--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We feel that to reveal embarrassing or…" description: "\"“We feel that to reveal embarrassing or private things, like, say, masturbatory habits (for me, about once a day, usually in the shower), we have given..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81d/dave-eggers-638_private-things_we-feel-that-to-reveal-embarrassing-or-p_640860.jpg" --- # We feel that to reveal embarrassing or private things… ![“We feel that to reveal embarrassing or private things, like, say, masturbatory habits (for me, about once a day, usually in the shower), we have given someone something, that, like a primitive person fearing that a photographer will steal his soul, we identify our secrets, our pasts and their…” quote by Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81d/dave-eggers-638_private-things_we-feel-that-to-reveal-embarrassing-or-p_640860.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81d/dave-eggers-638_private-things_we-feel-that-to-reveal-embarrassing-or-p_640860.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81d/dave-eggers-638_private-things_we-feel-that-to-reveal-embarrassing-or-p_640860.jpg) > ““We feel that to reveal embarrassing or private things, like, say, masturbatory habits (for me, about once a day, usually in the shower), we have given someone something, that, like a primitive person fearing that a photographer will steal his soul, we identify our secrets, our pasts and their blotches, with our identity, that revealing our habits or losses or deeds somehow makes one less of oneself. But it's just the opposite, more is more is more—more bleeding, more giving. These things, details, stories, whatever, are like the skin shed by snakes, who leave theirs for anyone to see. What does he care where it is, who sees it, this snake, and his skin? He leaves it where he molts. Hours, days or months later, we come across a snake's long-shed skin and we know something of the snake, we know that it's of this approximate girth and that approximate length, but we know very little else. Do we know where the snake is now? What the snake is thinking now? No. By now the snake could be wearing fur; the snake could be selling pencils in Hanoi. The skin is no longer his, he wore it because it grew from him, but then it dried and slipped off and he and everyone could look at it.”” [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Sharing personal, often embarrassing details can feel like shedding skin, exposing a part of ourselves that others can observe, yet it does not diminish our identity; it simply reveals a layer that has grown and fallen away. **In simple terms:** Sharing intimate details reveals a layer of ourselves without losing identity. Key Takeaway Embrace vulnerability; share stories. Themes vulnerability identity storytelling Mood reflective introspective Type personal philosophical When to use this quote - personal essays - therapy sessions - social media posts - creative writing Key Concepts self‑disclosure human connection Questions to Reflect On - What boundaries do you set when sharing personal stories? - How does vulnerability affect trust? A Different Perspective Over‑sharing can lead to exploitation or loss of privacy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Know Snake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-snake-4313110/) [Private things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/private-things/) [Revealing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revealing/) [Revealing Habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revealing-habits-5145176/) [Snake Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/snake-know-2226954/) [Snake Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/snake-thinking-5145175/) ## Related quotes > [We feel that to reveal embarrassing or private things, we have given someone something, that, like a primitive person fearing that a photographer will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/we-feel-that-to-reveal-embarrassing-or-private-things-we-have-given/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) > [An old friend of mine once told me, stop feeding the snake around your neck, one day it will grow strong enough to strangle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johanna-georgsson/an-old-friend-of-mine-once-told-me-stop-feeding-the-snake-around-your/) [Johanna Georgsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johanna-georgsson/) > [I LIVE MY LIFE TRUSTLESS YOU NEVER KNOW WHO IS THE SNAKE THAT IS JUST WAITING TO STRIKE KEEP YOUR FRIENDS CLOSE AND YOUR…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stella-sanchez/i-live-my-life-trustless-you-never-know-who-is-the-snake-that-is-just/) [Stella Sanchez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stella-sanchez/) > [Sexuality is a very private thing, 'Provocateur' will make it public](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-shields/sexuality-is-a-very-private-thing-provocateur-will-make-it-public/) [Tyler Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-shields/) > [“What we mean by liberal in the liberal regime is “free” and also independent. We mean people doing as they please to a large…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-we-mean-by-liberal-in-the-liberal-regime-is-free-and-also/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Writing about sex is not as personally revealing as one might think, because like anything else you write about, the words are not the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doreen-baingana/writing-about-sex-is-not-as-personally-revealing-as-one-might-think/) [Doreen Baingana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doreen-baingana/) > [“Probably one of the most private things in the world is an egg before it is broken.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-k-fisher-2/probably-one-of-the-most-private-things-in-the-world-is-an-egg-before/) [M.F.K. Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-k-fisher-2/) > [I believe love - and its feminine, though not necessarily female, counterpart, romance, is a private thing. It's something I'm not willing to share…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-harrison/i-believe-love-and-its-feminine-though-not-necessarily-female/) [George Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-harrison/) > [I always am astounded at how willing Steve was to share all about himself. And sometimes he got criticized for it. But he was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terri-irwin/i-always-am-astounded-at-how-willing-steve-was-to-share-all-about/) [Terri Irwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terri-irwin/) > [Some things are private. Some things needed to be said, even when the person who needed to hear them couldn’t hear anything. Ever again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-vincent/some-things-are-private-some-things-needed-to-be-said-even-when-the/) [Rachel Vincent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-vincent/) > [I'm kind of private and I keep things inside a lot, but it's been so wonderful to realize that people care about you in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-j-fox/i-m-kind-of-private-and-i-keep-things-inside-a-lot-but-it-s-been-so/) [Michael J. Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-j-fox/) > [Seriously, I think it is a grave fault in life that so much time is wasted in social matters, because it not only takes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/seriously-i-think-it-is-a-grave-fault-in-life-that-so-much-time-is/) [Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/) > [It creates community when you talk about private things and you can find other people that have the same things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-fisher/it-creates-community-when-you-talk-about-private-things-and-you-can-2/) [Carrie Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-fisher/) > [I realized that there are just certain things in life that are private. I have things in my past - like everyone - that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-osmond/i-realized-that-there-are-just-certain-things-in-life-that-are/) [Ken Osmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-osmond/) > [It creates community when you talk about private things and you can find other people that have the same things. Otherwise, I don't know,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-fisher/it-creates-community-when-you-talk-about-private-things-and-you-can/) [Carrie Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-fisher/) ## More by Dave Eggers > [“4. THE CRUMBLING WALL (Hamburger, prepared medium well, with bacon and barbecue sauce. Courtesy of that place on Solano, where, it should be mentioned,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/4-the-crumbling-wall-hamburger-prepared-medium-well-with-bacon-and/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) > [“LOW-FLYING, QUICK-MOVING CLOUDS: I haven't long to live. TREETOPS, ROUNDED AND ROUGH: That's probably true. LOW-FLYING, QUICK-MOVING CLOUDS: I won't even make it to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/low-flying-quick-moving-clouds-i-haven-t-long-to-live-treetops/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) > [But the grind has begun. 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That's something I got from my mum.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/i-think-i-m-far-too-hopeful-and-trusting-that-s-something-i-got-from/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) > [“Overnight, all comment boards became civil, all posters held accountable. The trolls, who had more or less overtaken the internet, were driven back into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/overnight-all-comment-boards-became-civil-all-posters-held/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) > [“Have we wasted precious space dust on you?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/have-we-wasted-precious-space-dust-on-you/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) > [“What can one do with one's hands when the camera is interested in other things?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/what-can-one-do-with-one-s-hands-when-the-camera-is-interested-in/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) > [“The money that could have saved the Shuttle, and the money we send to random countries, that we use to remake unchangeable countries ten…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/the-money-that-could-have-saved-the-shuttle-and-the-money-we-send-to/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) > [Write your goddamned book now. The world awaits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/write-your-goddamned-book-now-the-world-awaits/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) > [The only infallible truth of our lives is that everything we love in life will be taken from us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/the-only-infallible-truth-of-our-lives-is-that-everything-we-love-in/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) > [“First of all: I am tired. I am true of heart! And Also: You are tired. You are true of heart!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/first-of-all-i-am-tired-i-am-true-of-heart-and-also-you-are-tired-you/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) > [And what we were trying to offer every day was one-on-one attention. The goal was to have a one-to-one ratio with every one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/and-what-we-were-trying-to-offer-every-day-was-one-on-one-attention/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) > [Suffering is only suffering if it’s done in silence, in solitude. Pain experienced in public, in view of loving millions, was no longer pain.