--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The secret is that when you've been…" description: "\"The secret is that when you've been pitched head first into hell you just write about it\" — Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/453/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn-671_firsts_the-secret-is-that-when-you-ve-been-pitc_2423895.jpg" --- # The secret is that when you've been pitched head first… ![“The secret is that when you've been pitched head first into hell you just write about it” quote by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/453/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn-671_firsts_the-secret-is-that-when-you-ve-been-pitc_2423895.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/453/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn-671_firsts_the-secret-is-that-when-you-ve-been-pitc_2423895.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/453/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn-671_firsts_the-secret-is-that-when-you-ve-been-pitc_2423895.jpg) > “The secret is that when you've been pitched head first into hell you just write about it” [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Facing extreme suffering, the writer turns trauma into literature. **In simple terms:** Write about hell to survive. Key Takeaway Transform pain into creative expression. Themes suffering creativity resilience Mood somber hopeful Type literary inspirational When to use this quote - therapy writing - journalism - activism Key Concepts trauma narrative survival literature Questions to Reflect On - What stories need to be told? - How does writing aid healing? A Different Perspective Writing may reopen wounds. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Hell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hell/) [Secret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secret/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Sometimes it's heaven sent. Then we head back to hell again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-legend/sometimes-it-s-heaven-sent-then-we-head-back-to-hell-again/) [John Legend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-legend/) > [“He smacked the heel of his hand against his forhead, as if that could knock the mental picture out of his head. Hell, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-quinn/he-smacked-the-heel-of-his-hand-against-his-forhead-as-if-that-could/) [Julia Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-quinn/) > [“I'd tell him to go to hell, but it just so happens I'm stuck there and don't want to have to see him every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-shalvis/i-d-tell-him-to-go-to-hell-but-it-just-so-happens-i-m-stuck-there-and/) [Jill Shalvis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-shalvis/) > [“I think that if there is a hell it's just a place where you're left all alone, with nobody around you. Man, when you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolfo-anaya/i-think-that-if-there-is-a-hell-it-s-just-a-place-where-you-re-left/) [Rudolfo Anaya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolfo-anaya/) > [“It doesn't have to be 'just right' Just Now...JUST WRITE!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-westhoek/it-doesn-t-have-to-be-just-right-just-now-just-write/) Sam Westhoek > [I really don't keep an outline; I don't organize in any way. I just write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kwan/i-really-don-t-keep-an-outline-i-don-t-organize-in-any-way-i-just/) [Kevin Kwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kwan/) > [“Write it. Just write it. Write it on receipts in the car while you wait for your kid to finish their piano lessons, scribble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melodie-ramone/write-it-just-write-it-write-it-on-receipts-in-the-car-while-you-wait/) [Melodie Ramone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melodie-ramone/) > [“Stop talking about it and just WRITE!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ck-webb/stop-talking-about-it-and-just-write/) [CK Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ck-webb/) > [I don't look at scripts. I just write them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cameron/i-don-t-look-at-scripts-i-just-write-them/) [James Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-cameron/) > [Just write a little bit every day. Even if it's for only half an hour — write, write, write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/just-write-a-little-bit-every-day-even-if-it-s-for-only-half-an-hour/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [“If you ask me, people in hell just scream to hear their own voice and to pass time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/if-you-ask-me-people-in-hell-just-scream-to-hear-their-own-voice-and/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“You can go to hell!" "Just because I'm going to hell doesn't mean you'll ever deserve her.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahereh-mafi/you-can-go-to-hell-just-because-i-m-going-to-hell-doesn-t-mean-you-ll/) [Tahereh Mafi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahereh-mafi/) > [When you're going through hell - just keep on going!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/when-you-re-going-through-hell-just-keep-on-going/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [I never did give anybody hell. I just told the truth and they thought it was hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman-2/i-never-did-give-anybody-hell-i-just-told-the-truth-and-they-thought/) [Harry S Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman-2/) > [“Hell is just resistance to life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/hell-is-just-resistance-to-life/) [Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) ## More by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn > [If you wanted to put the world to rights, who should you begin with: yourself or others?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/if-you-wanted-to-put-the-world-to-rights-who-should-you-begin-with/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [“...you are strong only as long as you don't deprive people of everything . For a person you've taken everything from is no longer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/you-are-strong-only-as-long-as-you-don-t-deprive-people-of-everything/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [Woe to that nation whose literature is cut short by the intrusion of force. This is not merely interference with freedom of the press…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/woe-to-that-nation-whose-literature-is-cut-short-by-the-intrusion-of/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [Literature becomes the living memory of a nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/literature-becomes-the-living-memory-of-a-nation/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [If there were no executioners, there would be no executions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/if-there-were-no-executioners-there-would-be-no-executions/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [Not everything has a name. Some things lead us into a realm beyond words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/not-everything-has-a-name-some-things-lead-us-into-a-realm-beyond/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [It is almost always impossible to evaluate at the time events which you have already experienced, and to understand their meaning with the guidance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/it-is-almost-always-impossible-to-evaluate-at-the-time-events-which/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [Human nature is full of riddles; . . . one of those riddles is: how is it that people who have been crushed by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/human-nature-is-full-of-riddles-one-of-those-riddles-is-how-is-it/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [“It was astonishing that the pseudo wreckers, who knew perfectly well that they weren't wreckers, believed that military men and priests were being shaken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/it-was-astonishing-that-the-pseudo-wreckers-who-knew-perfectly-well/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [When