--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I’m probably just as good a mother as the…" description: "\"I’m probably just as good a mother as the next repressed, obsessive-compulsive paranoiac.\" — Anne Lamott" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc1/anne-lamott-188_good-mother_i-m-probably-just-as-good-a-mother-as-th_1451902.png" --- # I’m probably just as good a mother as the next repressed… ![“I’m probably just as good a mother as the next repressed, obsessive-compulsive paranoiac.” quote by Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc1/anne-lamott-188_good-mother_i-m-probably-just-as-good-a-mother-as-th_1451902.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc1/anne-lamott-188_good-mother_i-m-probably-just-as-good-a-mother-as-th_1451902.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc1/anne-lamott-188_good-mother_i-m-probably-just-as-good-a-mother-as-th_1451902.png) > “I’m probably just as good a mother as the next repressed, obsessive-compulsive paranoiac.” [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker humorously compares her mothering to that of others, acknowledging shared flaws and obsessive traits. **In simple terms:** She sees herself as a typical mother with quirks. Key Takeaway Accept imperfections and find solidarity. Themes motherhood humor self‑acceptance Mood reflective lighthearted Type personal humorous When to use this quote - parenting groups - therapy sessions - online forums Key Concepts self‑criticism social comparison Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance self‑critique with compassion? - What shared struggles unite mothers? A Different Perspective Humor may mask deeper anxieties. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother/) [Paranoiac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paranoiac/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) ## Related quotes > [“My mother repressed a shudder of apprehension, for, being more rapid in perception than my father, she grew alarmed on his account over things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/my-mother-repressed-a-shudder-of-apprehension-for-being-more-rapid-in/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [My access point to the '70s is films from that time, and they all have that paranoiac quality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-hall/my-access-point-to-the-70s-is-films-from-that-time-and-they-all-have/) [Rebecca Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-hall/) > [“Scratch a professor and you find a paranoiac, Barlow thought. But scratch a dean and you find a con artist.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-la-farge/scratch-a-professor-and-you-find-a-paranoiac-barlow-thought-but/) [Paul La Farge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-la-farge/) > [“About his madmen Mr. Lecky was no more certain. He knew less than the little to be learned of the causes or even of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gould-cozzens/about-his-madmen-mr-lecky-was-no-more-certain-he-knew-less-than-the/) [James Gould Cozzens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gould-cozzens/) > [“It's kind of a dark little life . . . being a paranoiac, but it's also not without its comforts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-shakar/it-s-kind-of-a-dark-little-life-being-a-paranoiac-but-it-s-also-not/) [Alex Shakar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-shakar/) > [I am a kind of paranoiac in reverse. I suspect people of plotting to make me happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-am-a-kind-of-paranoiac-in-reverse-i-suspect-people-of-plotting-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A paranoiac, like a poet, is born, not made.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-bunuel/a-paranoiac-like-a-poet-is-born-not-made/) [Luis Bunuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-bunuel/) > [“Can I say something out loud? Is anybody listening?" "Everybody. Nobody. Does it matter?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/can-i-say-something-out-loud-is-anybody-listening-everybody-nobody/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [Paranoiac-critical activity makes the world of delirium pass onto the plane of reality...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salvador-dali/paranoiac-critical-activity-makes-the-world-of-delirium-pass-onto-the/) [Salvador Dali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salvador-dali/) > [The paranoiac is the exact image of the ruler. The only difference is their position in the world. One might even think the paranoiac…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elias-canetti/the-paranoiac-is-the-exact-image-of-the-ruler-the-only-difference-is/) [Elias Canetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elias-canetti/) > [I believe that the moment is near when by a procedure of active paranoiac thought, it will be possible to systematize confusion and contribute…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salvador-dali/i-believe-that-the-moment-is-near-when-by-a-procedure-of-active/) [Salvador Dali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salvador-dali/) > [Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor, the enemy of the people. It will keep you cramped and insane your whole life, and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/perfectionism-is-the-voice-of-the-oppressor-the-enemy-of-the-people-6/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [I think I'm an extremely good mother. I know I'm an extremely good mother. But I didn't realise how much it sucks out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-kingston/i-think-i-m-an-extremely-good-mother-i-know-i-m-an-extremely-good/) [Alex Kingston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-kingston/) > [I'm working at trying to be a Christian, and that's serious business. It's like trying to be a good Jew, a good Muslim, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/i-m-working-at-trying-to-be-a-christian-and-that-s-serious-business/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [My mam worked for 41 years. She was a single working mother. I think I always had that mentality of you can do everything.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-whitmore/my-mam-worked-for-41-years-she-was-a-single-working-mother-i-think-i/) [Laura Whitmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-whitmore/) ## More by Anne Lamott > [What an incredible drug fear is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/what-an-incredible-drug-fear-is/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [I guess he'll have to figure out someday that he is supposed to have this dark side, that it is part of what it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-guess-he-ll-have-to-figure-out-someday-that-he-is-supposed-to-have/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [It's funny where we look for salvation, and where we actually find it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/it-s-funny-where-we-look-for-salvation-and-where-we-actually-find-it/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [Why couldn't Jesus command us to obsess over everything, to try to control and manipulate people, to try not to breathe at all, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/why-couldn-t-jesus-command-us-to-obsess-over-everything-to-try-to/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [Publication is not all that it is cracked up to be. But writing is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/publication-is-not-all-that-it-is-cracked-up-to-be-but-writing-is/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [Your problem is how you are going to spend this one odd and precious life you have been issued. Whether you're going to spend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/your-problem-is-how-you-are-going-to-spend-this-one-odd-and-precious/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [And yet, I do believe there is ultimately meaning in the chaos, and also in the doldrums. What I resist is not the truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/and-yet-i-do-believe-there-is-ultimately-meaning-in-the-chaos-and/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [Raising a child, whether or not it is yours, is like Nautilus of the heart and soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/raising-a-child-whether-or-not-it-is-yours-is-like-nautilus-of-the/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“I heard a preacher say recently that hope is a revolutionary patience; let me add that so is being a writer. Hope begins in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-heard-a-preacher-say-recently-that-hope-is-a-revolutionary-patience/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“I think perfectionism is based on the obsessive belief that if you run carefully enough, hitting each stepping-stone just right, you won't have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-think-perfectionism-is-based-on-the-obsessive-belief-that-if-you/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [All criticism hurts me. I'm so in the wrong business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/all-criticism-hurts-me-i-m-so-in-the-wrong-business/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [We are going to die, as is everyone we adore - I hate this! But the question is, how do we live as women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/we-are-going-to-die-as-is-everyone-we-adore-i-hate-this-but-the/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“You will go through your life thinking there was a day in second grade that you must have missed, when the grown-ups came in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/you-will-go-through-your-life-thinking-there-was-a-day-in-second/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“You begin to string words together like beads to tell a story. You are desperate to communicate, to edify or entertain, to preserve moments…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/you-begin-to-string-words-together-like-beads-to-tell-a-story-you-are/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“You lose the known package of your nice organized self almost instantly here. Overeating is one way back, the way it is at funerals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/you-lose-the-known-package-of-your-nice-organized-self-almost/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) [Explore all 976 Anne Lamott quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) ## More Good mother quotes > [My mam worked for 41 years. She was a single working mother. I think I always had that mentality of you can do everything.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-whitmore/my-mam-worked-for-41-years-she-was-a-single-working-mother-i-think-i/) [Laura Whitmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-whitmore/) > [I'm working at trying to be a Christian, and that's serious business. It's like trying to be a good Jew, a good Muslim, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/i-m-working-at-trying-to-be-a-christian-and-that-s-serious-business/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I think I'm an extremely good mother. I know I'm an extremely good mother. But I didn't realise how much it sucks out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-kingston/i-think-i-m-an-extremely-good-mother-i-know-i-m-an-extremely-good/) [Alex Kingston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-kingston/) > [You've got a movie where the pro-choice family gives their daughter no choice. The pro-life family murders. What seems to be the good mother,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-barkin/you-ve-got-a-movie-where-the-pro-choice-family-gives-their-daughter/) [Ellen Barkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-barkin/) > [I am a good mother and I feel proud about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-mortimer/i-am-a-good-mother-and-i-feel-proud-about-it/) [Emily Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-mortimer/) > [Getting pregnant at a young age isn't cute but, being a good mother at a young age deserves respect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/getting-pregnant-at-a-young-age-isn-t-cute-but-being-a-good-mother-at/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Being a good mother is really so hard and so important, and it's this thing that all people long for. Think of all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-sorvino/being-a-good-mother-is-really-so-hard-and-so-important-and-it-s-this/) [Mira Sorvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-sorvino/) > [Let us then cast ourselves at the feet of this good Mother, and embracing them let us not depart until she blesses us, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-of-clairvaux/let-us-then-cast-ourselves-at-the-feet-of-this-good-mother-and/) [Bernard of Clairvaux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-of-clairvaux/) > [When I was young, I thought I wouldn't be a good mother. Now I think I would be, but I'm too long in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robyn-davidson/when-i-was-young-i-thought-i-wouldn-t-be-a-good-mother-now-i-think-i/) [Robyn Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robyn-davidson/) > [“I wonder if there's a difference between being a dutiful mother and being a good mother.' There is,' I said, and Charlotte looked up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/i-wonder-if-there-s-a-difference-between-being-a-dutiful-mother-and/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [No role in life is more important than to be a good mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cook/no-role-in-life-is-more-important-than-to-be-a-good-mother/) [James Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-cook/) > [I was not a very good mother. I was always running out to do a movie or something. If I had to do it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-woodward/i-was-not-a-very-good-mother-i-was-always-running-out-to-do-a-movie/) [Joanne Woodward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-woodward/) > [Part of being a good mother means sometimes taking your own well being and needs into account when making decisions about how you mother…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/part-of-being-a-good-mother-means-sometimes-taking-your-own-well/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Walks the Fire is a good woman. She is white,but she has been among you for many years now.She was a good wife to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-grace-whitson/walks-the-fire-is-a-good-woman-she-is-white-but-she-has-been-among/) [Stephanie Grace Whitson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-grace-whitson/) > [I was raised by a very strict, good mother, so I won't be getting out of line anytime soon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexa-vega/i-was-raised-by-a-very-strict-good-mother-so-i-won-t-be-getting-out/) [Alexa Vega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexa-vega/) Browse all 193 Good mother quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I’m probably just as good a mother as the next repressed, obsessive-compulsive paranoiac.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anne Lamott" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-m-probably-just-as-good-a-mother-as-the-next-repressed-obsessive/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Good mother" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-m-probably-just-as-good-a-mother-as-the-next-repressed-obsessive/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc1/anne-lamott-188_good-mother_i-m-probably-just-as-good-a-mother-as-th_1451902.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc1/anne-lamott-188_good-mother_i-m-probably-just-as-good-a-mother-as-th_1451902.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc1/anne-lamott-188_good-mother_i-m-probably-just-as-good-a-mother-as-th_1451902.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I’m probably just as good a mother as the next repressed, obsessive-compulsive paranoiac.” — Anne Lamott", "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": "Anne Lamott", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I’m probably just as good a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-m-probably-just-as-good-a-mother-as-the-next-repressed-obsessive/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-m-probably-just-as-good-a-mother-as-the-next-repressed-obsessive/#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 } } ] } ```