--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I had a student some years ago whose…" description: "\"I had a student some years ago whose father had worked on the Manhattan Project. I had a student who had to escape this very intense, born-again fundam..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d4/anne-waldman-4046_backgrounds_i-had-a-student-some-years-ago-whose-fat_3059648.png" --- # I had a student some years ago whose father had worked on… ![“I had a student some years ago whose father had worked on the Manhattan Project. I had a student who had to escape this very intense, born-again fundamentalist Christian background that was very much like a cult and of course they struggle to get to Naropa. And they have cut themselves off. They…” quote by Anne Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d4/anne-waldman-4046_backgrounds_i-had-a-student-some-years-ago-whose-fat_3059648.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d4/anne-waldman-4046_backgrounds_i-had-a-student-some-years-ago-whose-fat_3059648.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d4/anne-waldman-4046_backgrounds_i-had-a-student-some-years-ago-whose-fat_3059648.png) > “I had a student some years ago whose father had worked on the Manhattan Project. I had a student who had to escape this very intense, born-again fundamentalist Christian background that was very much like a cult and of course they struggle to get to Naropa. And they have cut themselves off. They don't look back.” [Anne Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-waldman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A student escaped a restrictive, cult‑like upbringing and now avoids looking back, illustrating deep trauma and isolation. **In simple terms:** Leaving a cult leaves lasting scars. Key Takeaway Support healing and connection. Themes trauma cult dynamics recovery Mood empathetic somber Type psychological inspirational When to use this quote - counseling - support groups - creative expression Key Concepts psychology spirituality Questions to Reflect On - What resources aid reintegration? - How can communities welcome those who left? A Different Perspective Recovery is non‑linear and may involve setbacks. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Backgrounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/backgrounds/) [Born](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/born/) [Born again](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/born-again/) [Born Fundamentalist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/born-fundamentalist-5126955/) [Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christian/) [Courses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courses/) [Cult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cult/) [Cutting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cutting/) [Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father/) [Fundamentalist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fundamentalist/) [Fundamentalist Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fundamentalist-christian-1359522/) [Intense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intense/) [Looks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looks/) [Manhattan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manhattan/) [Manhattan project](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manhattan-project/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Projects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/projects/) [Struggle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggle/) [Struggle Naropa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggle-naropa-5126956/) [Students](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/students/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) [Years ago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years-ago/) ## Related quotes > [“Explaining evolution to a fundamentalist Christian is like trying to explain Calculus to someone with absolutely no grasp of Maths.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-b-lockhart/explaining-evolution-to-a-fundamentalist-christian-is-like-trying-to/) [Peter B. Lockhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-b-lockhart/) > [The belief in eternal torment, still subscribed to by fundamentalist Christian denominations, undoubtedly ranks as the most vicious and reprehensible doctrine of classical Christianity.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-h-smith/the-belief-in-eternal-torment-still-subscribed-to-by-fundamentalist/) [George H. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-h-smith/) > [You never run into a fundamentalist Christian as intolerant of - take anything, you know, homosexuality as a liberal who has just found a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-coulter/you-never-run-into-a-fundamentalist-christian-as-intolerant-of-take/) [Ann Coulter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-coulter/) > [I was raised fundamentalist Christian, and now I'm not that. It was not an act of rebellion or anything. For me, it was about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-thile/i-was-raised-fundamentalist-christian-and-now-i-m-not-that-it-was-not/) [Chris Thile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-thile/) > [“Bernadette never went to Mass; she was a fundamentalist Christian. Mother often said she only used religion as a framework for her craziness. She…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donal-ryan/bernadette-never-went-to-mass-she-was-a-fundamentalist-christian/) [Donal Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donal-ryan/) > [In the eyes of the Associated Press, American Christianity, which springs from the Protestant Reformation, is fundamentalist. And Christian Fundamentalists, radical Muslims, Hindu extremists,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-robertson/in-the-eyes-of-the-associated-press-american-christianity-which/) [Pat Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-robertson/) > [I grew up in a very working-class family and also a very fundamentalist Christian family. So, we didn't have access to the arts in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-thompson/i-grew-up-in-a-very-working-class-family-and-also-a-very/) [Craig Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-thompson/) > [You