precious Was That While

Source: How Precious Was That While

“Blood in the water I sing, and one who shed it: deadliest hunger I sing, and one who fed it- weaving the ancient-most tale of the Sea's sending: singing the tragedy, singing the joy unending This is our shame- this is the whole Ocean's glory: this is the Song of the Twelve. Hark to the story! Hearken, and bring it to pass: swift lest the sorrow long ago laid to it's rest devour us tomarrow!”

Long Whole Stories Joy Song Water Blood Sea Sorrow Ocean Singing Glory Tragedy Shame Ancient Hunger Tales Feds Twelve Shed Long Ago Unending Weaving

Book:Deep Wizardry

Source: Deep Wizardry

“And nothing inspires as much shame as being a parent. Children confront us with our paradoxes and hypocrisies, and we are exposed. You need to find an answer for every why — Why do we do this? Why don’t we do that? — and often there isn’t a good one. So you say, simply, because. Or you tell a story that you know isn’t true. And whether or not your face reddens, you blush. The shame of parenthood — which is a good shame — is that we want our children to be more whole than we are, to have satisfactory answers.”

Knows Want Needs Children Whole Stories Faces Parent Answers Inspire Shame Our Children Hypocrisy Paradox Your Face Parenthood Exposed Being A Parent Parent Child

Author:Jonathan Safran Foer

“If we share our shame story with the wrong person, they can easily become one more piece of flying debris in an already dangerous storm.(page 10)”

Ifs Persons Stories Pieces Share Dangerous Pages Shame Storm Flying Debris Wrong Person

Author:Brené Brown

“This concept could easily have gone awry. Stories about love tend to go that way sometimes. They wander into the realm of cheese and never return, which I think is a shame, because there is a way to write about romantic love without breaking out the Velveeta.”

Thinking Way Writing Sometimes Stories Gone Return Concepts Shame Wander Realms Romantic Love Cheese

Author:Veronica Roth

“Feelings and stories of unworthiness and shame are perhaps the most binding element in the trance of fear. When we believe something is wrong with us, we are convinced we are in danger. Our shame fuels ongoing fear, and our fear fuels more shame. The very fact that we feel fear seems to prove that we are broken or incapable. When we are trapped in trance, being fearful and bad seem to define who we are. The anxiety in our body, the stories, the ways we make excuses, withdraw or lash out—these become to us the self that is most real.”

Way Feels Believe Real Self Facts Stories Feelings Body Seems Danger Broken Prove Elements Anxiety Shame Excuse Convinced Who We Are Fuel Fearful Trapped Incapable Ongoing Binding Lashes Trance

Author:Tara Brach

“If we can share our story with someone who responds with empathy and understanding, shame can't survive.”

Ifs Stories Understanding Share Empathy Shame Empathy And Understanding

Book:Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead

Source: Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead

“Our stories are not meant for everyone. Hearing them is a privilege, and we should always ask ourselves this before we share: "Who has earned the right to hear my story?" If we have one or two people in our lives who can sit with us and hold space for our shame stories, and love us for our strengths and struggles, we are incredibly lucky. If we have a friend, or small group of friends, or family who embraces our imperfections, vulnerabilities, and power, and fills us with a sense of belonging, we are incredibly lucky.”

“Shame hates it when we reach out and tell our story. It hates having words wrapped around it - it can't survive being shared. Shame loves secrecy... When we bury our story, the shame metastasizes.”

Stories Hate Shame Reach Out Secrecy

Author:Brené Brown

“My great hope for us as young women is to start being kinder to ourselves so that we can be kinder to each other. To stop shaming ourselves and other people for things we don't know the full story on - whether someone is too fat, too skinny, too short, too tall, too loud, too quiet, too anything. There's a sense that we're all ‘too’ something, and we're all not enough.”

“You can throw away the privilege of acting, but that would be such a shame. The tribe has elected you to tell its story. You are the shaman/healer, that's what the storyteller is, and I think it's important for actors to appreciate that. Too often actors think it's all about them, when in reality it's all about the audience being able to recognize themselves in you. The more you pull away from the public, the less power you have on screen.”

Thinking Important Stories Reality Would Be Able Actors Acting Audience Appreciate Shame Privilege Theatre Screens Tribes Storyteller Healer

Author:Ben Kingsley

“Shame derives its power from being unspeakable...If we speak shame, it begins to wither. Just the way exposure to light was deadly for the gremlins, language and story bring light to shame and destroy it.”

Ifs Way Stories Light Speak Language Empathy Shame Exposure Unspeakable Gremlins

Author:Brené Brown

“Disney will never make a movie about my life story, and that's a shame--I'd make a really cute animated creature.”

Stories Creatures Shame Cute Animated Life Story Really Cute

Book:A Queer and Pleasant Danger: The true story of a nice Jewish boy who joins the Church of Scientology, and leaves twelve years later to become the lovely lady she is today

Source: A Queer and Pleasant Danger: The true story of a nice Jewish boy who joins the Church of Scientology, and leaves twelve years later to become the lovely lady she is today

“Even with the recent story about the nurse killing herself in King Edward Hospital, there's no blame placed on Kate Middleton, who was in the hospital as far as I could see for absolutely no reason. She feels no shame about the death of this woman, she's saying nothing about the death of this poor woman. The arrogance of the British royals is staggering, absolutely staggering. And why it's allowed to be I really don't know... It wasn't because of two DJs in Australia that this woman took her own life, it was the pressure around her.”

Knows Feels Two Reason Stories Poor Kings Pressure Shame Blame Killing British Arrogance Australia No Reason Hospitals Nurse Royal Kate Djs Staggering Saying Nothing

Author:Steven Morrissey