the whole discussion of "developing a national idea" hastily began in post-Soviet Russia, I tried to pour cold water on it with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/when-the-whole-discussion-of-developing-a-national-idea-hastily-began/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [“It was granted me to carry away from my prison years on my bent back, which nearly broke beneath its load, this essential experience;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/it-was-granted-me-to-carry-away-from-my-prison-years-on-my-bent-back/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [Call no day happy 'til it is done; call no man happy til he is dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/call-no-day-happy-til-it-is-done-call-no-man-happy-til-he-is-dead/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [Whenever the tissue of life is woven of legalistic relationships, this creates an atmosphere of spiritual mediocrity that paralyzes a person's noblest impulses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/whenever-the-tissue-of-life-is-woven-of-legalistic-relationships-this/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [The same old caveman feeling-greed, envy, violence, and mutual hate, which along the way assumed respectable pseudonyms like class struggle, racial struggle, mass struggle,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/the-same-old-caveman-feeling-greed-envy-violence-and-mutual-hate/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [Surrender one hair, and you'll end up beardless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/surrender-one-hair-and-you-ll-end-up-beardless/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) [Explore all 412 Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) ## More Firsts quotes > [I always say there are two things to be successful. The first is decide exactly what you want - set your goals - and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/i-always-say-there-are-two-things-to-be-successful-the-first-is/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) > [My first ever job after college was as a flight attendant. I wanted to travel and could not afford it, so I decided to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-winspear/my-first-ever-job-after-college-was-as-a-flight-attendant-i-wanted-to/) [Jacqueline Winspear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-winspear/) > [Since I worked with Danny Boyle before on Slumdog Millionaire, we have great success and everything. So, when I first got the script and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-r-rahman/since-i-worked-with-danny-boyle-before-on-slumdog-millionaire-we-have/) [A. R. Rahman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-r-rahman/) > [You sort of can't talk about the post production unless you talk about what comes first.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-greengrass/you-sort-of-can-t-talk-about-the-post-production-unless-you-talk/) [Paul Greengrass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-greengrass/) > [I'm a business first and foremost so whatever my business is, it's separate from my personal. It's like whatever I do business wise, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/snoop-dogg/i-m-a-business-first-and-foremost-so-whatever-my-business-is-it-s/) [Snoop Dogg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/snoop-dogg/) > [A man walks down the street. It's a street in a strange world. Maybe it's the third world. Maybe it's his first time around.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/a-man-walks-down-the-street-it-s-a-street-in-a-strange-world-maybe-it/) [Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/) > [I did not know that the planning for biological and chemical warfare was so widespread in England, and even in France before France fell.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/i-did-not-know-that-the-planning-for-biological-and-chemical-warfare/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) > [The biggest change for me as a mom was realizing I needed to put someone else before me. Now the hardest part about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-alexis/the-biggest-change-for-me-as-a-mom-was-realizing-i-needed-to-put/) [Kim Alexis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-alexis/) > [When I first started, my message was about joy, but I didn't really have the vocabulary and life experience to fully deliver it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-mraz/when-i-first-started-my-message-was-about-joy-but-i-didn-t-really/) [Jason Mraz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-mraz/) > [I'm very used to working with first time actors - you can just look back at 'E.T.' with Drew Barrymore, and Christian Bale from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-spielberg/i-m-very-used-to-working-with-first-time-actors-you-can-just-look/) [Steven Spielberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-spielberg/) > [I have lifted my plane . . . for perhaps a thousand flights and I have never felt her wheels glide from the Earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/i-have-lifted-my-plane-for-perhaps-a-thousand-flights-and-i-have/) [Beryl Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-markham/) > [We need a system that serves our needs, not the needs of others. Remember, under a Trump administration it's called America first. Remember that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/we-need-a-system-that-serves-our-needs-not-the-needs-of-others/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [The U.S.-Mexican border es un herida abierta where the Third World grates against the first and bleeds. And before a scab forms it hemorrhages…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-e-anzald-a/the-u-s-mexican-border-es-un-herida-abierta-where-the-third-world/) [Gloria E. Anzaldúa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-e-anzald-a/) > [Meanwhile someone is shining my head to get it dry to attach my top-hat to my head with toupee tape. I get into microphone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tituss-burgess/meanwhile-someone-is-shining-my-head-to-get-it-dry-to-attach-my-top/) [Tituss Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tituss-burgess/) > [Peace is the first thing the angels sang. Peace is the mark of the children of God. Peace is the nurse of love. Peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-leo-i/peace-is-the-first-thing-the-angels-sang-peace-is-the-mark-of-the/) [Pope Leo I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-leo-i/) Browse all 32,432 Firsts quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The secret is that when you've been pitched head first into hell you just write about it", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/the-secret-is-that-when-you-ve-been-pitched-head-first-into-hell-you/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Firsts" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/the-secret-is-that-when-you-ve-been-pitched-head-first-into-hell-you/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/453/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn-671_firsts_the-secret-is-that-when-you-ve-been-pitc_2423895.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/453/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn-671_firsts_the-secret-is-that-when-you-ve-been-pitc_2423895.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/453/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn-671_firsts_the-secret-is-that-when-you-ve-been-pitc_2423895.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The secret is that when you've been pitched head first into hell you just write about it” — Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn", "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": "Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The secret is that when you've...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/the-secret-is-that-when-you-ve-been-pitched-head-first-into-hell-you/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/the-secret-is-that-when-you-ve-been-pitched-head-first-into-hell-you/#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 } } ] } ```