--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: She was a stray after all. A stray not…" description: "\"“She was a stray after all. A stray not only in its plantation meaning-orphaned, with no one to look after her-but in every other sphere as well. Somew..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/078/colson-whitehead-1042_aloneness_she-was-a-stray-after-all-a-stray-not-on_2287404.png" --- # She was a stray after all. A stray not only in its… ![“She was a stray after all. A stray not only in its plantation meaning-orphaned, with no one to look after her-but in every other sphere as well. Somewhere, years ago, she had stepped off the path of life and could no longer find her way back to the family of people.” quote by Colson Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/078/colson-whitehead-1042_aloneness_she-was-a-stray-after-all-a-stray-not-on_2287404.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/078/colson-whitehead-1042_aloneness_she-was-a-stray-after-all-a-stray-not-on_2287404.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/078/colson-whitehead-1042_aloneness_she-was-a-stray-after-all-a-stray-not-on_2287404.png) > ““She was a stray after all. A stray not only in its plantation meaning-orphaned, with no one to look after her-but in every other sphere as well. Somewhere, years ago, she had stepped off the path of life and could no longer find her way back to the family of people.”” [Colson Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colson-whitehead/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Feeling lost can stem from abandonment in many life areas, leading to a deep sense of disconnection from community and purpose. **In simple terms:** Being lost often means feeling abandoned and disconnected. Key Takeaway Seek connections and purpose to restore belonging. Themes loneliness identity search for belonging Mood melancholic reflective Type narrative emotional When to use this quote - family estrangement - career uncertainty - mental health struggles - immigrant experiences Key Concepts existential alienation psychological trauma social isolation Questions to Reflect On - What relationships could help you feel grounded? - How can you rebuild a sense of belonging? A Different Perspective Even when lost, one can find direction through community support. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aloneness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aloneness/) [Family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/family/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Isolation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/isolation/) [Path of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/path-of-life/) ## Related quotes > [“The truth is you can be orphaned again and again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/the-truth-is-you-can-be-orphaned-again-and-again/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [A child, when orphaned, can become anything. If I had not joined the Army, who knows, I may have become a dacoit. I give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milkha-singh/a-child-when-orphaned-can-become-anything-if-i-had-not-joined-the/) [Milkha Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milkha-singh/) > [“ORPHAN TRAIN is a specifically American story of mobility and rootlessness, highlighting a little-known but historically significant moment in our country’s past. Between 1854…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-baker-kline/orphan-train-is-a-specifically-american-story-of-mobility-and/) [Christina Baker Kline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-baker-kline/) > [Asks an orphaned childhood, I am a sign of someone's sin, or I'm result of mistake of youth their mother's . Whatever. I haven't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/asks-an-orphaned-childhood-i-am-a-sign-of-someone-s-sin-or-i-m-result/) Mak\_786 > [“It's like being dropped into a black hole. A vacuum of existence. When I turn around, I will be instantly orphaned because I'll know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-wunder/it-s-like-being-dropped-into-a-black-hole-a-vacuum-of-existence-when/) [Wendy Wunder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-wunder/) > [The truth is you can be orphaned again and again and again. The truth is, you will be. And the secret is, this will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/the-truth-is-you-can-be-orphaned-again-and-again-and-again-the-truth/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [My father was the orphaned son of immigrants to the United States from Ireland. My father never knew his parents. His mother died -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-j-mitchell/my-father-was-the-orphaned-son-of-immigrants-to-the-united-states/) [George J. Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-j-mitchell/) > [It's not so much that I want to direct but that I have to. When I write something it terrifies me that if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-mullan/it-s-not-so-much-that-i-want-to-direct-but-that-i-have-to-when-i/) [Peter Mullan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-mullan/) > [...she knew in her heart that nature has a preference for a particular order: parents die, then children die. But it was a harsh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-frazier/she-knew-in-her-heart-that-nature-has-a-preference-for-a-particular/) [Charles Frazier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-frazier/) > [Divorce in a young-adult novel means what being orphaned meant in a fairy tale: vulnerability, danger, unwanted independence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caitlin-flanagan/divorce-in-a-young-adult-novel-means-what-being-orphaned-meant-in-a/) [Caitlin Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caitlin-flanagan/) > [“They weren't my family and it wasn't my holiday, but I was orphaned and an atheist and I would take what I could get.