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/suffering-is-only-suffering-if-it-s-done-in-silence-in-solitude-pain/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) [Explore all 428 Dave Eggers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) ## More Private things quotes > [It creates community when you talk about private things and you can find other people that have the same things. Otherwise, I don't know,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-fisher/it-creates-community-when-you-talk-about-private-things-and-you-can/) [Carrie Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-fisher/) > [I realized that there are just certain things in life that are private. I have things in my past - like everyone - that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-osmond/i-realized-that-there-are-just-certain-things-in-life-that-are/) [Ken Osmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-osmond/) > [It creates community when you talk about private things and you can find other people that have the same things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-fisher/it-creates-community-when-you-talk-about-private-things-and-you-can-2/) [Carrie Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-fisher/) > [We feel that to reveal embarrassing or private things, we have given someone something, that, like a primitive person fearing that a photographer will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/we-feel-that-to-reveal-embarrassing-or-private-things-we-have-given/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) > [Seriously, I think it is a grave fault in life that so much time is wasted in social matters, because it not only takes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/seriously-i-think-it-is-a-grave-fault-in-life-that-so-much-time-is/) [Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/) > [I'm kind of private and I keep things inside a lot, but it's been so wonderful to realize that people care about you in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-j-fox/i-m-kind-of-private-and-i-keep-things-inside-a-lot-but-it-s-been-so/) [Michael J. Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-j-fox/) > [Some things are private. Some things needed to be said, even when the person who needed to hear them couldn’t hear anything. Ever again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-vincent/some-things-are-private-some-things-needed-to-be-said-even-when-the/) [Rachel Vincent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-vincent/) > [I always am astounded at how willing Steve was to share all about himself. And sometimes he got criticized for it. But he was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terri-irwin/i-always-am-astounded-at-how-willing-steve-was-to-share-all-about/) [Terri Irwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terri-irwin/) > [I believe love - and its feminine, though not necessarily female, counterpart, romance, is a private thing. It's something I'm not willing to share…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-harrison/i-believe-love-and-its-feminine-though-not-necessarily-female/) [George Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-harrison/) > [“Probably one of the most private things in the world is an egg before it is broken.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-k-fisher-2/probably-one-of-the-most-private-things-in-the-world-is-an-egg-before/) [M.F.K. Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-k-fisher-2/) > [“Writing about sex is not as personally revealing as one might think, because like anything else you write about, the words are not the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doreen-baingana/writing-about-sex-is-not-as-personally-revealing-as-one-might-think/) [Doreen Baingana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doreen-baingana/) > [“What we mean by liberal in the liberal regime is “free” and also independent. We mean people doing as they please to a large…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-we-mean-by-liberal-in-the-liberal-regime-is-free-and-also/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Sexuality is a very private thing, 'Provocateur' will make it public](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-shields/sexuality-is-a-very-private-thing-provocateur-will-make-it-public/) [Tyler Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-shields/) > [Art is a private thing, the artist makes it for himself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-tynan/art-is-a-private-thing-the-artist-makes-it-for-himself/) [Kenneth Tynan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-tynan/) > [Goals are essentially private things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/essie-davis/goals-are-essentially-private-things/) [Essie Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/essie-davis/) [Browse all 38 Private things quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/private-things/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We feel that to reveal embarrassing or private things, like, say, masturbatory habits (for me, about once a day, usually in the shower), we have given someone something, that, like a primitive person fearing that a photographer will steal his soul, we identify our secrets, our pasts and their blotches, with our identity, that revealing our habits or losses or deeds somehow makes one less of oneself. But it's just the opposite, more is more is more—more bleeding, more giving. These things, details, stories, whatever, are like the skin shed by snakes, who leave theirs for anyone to see. What does he care where it is, who sees it, this snake, and his skin? He leaves it where he molts. Hours, days or months later, we come across a snake's long-shed skin and we know something of the snake, we know that it's of this approximate girth and that approximate length, but we know very little else. Do we know where the snake is now? What the snake is thinking now? No. By now the snake could be wearing fur; the snake could be selling pencils in Hanoi. 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