--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: She was astonished, and at the same time…" description: "\"She was astonished, and at the same time she knew. There were many things in life like that. You couldn’t imagine it, and then it happened and you coul..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34e/ann-brashares-572_astonished_she-was-astonished-and-at-the-same-time_878900.jpg" --- # She was astonished, and at the same time she knew. There… ![“She was astonished, and at the same time she knew. There were many things in life like that. You couldn’t imagine it, and then it happened and you couldn’t really imagine it hadn’t.” quote by Ann Brashares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34e/ann-brashares-572_astonished_she-was-astonished-and-at-the-same-time_878900.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34e/ann-brashares-572_astonished_she-was-astonished-and-at-the-same-time_878900.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34e/ann-brashares-572_astonished_she-was-astonished-and-at-the-same-time_878900.jpg) > “She was astonished, and at the same time she knew. There were many things in life like that. You couldn’t imagine it, and then it happened and you couldn’t really imagine it hadn’t.” [Ann Brashares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-brashares/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote captures the paradox of surprise and inevitability, how unexpected events feel both unimaginable and inevitable once they occur. **In simple terms:** Surprises feel both impossible and inevitable. Key Takeaway Embrace uncertainty and stay open to outcomes. Themes surprise inevitability perception Mood curious reflective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - relationships - personal growth - life events - decision making Key Concepts psychology human experience Questions to Reflect On - How do you reconcile surprise with expectation? - Can you predict when the unexpected will happen? 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"I couldn't let her go.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-porter/makin-my-friend-i-thought-you-were-just-seeing-her-safely-home-i-was/) [Jane Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-porter/) > [There are times when phrases such as 'totally astonished' just don't do the job. I am of course delighted and honoured and, needless to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/there-are-times-when-phrases-such-as-totally-astonished-just-don-t-do/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [I am astonished, disappointed, pleased with myself. I am distressed, depressed, rapturous. I am all these things at once and cannot add up the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/i-am-astonished-disappointed-pleased-with-myself-i-am-distressed/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [“The orb sat, exhausted and astonished.  In a thousand years and more—it had never been thanked for failure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debora-geary/the-orb-sat-exhausted-and-astonished-in-a-thousand-years-and-more-it/) [Debora Geary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debora-geary/) > [Young people have the advantage because they have their whole lives open to be astonished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-libeskind/young-people-have-the-advantage-because-they-have-their-whole-lives/) [Daniel Libeskind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-libeskind/) ## More by Ann Brashares > [“Because the truth wouldn't be comforting and wouldn't bring them closer again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-brashares/because-the-truth-wouldn-t-be-comforting-and-wouldn-t-bring-them/) [Ann Brashares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-brashares/) > [“It’s by living that you live more.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-brashares/it-s-by-living-that-you-live-more/) [Ann Brashares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-brashares/) > [“¿Iban a sumirla en la tristeza antes de hacerla feliz? No, por favor.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-brashares/iban-a-sumirla-en-la-tristeza-antes-de-hacerla-feliz-no-por-favor/) [Ann Brashares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-brashares/) > [“When she made her way to the big picture window that framed the dining room table she froze. She stopped breathing. The anger was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-brashares/when-she-made-her-way-to-the-big-picture-window-that-framed-the/) [Ann Brashares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-brashares/) > [“Lena remembered herself in all the old familiar things they said. She existed in her friends; there she was. All the parts of herself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-brashares/lena-remembered-herself-in-all-the-old-familiar-things-they-said-she/) [Ann Brashares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-brashares/) > [Everyone is fragile. 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If you don't have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-brashares/you-don-t-have-time-len-that-is-the-most-bitter-and-the-most/) [Ann Brashares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-brashares/) > [“You couldn’t count on Providence for anything ever.