--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Everything in her wanted to run -fly back…" description: "\"“Everything in her wanted to run -fly back to California, back to her quiet existence working among strangers. Hiding out in the folds of tree trunks a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f1/alice-sebold-999_anonymity_everything-in-her-wanted-to-run-fly-back_1065549.jpg" --- # Everything in her wanted to run -fly back to California… ![“Everything in her wanted to run -fly back to California, back to her quiet existence working among strangers. Hiding out in the folds of tree trunks and tropical petals, tucked away safely among so many foreign plants and people.” quote by Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f1/alice-sebold-999_anonymity_everything-in-her-wanted-to-run-fly-back_1065549.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f1/alice-sebold-999_anonymity_everything-in-her-wanted-to-run-fly-back_1065549.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f1/alice-sebold-999_anonymity_everything-in-her-wanted-to-run-fly-back_1065549.jpg) > ““Everything in her wanted to run -fly back to California, back to her quiet existence working among strangers. Hiding out in the folds of tree trunks and tropical petals, tucked away safely among so many foreign plants and people.”” [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A yearning for escape and safety drives the narrator to seek familiar, tranquil surroundings amid unfamiliar, chaotic environments. **In simple terms:** She wants to flee to a calm, known place. Key Takeaway Seek familiar comfort when overwhelmed. Themes longing escape comfort identity placement Mood melancholic reflective Type literary emotional When to use this quote - moving to a new city - adjusting to a foreign culture - dealing with grief - finding a safe space Key Concepts nostalgia displacement search for belonging Questions to Reflect On - What comforts do you seek when feeling displaced? - How can you balance longing for home with growth? A Different Perspective The desire to retreat may hinder confronting necessary challenges. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anonymity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anonymity/) [California](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/california/) [Flowers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flowers/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Trees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trees/) ## Related quotes > [Most of us remain strangers to ourselves, hiding who we are, and ask other strangers, hiding who they are, to love us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-buscaglia/most-of-us-remain-strangers-to-ourselves-hiding-who-we-are-and-ask/) [Leo Buscaglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-buscaglia/) > [When I'm working with strangers, I can get a little timid or scared. With friends, I'm willing to' try anything, because there's a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cree-summer/when-i-m-working-with-strangers-i-can-get-a-little-timid-or-scared/) [Cree Summer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cree-summer/) > [“I don’t want you under those damn stairs. I hate it. But I can’t move you up here. I’ll never be able to stay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abbi-glines/i-don-t-want-you-under-those-damn-stairs-i-hate-it-but-i-can-t-move/) [Abbi Glines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abbi-glines/) > [We tend to let our freedoms slip away because they are tucked away in documents and policies that we don't ever deal with directly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-demille/we-tend-to-let-our-freedoms-slip-away-because-they-are-tucked-away-in/) [Oliver DeMille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-demille/) > [“between various props and clothes, tucked away where no one would bother them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-pilkington/between-various-props-and-clothes-tucked-away-where-no-one-would/) [Paul Pilkington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-pilkington/) > [There's a good spot tucked away somewhere in everybody. You'll be a long time finding it, sometimes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/there-s-a-good-spot-tucked-away-somewhere-in-everybody-you-ll-be-a/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“These older women knew their place, staying tucked away, fading into the background. Mostly, they tended the kitchen, where they learned to make themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-karmel/these-older-women-knew-their-place-staying-tucked-away-fading-into/) Miriam Karmel > [“I am convinced none of us shows the world a true face. We keep that safely tucked away.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/regina-scott/i-am-convinced-none-of-us-shows-the-world-a-true-face-we-keep-that/) Regina Scott > [“I tucked this away, afraid to admit how good it was to hear it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-stockett/i-tucked-this-away-afraid-to-admit-how-good-it-was-to-hear-it/) [Kathryn Stockett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-stockett/) > [Would you believe me if I said I was sorry The question wasn't mean to hurt, It was just my fear of losing you.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/every-avenue/would-you-believe-me-if-i-said-i-was-sorry-the-question-wasn-t-mean/) Every Avenue > [She liked to imagine that when she passed, the world looked after her, but she also knew how anonymous she was. Except when she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/she-liked-to-imagine-that-when-she-passed-the-world-looked-after-her/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“Except when she was at work, no one knew where she was at any time of day and no one waited for her. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/except-when-she-was-at-work-no-one-knew-where-she-was-at-any-time-of/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [For many people in the west, Afghanistan is synonymous with the Soviet war and the Taliban. I wanted to remind people that Afghans had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/for-many-people-in-the-west-afghanistan-is-synonymous-with-the-soviet/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [I value my anonymity. I'm happy to come in on the tube or the train and watch other people reading 'Fifty Shades.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-james-2/i-value-my-anonymity-i-m-happy-to-come-in-on-the-tube-or-the-train/) [E. L. James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-james-2/) > [For me, getting comfortable with being famous was hard - that whole side of it, the loss of anonymity, the loss of privacy. Giving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-pfeiffer/for-me-getting-comfortable-with-being-famous-was-hard-that-whole-side/) [Michelle Pfeiffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-pfeiffer/) ## More by Alice Sebold > [Now I am in the place I call this wide wide Heaven because it includes all my simplest desires but also the most humble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/now-i-am-in-the-place-i-call-this-wide-wide-heaven-because-it/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [I left my mark on that man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/i-left-my-mark-on-that-man/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [These things, she felt, were not to be passed around like disingenuous party favors. She kept an honor code with her journals and her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/these-things-she-felt-were-not-to-be-passed-around-like-disingenuous/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [I don't think ignorance is a way that you gain distance on something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/i-don-t-think-ignorance-is-a-way-that-you-gain-distance-on-something/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [I was like I was in science class: I was curious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/i-was-like-i-was-in-science-class-i-was-curious/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“There are secret rooms inside us,” I had said to my therapist. “A relatively benign construct,” he said, and so I did not bother…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/there-are-secret-rooms-inside-us-i-had-said-to-my-therapist-a/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“This is just a temporary hell, not a permanent one”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/this-is-just-a-temporary-hell-not-a-permanent-one/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“And a soul would run by a living being, touch them softly on the shoulder or cheek, and continue on its way to heaven.