---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A pretty face had been damaged by acne…"
description: "\"A pretty face had been damaged by acne scars and she wore and extra forty pounds on her frame like a threat. Her eyes were dull with anger disguised as..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/932/dennis-lehane-1503_acne_a-pretty-face-had-been-damaged-by-acne-s_2545966.jpg"
---

#  A pretty face had been damaged by acne scars and she wore…

![“A pretty face had been damaged by acne scars and she wore and extra forty pounds on her frame like a threat. Her eyes were dull with anger disguised as apathy. If she kept on her current path, she'd grow into the type of person who fed her kids Doritos for breakfast and purchased angry bumper…” quote by Dennis Lehane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/932/dennis-lehane-1503_acne_a-pretty-face-had-been-damaged-by-acne-s_2545966.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/932/dennis-lehane-1503_acne_a-pretty-face-had-been-damaged-by-acne-s_2545966.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/932/dennis-lehane-1503_acne_a-pretty-face-had-been-damaged-by-acne-s_2545966.jpg)

> “A pretty face had been damaged by acne scars and she wore and extra forty pounds on her frame like a threat. Her eyes were dull with anger disguised as apathy. If she kept on her current path, she'd grow into the type of person who fed her kids Doritos for breakfast and purchased angry bumper stickers with lots of exclamation points. But right now, she was just another in a long line of pissed-off small-town girls with a shitty outlook.”

[Dennis Lehane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-lehane/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The passage depicts a woman whose low self‑esteem and resentment shape a bleak future for herself and her family.

**In simple terms:** Self‑image and anger can dictate a negative life path.

Key Takeaway

Recognize and change harmful patterns early.

Themes

self‑esteem anger future family social environment

Mood

melancholic reflective

Type

narrative character study

When to use this quote

- personal relationships
- parenting
- career decisions
- community support
- mental health interventions

Key Concepts

psychology self‑fulfilling prophecy social conditioning

Questions to Reflect On

- What steps can she take to improve her self‑image?
- How might community support alter her trajectory?

A Different Perspective

Without intervention, negative attitudes may become entrenched and affect others.

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[Anger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anger/) [Angry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/angry/) [Apathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apathy/) [Bumper sticker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bumper-sticker/) [Doritos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doritos/) [Exclamation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exclamation/) [Faces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) [Feds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feds/) [Girl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/girl/) [Kids](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kids/) [Outlook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/outlook/) [Path](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/path/) [Pissed off](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pissed-off/) [Scar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scar/) [Small town](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/small-town/) [Threat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/threat/)

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> [People stared. Maybe because they were giants compared to everyone else, both in height and muscle mass. Maybe because of the telltale bulge of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gena-showalter/people-stared-maybe-because-they-were-giants-compared-to-everyone/)

[Gena Showalter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gena-showalter/)

> [I want to pull very long, multi-colored strings out of my brain and place them next to a bowl of Doritos at a party](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-boyle/i-want-to-pull-very-long-multi-colored-strings-out-of-my-brain-and/)

[Megan Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-boyle/)

> [Doritos-flavored Mountain Dew is coming. You drink it, you get a combination of type 1 and type 2 diabetes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-letterman/doritos-flavored-mountain-dew-is-coming-you-drink-it-you-get-a/)

[David Letterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-letterman/)

> [“What I taste, I said, reading from my page, is what I remember from my last Dorito, plus the chemicals that are kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-bender/what-i-taste-i-said-reading-from-my-page-is-what-i-remember-from-my/)

[Aimee Bender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-bender/)

> [He man who invented Doritos has passed away at the age of 97. He asked to be buried with the creator of Fritos and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-fallon/he-man-who-invented-doritos-has-passed-away-at-the-age-of-97-he-asked/)

[Jimmy Fallon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-fallon/)

> [The two circled around the back of the house, making sure that nobody saw them. Once inside, they found Patrick right where they had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-two-circled-around-the-back-of-the-house-making-sure-that-nobody/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [...a Dorito asks nothing of you, which is its great gift. It only asks that you are not there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-bender/a-dorito-asks-nothing-of-you-which-is-its-great-gift-it-only-asks/)

[Aimee Bender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-bender/)

> [Pepsi has a new Doritos-flavored Mountain Dew. No, we don't have an Ebola vaccine, but we do have the Doritos-flavored Mountain Dew.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-letterman/pepsi-has-a-new-doritos-flavored-mountain-dew-no-we-don-t-have-an/)

[David Letterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-letterman/)

> [We are accustomed to repeating the cliché, and to believing, that 'our most precious resource is our children.' But we have plenty of children…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/we-are-accustomed-to-repeating-the-clich-and-to-believing-that-our/)

[Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/)

> [My best friend, Andrew Goldberg - and this is genuinely not me trying to cross-promote, but this new Netflix show I'm doing called Big…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-kroll/my-best-friend-andrew-goldberg-and-this-is-genuinely-not-me-trying-to/)

[Nick Kroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-kroll/)

