--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Isn't it strange, how one so afraid of…" description: "\"“Isn't it strange, how one so afraid of contracting a fatal malady...should so earnestly wish for death, as well?”\" — Alan Brennert" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/132/alan-brennert-14608_afraid_isn-t-it-strange-how-one-so-afraid-of-co_571607.png" --- # Isn't it strange, how one so afraid of contracting a fatal… ![“Isn't it strange, how one so afraid of contracting a fatal malady...should so earnestly wish for death, as well?” quote by Alan Brennert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/132/alan-brennert-14608_afraid_isn-t-it-strange-how-one-so-afraid-of-co_571607.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/132/alan-brennert-14608_afraid_isn-t-it-strange-how-one-so-afraid-of-co_571607.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/132/alan-brennert-14608_afraid_isn-t-it-strange-how-one-so-afraid-of-co_571607.png) > ““Isn't it strange, how one so afraid of contracting a fatal malady...should so earnestly wish for death, as well?”” [Alan Brennert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-brennert/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Fear of death can paradoxically intensify the desire to die, revealing a conflicted psyche. **In simple terms:** Fear of death can make one want death more. Key Takeaway Examine your fears and their contradictions. Themes mortality fear paradox psychology Mood somber introspective Type literary psychological When to use this quote - health anxiety - grief counseling - terminal illness coping - creative writing Key Concepts existential dread self‑sabotage Questions to Reflect On - What does your fear of death reveal about your life? - Can confronting mortality reduce this paradox? A Different Perspective Desire for death may stem from unresolved trauma. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Suicide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suicide/) ## Related quotes > [“... it was strange how afraid he was of her answer, even though he knew she desired him. Desire and love were two different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-gee/it-was-strange-how-afraid-he-was-of-her-answer-even-though-he-knew/) Emily Gee > [It is no less vain to wish death than it is cowardly to fear it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-sidney/it-is-no-less-vain-to-wish-death-than-it-is-cowardly-to-fear-it/) [Philip Sidney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-sidney/) > [It is the act of a coward to wish for death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/it-is-the-act-of-a-coward-to-wish-for-death/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [“I wish the death of one could bring back another.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alyse-m-gardner/i-wish-the-death-of-one-could-bring-back-another/) [Alyse M. Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alyse-m-gardner/) > [It's so easy to wish for death when nothing's wrong with you! It's so easy to fall in love with death, and I've been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/it-s-so-easy-to-wish-for-death-when-nothing-s-wrong-with-you-it-s-so/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [I wish death had a cure coz evryone fears losing their loved ones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raveen/i-wish-death-had-a-cure-coz-evryone-fears-losing-their-loved-ones/) [Raveen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raveen/) > [“It was nearly winter. I had just seen a friend die, and was again beginning to take pleasure in my own existence. This friend,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-handke/it-was-nearly-winter-i-had-just-seen-a-friend-die-and-was-again/) [Peter Handke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-handke/) > [The most happy ought to wish for death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/the-most-happy-ought-to-wish-for-death/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [Never wish the death of someone or you will lose your goodness inside you!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/never-wish-the-death-of-someone-or-you-will-lose-your-goodness-inside/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [I never wish death on nobody, cause there ain't coming back from that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-never-wish-death-on-nobody-cause-there-ain-t-coming-back-from-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I wish that death had spared me until your library had been complete.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorenzo-de-medici/i-wish-that-death-had-spared-me-until-your-library-had-been-complete/) Lorenzo de' Medici > [“I no longer have the sense of impending doom. I no longer wish for death or stare at myself in the mirror with loathing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alcoholics-anonymous/i-no-longer-have-the-sense-of-impending-doom-i-no-longer-wish-for/) [Alcoholics Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alcoholics-anonymous/) > [“The time when you wish if death was possible from a heartbreak”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiran-joshi/the-time-when-you-wish-if-death-was-possible-from-a-heartbreak/) [Kiran Joshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiran-joshi/) > [I never wish death on nobody. 