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/they-weren-t-my-family-and-it-wasn-t-my-holiday-but-i-was-orphaned/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [Did you know a child is orphaned by AIDS every 15 seconds. Millions of children are going it alone. Missing their childhood. Missing their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-glover/did-you-know-a-child-is-orphaned-by-aids-every-15-seconds-millions-of/) [Danny Glover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-glover/) > [This country was filled with violent children orphaned by war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/this-country-was-filled-with-violent-children-orphaned-by-war/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [With spirit we are all children of the cosmos; Without it we are orphaned and adrift.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/with-spirit-we-are-all-children-of-the-cosmos-without-it-we-are/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [As an adult, it's a huge shock to be orphaned; as a child it's just hideous, ghastly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-scott-thomas/as-an-adult-it-s-a-huge-shock-to-be-orphaned-as-a-child-it-s-just/) [Kristin Scott Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-scott-thomas/) ## More by Colson Whitehead > [I'd never been much of an athlete, due to a physical condition I'd had since birth (unathleticism). Perhaps if there were a sport centered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colson-whitehead/i-d-never-been-much-of-an-athlete-due-to-a-physical-condition-i-d-had/) [Colson Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colson-whitehead/) > [I want to keep growing as a writer. I find myself doing unexpected projects and sort of challenging my idea of where I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colson-whitehead/i-want-to-keep-growing-as-a-writer-i-find-myself-doing-unexpected/) [Colson Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colson-whitehead/) > [“Every Tuesday, James Fulton (and later, Orville Lever) stood in the downstairs drawing room and lectured on the intricacies of his science. Lectured on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colson-whitehead/every-tuesday-james-fulton-and-later-orville-lever-stood-in-the/) [Colson Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colson-whitehead/) > [I started writing in the '90s, so I was free to just have an eccentric career and not conform to some idea of what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colson-whitehead/i-started-writing-in-the-90s-so-i-was-free-to-just-have-an-eccentric/) [Colson Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colson-whitehead/) > [“Is this the truth of our historic encounter?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colson-whitehead/is-this-the-truth-of-our-historic-encounter/) [Colson Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colson-whitehead/) > [“The Great War had always been between the white and the black. It always would be. Cora”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colson-whitehead/the-great-war-had-always-been-between-the-white-and-the-black-it/) [Colson Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colson-whitehead/) > [“The worst sort of scoundrels took up the chase. Drunkards, incorrigibles, poor whites who didn’t even own shoes delighted in this opportunity to scourge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colson-whitehead/the-worst-sort-of-scoundrels-took-up-the-chase-drunkards/) [Colson Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colson-whitehead/) > [Don’t go searching for a subject, let your subject find you. You can’t rush inspiration. … Once your subject finds you, it’s like falling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colson-whitehead/don-t-go-searching-for-a-subject-let-your-subject-find-you-you-can-t/) [Colson Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colson-whitehead/) > [“its terms? Homer watched her as she dressed, like a valet who had waited on her since the cradle. “I’m caught,” Cora said. “You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colson-whitehead/its-terms-homer-watched-her-as-she-dressed-like-a-valet-who-had/) [Colson Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colson-whitehead/) > [These days I find myself wanting to avoid being pigeon-holed, ghettoized, held in a different category than other authors. And when people ask me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colson-whitehead/these-days-i-find-myself-wanting-to-avoid-being-pigeon-holed/) [Colson Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colson-whitehead/) > [Part of any book is establishing the rules at the end of the world. My first book, 'The Intuitionist,' takes place in an alternative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colson-whitehead/part-of-any-book-is-establishing-the-rules-at-the-end-of-the-world-my/) [Colson Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colson-whitehead/) > [There's always an attack on the sophomore novel from some quarters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colson-whitehead/there-s-always-an-attack-on-the-sophomore-novel-from-some-quarters/) [Colson Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colson-whitehead/) > [“All he felt now was envy. These people had expectations. Of the world, of the future, it didn't matter--expectation was such an innovative concept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colson-whitehead/all-he-felt-now-was-envy-these-people-had-expectations-of-the-world/) [Colson Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colson-whitehead/) > [Growing up as a product of the black civil-rights movement, I had a lot of different models for black weirdness, whether it's Richard Pryor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colson-whitehead/growing-up-as-a-product-of-the-black-civil-rights-movement-i-had-a/) [Colson Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colson-whitehead/) > [Schools don't teach American history that well, especially a lot of black American history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colson-whitehead/schools-don-t-teach-american-history-that-well-especially-a-lot-of/) [Colson Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colson-whitehead/) [Explore all 302 Colson Whitehead quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colson-whitehead/) ## More Aloneness quotes > [“If you had forgotten, it would quickly come back to you. Aloneness was like riding a bike. At gunpoint. With the gun in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/if-you-had-forgotten-it-would-quickly-come-back-to-you-aloneness-was/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [We too are called to withdraw at certain intervals into deeper silence and aloneness with God, together as a community as well as personally;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/we-too-are-called-to-withdraw-at-certain-intervals-into-deeper/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [“He knows that when she passes, a grief will rip through him unlike anything he has ever known. Preparing for it doesn't help. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-denfeld/he-knows-that-when-she-passes-a-grief-will-rip-through-him-unlike/) [Rene Denfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-denfeld/) > [Sometimes you need to take a break from everyone and spend time alone, to experience, appreciate and love yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-tew/sometimes-you-need-to-take-a-break-from-everyone-and-spend-time-alone/) [Robert Tew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-tew/) > [“It was as if I was in a picture, a flat canvas, and everything around me was flat, me painted on like everything else:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-relf/it-was-as-if-i-was-in-a-picture-a-flat-canvas-and-everything-around/) [Tim Relf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-relf/) > [“People would rather live in a community with unreasonable claims, than face loneliness with their truth”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/people-would-rather-live-in-a-community-with-unreasonable-claims-than/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [It is extraordinary how the house and the simplest possessions of someone who has been left become so quickly sordid. . . . Even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coleman-dowell/it-is-extraordinary-how-the-house-and-the-simplest-possessions-of/) [Coleman Dowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coleman-dowell/) > [“When she came home, she smelled the way I like. But . . . her face seemed sadder than when she left.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/makoto-shinkai/when-she-came-home-she-smelled-the-way-i-like-but-her-face-seemed/) [Makoto Shinkai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/makoto-shinkai/) > [Become aware of your aloneness - which is a reality. And it is so beautiful to experience it, to feel it, because it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/become-aware-of-your-aloneness-which-is-a-reality-and-it-is-so/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [“You must learn one thing: the world was made to be free in. Give up all the other worlds except the one to which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-whyte/you-must-learn-one-thing-the-world-was-made-to-be-free-in-give-up-all/) [David Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-whyte/) > [We are all born and someday we'll all die. Most likely to some degree alone. Our aloneness in this world is, maybe not anymore,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-corrie/we-are-all-born-and-someday-we-ll-all-die-most-likely-to-some-degree/) [Rachel Corrie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-corrie/) > [“With the need for the self in the time of another / I left my seaport grim and dear / knowing good work could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-payne/with-the-need-for-the-self-in-the-time-of-another-i-left-my-seaport/) [Roman Payne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-payne/) > [All good writing comes out of aloneness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-shepard/all-good-writing-comes-out-of-aloneness/) [Sam Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-shepard/) > [“Aloneness was like riding a bike. At gunpoint. With the gun in your own hand. Aloneness was the air in your tires, the wind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/aloneness-was-like-riding-a-bike-at-gunpoint-with-the-gun-in-your-own/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [“Aloneness is not always the same thing as loneliness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-balogh/aloneness-is-not-always-the-same-thing-as-loneliness/) [Mary Balogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-balogh/) [Browse all 165 Aloneness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aloneness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“She was a stray after all. A stray not only in its plantation meaning-orphaned, with no one to look after her-but in every other sphere as well. Somewhere, years ago, she had stepped off the path of life and could no longer find her way back to the family of people.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Colson Whitehead" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colson-whitehead/she-was-a-stray-after-all-a-stray-not-only-in-its-plantation-meaning/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Aloneness" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colson-whitehead/she-was-a-stray-after-all-a-stray-not-only-in-its-plantation-meaning/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/078/colson-whitehead-1042_aloneness_she-was-a-stray-after-all-a-stray-not-on_2287404.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/078/colson-whitehead-1042_aloneness_she-was-a-stray-after-all-a-stray-not-on_2287404.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/078/colson-whitehead-1042_aloneness_she-was-a-stray-after-all-a-stray-not-on_2287404.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“She was a stray after all. A stray not only in its plantation meaning-orphaned, with no one to look after…” — Colson Whitehead", "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": "Colson Whitehead", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colson-whitehead/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“She was a stray after all....", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colson-whitehead/she-was-a-stray-after-all-a-stray-not-only-in-its-plantation-meaning/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colson-whitehead/she-was-a-stray-after-all-a-stray-not-only-in-its-plantation-meaning/#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 } } ] } ```