--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In retrospect, it seems obvious that my…" description: "\"“In retrospect, it seems obvious that my research about parenting was also a means to subdue my anxieties about becoming a parent… I grew up afraid of ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f8f/andrew-solomon-1140_becoming-a-parent_in-retrospect-it-seems-obvious-that-my-r_1398359.jpg" --- # In retrospect, it seems obvious that my research about… ![“In retrospect, it seems obvious that my research about parenting was also a means to subdue my anxieties about becoming a parent… I grew up afraid of illness and disability, inclined to avert my gaze from anyone who was too different – despite all the ways I knew myself to be different. This book…” quote by Andrew Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f8f/andrew-solomon-1140_becoming-a-parent_in-retrospect-it-seems-obvious-that-my-r_1398359.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f8f/andrew-solomon-1140_becoming-a-parent_in-retrospect-it-seems-obvious-that-my-r_1398359.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f8f/andrew-solomon-1140_becoming-a-parent_in-retrospect-it-seems-obvious-that-my-r_1398359.jpg) > ““In retrospect, it seems obvious that my research about parenting was also a means to subdue my anxieties about becoming a parent… I grew up afraid of illness and disability, inclined to avert my gaze from anyone who was too different – despite all the ways I knew myself to be different. This book helped me kill that bigoted impulse, which I had always known to be ugly. The obvious melancholy in the stories I heard should, perhaps, have made me shy away from paternity, but it had the opposite effect.”” [Andrew Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-solomon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author reflects on how researching parenting helped confront personal anxieties and biases, turning fear into empathy and acceptance of difference. **In simple terms:** Research helped him face his fears and accept differences. Key Takeaway Use personal work to challenge hidden biases. Themes self‑awareness parenting bias empathy growth Mood reflective hopeful Type personal psychological When to use this quote - parenting workshops - therapy sessions - diverse family gatherings - self‑reflection journals Key Concepts psychology identity social prejudice healing Questions to Reflect On - How do personal projects reveal hidden fears? - What steps can you take to transform bias into empathy? A Different Perspective Changing deep‑seated biases can be painful and may encounter resistance from oneself or others. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Becoming a parent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/becoming-a-parent/) [Disability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disability/) [Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father/) [Fatherhood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fatherhood/) [Parenthood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenthood/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Parents-and-children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parents-and-children/) [Sad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sad/) ## Related quotes > [“The idea of love doesn’t account for a fear of loss. 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I'm telling your graces; from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/i-too-have-sworn-heedlessly-and-all-the-time-i-have-had-this-most/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [One thing I always want to clear up was the notion that I 'took time off to have a baby.' A lot people leapt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geena-davis/one-thing-i-always-want-to-clear-up-was-the-notion-that-i-took-time/) [Geena Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geena-davis/) > [I think that becoming a parent kind of made me try to be more responsible. And it made me much more stressful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etgar-keret/i-think-that-becoming-a-parent-kind-of-made-me-try-to-be-more/) [Etgar Keret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etgar-keret/) > [You know, I think becoming a parent has really changed the way that I feel impacted by what's going on in the world around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anoushka-shankar/you-know-i-think-becoming-a-parent-has-really-changed-the-way-that-i/) [Anoushka Shankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anoushka-shankar/) > [The amazing thing about becoming a parent is that you will never again be your own first priority.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-wilde/the-amazing-thing-about-becoming-a-parent-is-that-you-will-never/) [Olivia Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-wilde/) > [A moral society will not set standards for becoming a parent, but it will establish irreducible minimums for maintaining that sacred status.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-vachss/a-moral-society-will-not-set-standards-for-becoming-a-parent-but-it/) [Andrew Vachss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-vachss/) > [I don't have a fear of becoming a parent, but I do have a fear of taking care of a newborn because they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsay-price/i-don-t-have-a-fear-of-becoming-a-parent-but-i-do-have-a-fear-of/) [Lindsay Price](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsay-price/) > [Fathering is not something perfect men do, but something that perfects the man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-pittman/fathering-is-not-something-perfect-men-do-but-something-that-perfects/) [Frank Pittman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-pittman/) > [Becoming a parent erased many of my negative childhood feelings and filled them in with something new.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariska-hargitay/becoming-a-parent-erased-many-of-my-negative-childhood-feelings-and/) [Mariska Hargitay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariska-hargitay/) > [“Life, Rose well knew, could throw some hard punches at you, but nothing hurt as much as losing a child, or seeing one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-donnelly/life-rose-well-knew-could-throw-some-hard-punches-at-you-but-nothing/) [Jennifer Donnelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-donnelly/) > [“Dying, in other words — like combat, like becoming a parent, like any transformative life event — doesn’t always reveal or intensify aspects of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-senior/dying-in-other-words-like-combat-like-becoming-a-parent-like-any/) [Jennifer Senior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-senior/) > [There comes a point in life when fun no longer means clubbing, drinking or being out till 4am, or thinking about yourself! 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