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/and-a-soul-would-run-by-a-living-being-touch-them-softly-on-the/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [As if in the other side of his kiss there could ve a new life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/as-if-in-the-other-side-of-his-kiss-there-could-ve-a-new-life/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“My little brother's greatest fear was that the one person who meant so much to him would go away. He loved Lindsey and Grandma…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/my-little-brother-s-greatest-fear-was-that-the-one-person-who-meant/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“She listened for the pain in my words, not to the narrative itself. She was intuiting what it meant to me, what was most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/she-listened-for-the-pain-in-my-words-not-to-the-narrative-itself-she/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [The relationship with the words someone uses is more intimate and integrated than just a quick read and a blurb can ever be. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/the-relationship-with-the-words-someone-uses-is-more-intimate-and/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [Ruth hadn't talked to my sister since before my death, and then it was only to excuse herself in the hallway at school. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/ruth-hadn-t-talked-to-my-sister-since-before-my-death-and-then-it-was/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [Since then I've always thought that under rape in the dictionary it should tell the truth. It is not just forcible intercourse; rape means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/since-then-i-ve-always-thought-that-under-rape-in-the-dictionary-it/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [I live in a world where two truths coexist: where both hell and hope lie in the palm of my hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/i-live-in-a-world-where-two-truths-coexist-where-both-hell-and-hope/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) [Explore all 302 Alice Sebold quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) ## More Anonymity quotes > [For me, getting comfortable with being famous was hard - that whole side of it, the loss of anonymity, the loss of privacy. Giving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-pfeiffer/for-me-getting-comfortable-with-being-famous-was-hard-that-whole-side/) [Michelle Pfeiffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-pfeiffer/) > [I value my anonymity. I'm happy to come in on the tube or the train and watch other people reading 'Fifty Shades.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-james-2/i-value-my-anonymity-i-m-happy-to-come-in-on-the-tube-or-the-train/) [E. L. James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-james-2/) > [For many people in the west, Afghanistan is synonymous with the Soviet war and the Taliban. I wanted to remind people that Afghans had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/for-many-people-in-the-west-afghanistan-is-synonymous-with-the-soviet/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [Way before Watergate, senior administration officials hid behind anonymity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-woodward/way-before-watergate-senior-administration-officials-hid-behind/) [Bob Woodward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-woodward/) > [The internet's perfect for all manner of things, but productive discussion ain't one of them. It provides scant room for debate and infinite opportunities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-brooker/the-internet-s-perfect-for-all-manner-of-things-but-productive/) [Charlie Brooker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-brooker/) > [Both multiplayer games and online forums have this property of virtual anonymity. Other people can't really see you; they don't really know who you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-sweeney/both-multiplayer-games-and-online-forums-have-this-property-of/) [Tim Sweeney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-sweeney/) > [People feel they can say nasty things and have anonymity behind the net - as they did with all the nasty comments about me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-roberts/people-feel-they-can-say-nasty-things-and-have-anonymity-behind-the/) [Nicola Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-roberts/) > [Anonymity would be a fantastic umbrella. I don't like intrusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/anonymity-would-be-a-fantastic-umbrella-i-don-t-like-intrusion/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I wouldn't want to even try to begin to describe our customer, as I think she likes a certain amount of anonymity. I try…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phoebe-philo/i-wouldn-t-want-to-even-try-to-begin-to-describe-our-customer-as-i/) [Phoebe Philo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phoebe-philo/) > [Most members of Gamergate, the alt-right movement best known for harassing women in the game industry, operate under a veil of anonymity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brianna-wu/most-members-of-gamergate-the-alt-right-movement-best-known-for/) [Brianna Wu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brianna-wu/) > [I came from anonymity, and I will continue to write as a private pursuit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-g-sebald/i-came-from-anonymity-and-i-will-continue-to-write-as-a-private/) [W. G. Sebald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-g-sebald/) > [The problem with losing your anonymity is that you can never go back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marla-maples/the-problem-with-losing-your-anonymity-is-that-you-can-never-go-back/) [Marla Maples](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marla-maples/) > [Human beings are not meant to lose their anonymity and privacy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-chalke/human-beings-are-not-meant-to-lose-their-anonymity-and-privacy/) [Sarah Chalke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-chalke/) > [Privacy is important to me. But it's not just about sticking two fingers up and saying I don't want anyone to know my business.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-dormer/privacy-is-important-to-me-but-it-s-not-just-about-sticking-two/) [Natalie Dormer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-dormer/) > [Anonymity, in some cases a key civil liberty, also enables society's worst actors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wil-wheaton/anonymity-in-some-cases-a-key-civil-liberty-also-enables-society-s/) [Wil Wheaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wil-wheaton/) [Browse all 285 Anonymity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anonymity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Everything in her wanted to run -fly back to California, back to her quiet existence working among strangers. 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