> [It's a different thing to just be a voice. It's liberating, on one hand, because you get to show up in sweatpants and with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-pasdar/it-s-a-different-thing-to-just-be-a-voice-it-s-liberating-on-one-hand/)

[Adrian Pasdar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-pasdar/)

## More by Dennis Lehane

> [He wondered if this was what clinical depression felt like, a total numbness, a weary lack of hope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-lehane/he-wondered-if-this-was-what-clinical-depression-felt-like-a-total/)

[Dennis Lehane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-lehane/)

> [I held her, he wanted to say, and if I knew for certain that all it would take to hold her again would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-lehane/i-held-her-he-wanted-to-say-and-if-i-knew-for-certain-that-all-it/)

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> [“Everyone I know lies, breaks their word, and has perfectly legitimate excuses for why they do. Except you. Haven't you ever noticed that? Two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-lehane/everyone-i-know-lies-breaks-their-word-and-has-perfectly-legitimate/)

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> [“If a man was lucky, he was moving toward something his whole life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-lehane/if-a-man-was-lucky-he-was-moving-toward-something-his-whole-life/)

[dennis lehane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-lehane/)

> [“After my daughter was born, I'd considered buying a shotgun to ward off potention suitors fourteen or so years up the road. Now, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-lehane/after-my-daughter-was-born-i-d-considered-buying-a-shotgun-to-ward/)

[Dennis Lehane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-lehane/)

> [“I once again felt an odd flush of admiration for my partner's faith in a religion I had long ago abandoned. She doesn't advertise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-lehane/i-once-again-felt-an-odd-flush-of-admiration-for-my-partner-s-faith/)

[Dennis Lehane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-lehane/)

> [“And she was-definitely-a woman who did not shrink from gauntlets, but stepped up to them, and said, Okay, bring it. Bring your worst. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-lehane/and-she-was-definitely-a-woman-who-did-not-shrink-from-gauntlets-but/)

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> [“Jimmy looked back over at his wife, and Celeste could feel the tenderest of aches in the look. She could feel another teardrop piece…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-lehane/jimmy-looked-back-over-at-his-wife-and-celeste-could-feel-the/)

[Dennis Lehane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-lehane/)

> [“She told him that he had the most beautiful voice she'd ever heard, that it sounded like whiskey and wood smoke.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-lehane/she-told-him-that-he-had-the-most-beautiful-voice-she-d-ever-heard/)

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> [“The only people who ask questions like ‘Did he want to be something besides a bartender?’ are people who can become whatever they want.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-lehane/the-only-people-who-ask-questions-like-did-he-want-to-be-something/)

[Dennis Lehane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-lehane/)

> [“Love, impossible, yet there was no mistaking it”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-lehane/love-impossible-yet-there-was-no-mistaking-it/)

[Dennis Lehane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-lehane/)

> [“She blew a stream of smoke up at the empty clotheslines. 'These silly dreams you have when you're young. I mean, what, Katie and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-lehane/she-blew-a-stream-of-smoke-up-at-the-empty-clotheslines-these-silly/)

[Dennis Lehane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-lehane/)

> [“He looked back at the page, got one last glimpse before the match blew itself out. Going to find you today, Andrew. If I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-lehane/he-looked-back-at-the-page-got-one-last-glimpse-before-the-match-blew/)

[Dennis Lehane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-lehane/)

[Explore all 231 Dennis Lehane quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-lehane/)

## More Acne quotes

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[Hannah Bronfman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-bronfman/)

> [Like most girls, I suffered from pimples, too. I tried dozens of treatments but was never satisfied with any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-jackson/like-most-girls-i-suffered-from-pimples-too-i-tried-dozens-of/)

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> [“What was the one underlying cause of acne according to this patient, and to others who I talked to after that day? They felt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aarti-patel/what-was-the-one-underlying-cause-of-acne-according-to-this-patient/)

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[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [When I was young, I was picked on for something that today I feel is amazing. One thing about me connects millions of people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winnie-harlow/when-i-was-young-i-was-picked-on-for-something-that-today-i-feel-is/)

[Winnie Harlow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winnie-harlow/)

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[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I won't sit here and say I've never had a pimple, but I try to have a really great diet, you know, lots of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/i-won-t-sit-here-and-say-i-ve-never-had-a-pimple-but-i-try-to-have-a/)

[Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/)

> [When I found out I was pregnant, the first thing that had to go was the acne medicine and chemical-filled face washes and lotions.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisa-miller/when-i-found-out-i-was-pregnant-the-first-thing-that-had-to-go-was/)

[Marisa Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisa-miller/)

> [Why worry and have wrinkles¦? when you can smile and have dimples¦ :))](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reina/why-worry-and-have-wrinkles-when-you-can-smile-and-have-dimples/)

[Reina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reina/)

> [I'm kinda stuck in that awkward in-between stage where my hair is just starting to fall out, but I'm still maintaining my youthful acne.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-fitzsimmons/i-m-kinda-stuck-in-that-awkward-in-between-stage-where-my-hair-is/)

[Greg Fitzsimmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-fitzsimmons/)

Browse all 126 Acne quotes

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