don't have to be a Fundamentalist Christian to be interested in the Bible. It's really a fascinating mythology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-crumb/you-don-t-have-to-be-a-fundamentalist-christian-to-be-interested-in/) [Robert Crumb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-crumb/) > [I went to a fundamentalist Christian high school and went to a fundamentalist church, and they were the greatest people; there was an amazing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-derrickson/i-went-to-a-fundamentalist-christian-high-school-and-went-to-a/) [Scott Derrickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-derrickson/) > [Creating fear and loathing of gay and lesbian Americans has proven, year after year, to be the most effective say for Dobson and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-white/creating-fear-and-loathing-of-gay-and-lesbian-americans-has-proven/) [Mel White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-white/) > [It's beginning to feel like there is no room in America for anyone who is not a fundamentalist Christian.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-white/it-s-beginning-to-feel-like-there-is-no-room-in-america-for-anyone/) [Mel White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-white/) > [Any hope that America would finally grow up vanished with the rise of fundamentalist Christianity. Fundamentalism, with its born-again regression, its pink-and-gold concept of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-king/any-hope-that-america-would-finally-grow-up-vanished-with-the-rise-of/) [Florence King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-king/) > [I grew up in a very fundamentalist, evangelical Christian household. Both my parents were born-again - their faith infused every aspect of my childhood.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-thompson/i-grew-up-in-a-very-fundamentalist-evangelical-christian-household/) [Craig Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-thompson/) > [We think the Republicans are the ones who started this fundamentalist religion claptrap, you know? It was Jimmy Carter. He's the one who talked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-scheer/we-think-the-republicans-are-the-ones-who-started-this-fundamentalist/) [Robert Scheer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-scheer/) > [“Many fundamentalist Christian Evangelicals are racist because religion and racism are two sides of the same coin. Both are nothing more than primitive tribalism:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-markus-malloy/many-fundamentalist-christian-evangelicals-are-racist-because/) [Oliver Markus Malloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-markus-malloy/) ## More by Anne Waldman > [I get worked up over an 'idea' or the ethos of an idea. I follow dreams, take notes on travels, and engage in research…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-waldman/i-get-worked-up-over-an-idea-or-the-ethos-of-an-idea-i-follow-dreams/) [Anne Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-waldman/) > [ We pride ourselves at Natrona - I mean, pride {ironically\] - on developing a noncompetitive community. That's very important. The values that can come… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-waldman/we-pride-ourselves-at-natrona-i-mean-pride-ironically-on-developing-a/) [Anne Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-waldman/) > [My father was a frustrated writer. I think he wanted to write the great American novel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-waldman/my-father-was-a-frustrated-writer-i-think-he-wanted-to-write-the/) [Anne Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-waldman/) > [No one begs you to be a poet or write a 1000-page poem. You have to be fueled by a drive, a conviction -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-waldman/no-one-begs-you-to-be-a-poet-or-write-a-1000-page-poem-you-have-to-be/) [Anne Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-waldman/) > [For me there is a poesis, a poetics, around the trope of the road that is embedded within many life experiences of the people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-waldman/for-me-there-is-a-poesis-a-poetics-around-the-trope-of-the-road-that/) [Anne Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-waldman/) > [There's a kind of training, when you are sitting in a session in the Japanese tradition or any of the Buddhist traditions, taking your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-waldman/there-s-a-kind-of-training-when-you-are-sitting-in-a-session-in-the/) [Anne Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-waldman/) > [I had parents who were attentive to what was going on politically. There was the Greek connection, a sense of a larger world. People…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-waldman/i-had-parents-who-were-attentive-to-what-was-going-on-politically/) [Anne Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-waldman/) > [In a way, America's the shadow of everything I do, everywhere I go, everything I carry, no matter if I travel to the ends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-waldman/in-a-way-america-s-the-shadow-of-everything-i-do-everywhere-i-go/) [Anne Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-waldman/) > [When I look at my life there are these streams, these things that have continuity from the fifties to now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-waldman/when-i-look-at-my-life-there-are-these-streams-these-things-that-have/) [Anne Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-waldman/) > [We humans need to do better with our vast minds and alchemical powers. Future radial poetries might be more symbiotic with the rest of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-waldman/we-humans-need-to-do-better-with-our-vast-minds-and-alchemical-powers/) [Anne Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-waldman/) > [ I think anything that gets people outside \[is good\] - I'm a big supporter of public parks and public spaces. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-waldman/i-think-anything-that-gets-people-outside-is-good-i-m-a-big-supporter/) [Anne Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-waldman/) > [Idea that all the beats are wildly liberal and progressive is ridiculous. You have people thinking for themselves and having certain affinities because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-waldman/idea-that-all-the-beats-are-wildly-liberal-and-progressive-is/) [Anne Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-waldman/) > [I think of my father born in this very small, limited situation and then coming out of that. Many people have this story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-waldman/i-think-of-my-father-born-in-this-very-small-limited-situation-and/) [Anne Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-waldman/) > [When I attended the Berkeley Poetry Conference in 1965, I was very inspired. The collaboration of many poets from these alternative traditions - though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-waldman/when-i-attended-the-berkeley-poetry-conference-in-1965-i-was-very/) [Anne Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-waldman/) > [One has to be cautious and respectful of the power of the "substance" guides. I don't advocate imbibing the "little saint children," as Maria…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-waldman/one-has-to-be-cautious-and-respectful-of-the-power-of-the-substance/) [Anne Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-waldman/) [Explore all 117 Anne Waldman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-waldman/) ## More Backgrounds quotes > [We do not want to be reminded that it is we, the indigenous people, who are poor and exploited in the land of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-biko/we-do-not-want-to-be-reminded-that-it-is-we-the-indigenous-people-who/) [Steven Biko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-biko/) > [When you see how fragile and delicate life can be, all else fades into the background.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenna-morasca/when-you-see-how-fragile-and-delicate-life-can-be-all-else-fades-into/) [Jenna Morasca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenna-morasca/) > [Worship is not about personality, temperament, personal limitations, church background, or comfort. It is about God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wimber/worship-is-not-about-personality-temperament-personal-limitations/) [John Wimber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wimber/) > [Eventually the consumer will come to appreciate the editorial point of view of every different brand. User-generated content without editorial oversight will simply be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eisner/eventually-the-consumer-will-come-to-appreciate-the-editorial-point/) [Michael Eisner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eisner/) > [I bring my classical training - some of it, but not all of it - and also my background and culture, to spirituals. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-battle/i-bring-my-classical-training-some-of-it-but-not-all-of-it-and-also/) [Kathleen Battle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-battle/) > [The acting background helped a lot when I started writing. I was training for it. In acting class they teach you about the stakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-higgins-clark/the-acting-background-helped-a-lot-when-i-started-writing-i-was/) [Carol Higgins Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-higgins-clark/) > [In the dim background of our mind we know meanwhile what we ought to be doing: getting up, dressing ourselves, answering the person who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/in-the-dim-background-of-our-mind-we-know-meanwhile-what-we-ought-to/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [I think it is a sin to look at another person as inferior to yourself because of race or because of ethnic background and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/i-think-it-is-a-sin-to-look-at-another-person-as-inferior-to-yourself/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [The thing that is making jazz healthy today is that people are coming out of other backgrounds - from rock, folk, from ethnic music.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-taylor/the-thing-that-is-making-jazz-healthy-today-is-that-people-are-coming/) [Billy Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-taylor/) > [We do not have to be ashamed of what we are. As sentient beings we have wonderful backgrounds. These backgrounds may not be particularly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chogyam-trungpa/we-do-not-have-to-be-ashamed-of-what-we-are-as-sentient-beings-we/) [Chogyam Trungpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chogyam-trungpa/) > [People from my sort of background needed grammar schools to compete with children from privileged homes like Shirley Williams and Anthony Wedgwood Benn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/people-from-my-sort-of-background-needed-grammar-schools-to-compete/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [Persons who have cleansed themselves of any transgression and who have shown their ability to deal with homosexual inclinations and put them in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallin-h-oaks/persons-who-have-cleansed-themselves-of-any-transgression-and-who/) [Dallin H. 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Since many of the writers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-schmidt/and-of-course-some-sf-is-set-close-enough-to-here-and-now-that-anglo/) [Stanley Schmidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-schmidt/) > [For me, I try to look at a person's swagger and a little background on them if I already haven't liked them as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bivins/for-me-i-try-to-look-at-a-person-s-swagger-and-a-little-background-on/) [Michael Bivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bivins/) [Browse all 1,648 Backgrounds quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/backgrounds/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I had a student some years ago whose father had worked on the Manhattan Project. I had a student who had to escape this very intense, born-again fundamentalist Christian background that was very much like a cult and of course they struggle to get to Naropa. And they have cut themselves off. 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