'Cause they ain't coming back from that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/biggie-smalls/i-never-wish-death-on-nobody-cause-they-ain-t-coming-back-from-that/) [Biggie Smalls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/biggie-smalls/) > [I definitely wouldn't wish death on anyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-notorious-b-i-g/i-definitely-wouldn-t-wish-death-on-anyone/) [The Notorious B.I.G](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-notorious-b-i-g/) ## More by Alan Brennert > [“There is beauty in the least beautiful of things.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-brennert/there-is-beauty-in-the-least-beautiful-of-things/) [Alan Brennert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-brennert/) > [“Old Korean adage, "Even jade has flaws." Or, in other words: Nothing in life is ever perfect.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-brennert/old-korean-adage-even-jade-has-flaws-or-in-other-words-nothing-in/) [Alan Brennert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-brennert/) > [“Summer in Honolulu brings the sweet smell of mangoes, guava, and passionfruit, ripe for picking; it arbors the streets with the fiery red umbrellas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-brennert/summer-in-honolulu-brings-the-sweet-smell-of-mangoes-guava-and/) [Alan Brennert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-brennert/) > [Perhaps you need to look back before you can move ahead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-brennert/perhaps-you-need-to-look-back-before-you-can-move-ahead/) [Alan Brennert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-brennert/) > [“We moved into Jade Moon's rooming house within the week, and slowly she and I found that our friendship, though damaged, was like fabric…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-brennert/we-moved-into-jade-moon-s-rooming-house-within-the-week-and-slowly/) [Alan Brennert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-brennert/) > [God didn't give man wings; He gave him the brains and the spirit to give himself wings. Just as He gave us the capacity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-brennert/god-didn-t-give-man-wings-he-gave-him-the-brains-and-the-spirit-to/) [Alan Brennert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-brennert/) > [“They toured the new hospital, the renovated and expanded McVeigh Home, and the (named without apparent irony) Bay View Home for the Blind and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-brennert/they-toured-the-new-hospital-the-renovated-and-expanded-mcveigh-home/) [Alan Brennert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-brennert/) > [“Carve the peg by looking at the hole.' Eddie looked at me blankly and I explained, 'An old Korean saying. It means, Do things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-brennert/carve-the-peg-by-looking-at-the-hole-eddie-looked-at-me-blankly-and-i/) [Alan Brennert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-brennert/) > [“...she bid me to look out on the lawn at the leper girls who were running on lame feet, playing croquet with crippled hands.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-brennert/she-bid-me-to-look-out-on-the-lawn-at-the-leper-girls-who-were/) [Alan Brennert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-brennert/) > [“She had never been afraid of the dark, but then she had never known a dark like this before.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-brennert/she-had-never-been-afraid-of-the-dark-but-then-she-had-never-known-a/) [Alan Brennert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-brennert/) > [I've come to believe that how we choose to live with pain, or injustice, or death…is the true measure of the Divine within us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-brennert/i-ve-come-to-believe-that-how-we-choose-to-live-with-pain-or/) [Alan Brennert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-brennert/) > [“...and all they could do was sit, sleep, eat, and be reminded day after day, night after night, of their disease and eventual death.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-brennert/and-all-they-could-do-was-sit-sleep-eat-and-be-reminded-day-after-day/) [Alan Brennert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-brennert/) > [“But no - I was his wife, and it was my duty to share his pain as I shared his success. I walked out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-brennert/but-no-i-was-his-wife-and-it-was-my-duty-to-share-his-pain-as-i/) [Alan Brennert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-brennert/) > [“What's it like? Being married? Cold feet. Middle of the night you're sleeping, suddenly, wham, you've got ice cold feet warming themselves on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-brennert/what-s-it-like-being-married-cold-feet-middle-of-the-night-you-re/) [Alan Brennert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-brennert/) > [“By now the streets of Kalaupapa were filled with people racing for high ground - sick people crying "Tsunami!" as nature played yet another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-brennert/by-now-the-streets-of-kalaupapa-were-filled-with-people-racing-for/) [Alan Brennert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-brennert/) [Explore all 46 Alan Brennert quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-brennert/) ## More Afraid quotes > [It took me 20 years to buy an electric typewriter, because I was afraid it would be too sensitive. I like to bang the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmore-leonard/it-took-me-20-years-to-buy-an-electric-typewriter-because-i-was/) [Elmore Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmore-leonard/) > [“Carrie Fisher. “Stay afraid, but do it anyway.