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-brashares/you-couldn-t-count-on-providence-for-anything-ever/) [Ann Brashares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-brashares/) > [Gestating characters feels something like the mental equivalent of gestating a baby. In both cases, to create them you lose yourself. Or at least…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-brashares/gestating-characters-feels-something-like-the-mental-equivalent-of/) [Ann Brashares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-brashares/) > [“He could take happiness from her, but could he give any?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-brashares/he-could-take-happiness-from-her-but-could-he-give-any/) [Ann Brashares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-brashares/) > [The weather turned. Her skin seemed to grow a million extra pores, and all of them opened to take in the warmth and tenderness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-brashares/the-weather-turned-her-skin-seemed-to-grow-a-million-extra-pores-and/) [Ann Brashares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-brashares/) > [She wanted him to notice her so much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-brashares/she-wanted-him-to-notice-her-so-much/) [Ann Brashares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-brashares/) > [“No matter how it felt to be near him, she had to keep her swollen heart in check.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-brashares/no-matter-how-it-felt-to-be-near-him-she-had-to-keep-her-swollen/) [Ann Brashares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-brashares/) > [Maybe happiness was just a matter of the little upticks- the traffic signal that said "Walk" the second you go there- and downticks- the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-brashares/maybe-happiness-was-just-a-matter-of-the-little-upticks-the-traffic/) [Ann Brashares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-brashares/) [Explore all 465 Ann Brashares quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-brashares/) ## More Astonished quotes > [There are times when phrases such as 'totally astonished' just don't do the job. 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She arrived at hypotheses by sheer intuition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-eisenberg/her-professors-were-astonished-by-her-leaps-of-thought-by-the-finesse/) [Deborah Eisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-eisenberg/) > [In Tasmania, an island the size of Ireland whose primeval forests astonished 19th-century Europeans, an incomprehensible ecological tragedy is being played out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/in-tasmania-an-island-the-size-of-ireland-whose-primeval-forests/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) > [Only a fool is astonished by the foolishness of mankind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/only-a-fool-is-astonished-by-the-foolishness-of-mankind/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“Her thoughts rambled, but she wasn’t daydreaming. Her senses were sharp. She caught the fall of every leaf in the garden, the rustle of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-cashore/her-thoughts-rambled-but-she-wasn-t-daydreaming-her-senses-were-sharp/) [Kristin Cashore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-cashore/) > [I was so astonished that another had penetrated so deeply into the secrets of my soul, and that he knew what I did not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-muller/i-was-so-astonished-that-another-had-penetrated-so-deeply-into-the/) [Max Muller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-muller/) > [When I saw the plane, I was absolutely astonished! Two emotions crashed over me: surging joy and crazy fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abby-sunderland/when-i-saw-the-plane-i-was-absolutely-astonished-two-emotions-crashed/) [Abby Sunderland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abby-sunderland/) > [“To be astonished is one of the surest ways of not growing old too quickly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidonie-gabrielle-colette-2/to-be-astonished-is-one-of-the-surest-ways-of-not-growing-old-too/) [Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidonie-gabrielle-colette-2/) > [I'm astonished at how readily a great many people I know, young people, have accepted a reduced economic prospect and limited freedoms in any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaron-lanier/i-m-astonished-at-how-readily-a-great-many-people-i-know-young-people/) [Jaron Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaron-lanier/) > [In literature as in love, we are astonished at what is chosen by others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-maurois/in-literature-as-in-love-we-are-astonished-at-what-is-chosen-by-others/) [Andre Maurois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-maurois/) > [Do you know what astonished me the most in this world? The inability of force to create anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/do-you-know-what-astonished-me-the-most-in-this-world-the-inability/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [The amazing heroic women in labor, they are the truest inspiration, and when they push their babies into the light... I am astonished every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-lim/the-amazing-heroic-women-in-labor-they-are-the-truest-inspiration-and/) [Robin Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-lim/) [Browse all 104 Astonished quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/astonished/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "She was astonished, and at the same time she knew. There were many things in life like that. 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