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-union/carrie-fisher-stay-afraid-but-do-it-anyway/) [Gabrielle Union](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-union/) > [I used to be afraid of my temper, but it turns out I don't really have one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoe-bell/i-used-to-be-afraid-of-my-temper-but-it-turns-out-i-don-t-really-have/) [Zoe Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoe-bell/) > [I get afraid of the dark if I'm in a great deal of dark, and I have to move around inside of that fear...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-ferris/i-get-afraid-of-the-dark-if-i-m-in-a-great-deal-of-dark-and-i-have-to/) [Emil Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-ferris/) > [I am not afraid of praise, for I have practiced it on myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-am-not-afraid-of-praise-for-i-have-practiced-it-on-myself/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I'm a pretty fearless person. I'm afraid of, like, creepy men in white vans and sidewalks with no streetlights. But I'm not afraid to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josie-totah/i-m-a-pretty-fearless-person-i-m-afraid-of-like-creepy-men-in-white/) [Josie Totah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josie-totah/) > [I will support my party when they are right on an issue, but am not afraid to stand up to party bosses who are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darlene-senger/i-will-support-my-party-when-they-are-right-on-an-issue-but-am-not/) Darlene Senger > [Why am I so afraid to loose you,when you're not even mine?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/why-am-i-so-afraid-to-loose-you-when-you-re-not-even-mine/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I want to tell you, but I cant, becuase I'm afraid if I do you'll never treat me same the again](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristina-orante/i-want-to-tell-you-but-i-cant-becuase-i-m-afraid-if-i-do-you-ll-never/) [Cristina Orante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristina-orante/) > [Mistakes I've made in the past make me afraid to try new things in the future. I want to be perfect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-altucher/mistakes-i-ve-made-in-the-past-make-me-afraid-to-try-new-things-in/) [James Altucher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-altucher/) > [“Humans are naturally scared and confused beings. They not only fear the unknown, as they live fearing themselves... ☥”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-marques/humans-are-naturally-scared-and-confused-beings-they-not-only-fear/) [Luis Marques](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-marques/) > [If you are too afraid of failure, you cant possibly do what needs to be done to succeed in living a fulfilling life. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/if-you-are-too-afraid-of-failure-you-cant-possibly-do-what-needs-to/) [Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/) > [We cannot be afraid of the dark that they live in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burnie-burns/we-cannot-be-afraid-of-the-dark-that-they-live-in/) [Burnie Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/burnie-burns/) > [“I think the reason we're cruel sometimes is that we're afraid we're going to like something.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/i-think-the-reason-we-re-cruel-sometimes-is-that-we-re-afraid-we-re/) [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) > [I'm still with that feeling that I am afraid of doing the wrong thing, because somebody is going to punish me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eartha-kitt/i-m-still-with-that-feeling-that-i-am-afraid-of-doing-the-wrong-thing/) [Eartha Kitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eartha-kitt/) Browse all 5,519 Afraid quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Isn't it strange, how one so afraid of contracting a fatal malady...should so earnestly wish for death, as well?”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alan Brennert" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-brennert/isn-t-it-strange-how-one-so-afraid-of-contracting-a-fatal-malady/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Afraid" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-brennert/isn-t-it-strange-how-one-so-afraid-of-contracting-a-fatal-malady/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/132/alan-brennert-14608_afraid_isn-t-it-strange-how-one-so-afraid-of-co_571607.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/132/alan-brennert-14608_afraid_isn-t-it-strange-how-one-so-afraid-of-co_571607.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/132/alan-brennert-14608_afraid_isn-t-it-strange-how-one-so-afraid-of-co_571607.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Isn't it strange, how one so afraid of contracting a fatal malady...should so earnestly wish for death, as…” — Alan Brennert", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Alan Brennert", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-brennert/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Isn't it strange, how one so...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-brennert/isn-t-it-strange-how-one-so-afraid-of-contracting-a-fatal-malady/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-brennert/isn-t-it-strange-how-one-so-afraid-of-contracting-a-fatal-malady/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```