--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A birth is not really a beginning. Our…" description: "\"A birth is not really a beginning. Our lives at the start are not really our own but only the continuation of someone else's story.\" — Diane Setterfield" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11a/diane-setterfield-1008_birth_a-birth-is-not-really-a-beginning-our-li_503851.png" --- # A birth is not really a beginning. Our lives at the start… ![“A birth is not really a beginning. Our lives at the start are not really our own but only the continuation of someone else's story.” quote by Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11a/diane-setterfield-1008_birth_a-birth-is-not-really-a-beginning-our-li_503851.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11a/diane-setterfield-1008_birth_a-birth-is-not-really-a-beginning-our-li_503851.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11a/diane-setterfield-1008_birth_a-birth-is-not-really-a-beginning-our-li_503851.png) > “A birth is not really a beginning. Our lives at the start are not really our own but only the continuation of someone else's story.” [Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Birth continues another’s story, suggesting identity is shaped by inherited narratives rather than a fresh start. **In simple terms:** Birth continues existing stories. Key Takeaway Embrace inherited narratives. Themes identity inheritance storytelling Mood reflective poetic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - parenting - genealogical research - creative writing Key Concepts literature psychology family legacy Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance inherited story with self‑creation? - What narratives define you? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on legacy can limit personal agency. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beginning Lives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beginning-lives-2281138/) [Birth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birth/) [Birth Really](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birth-really-1091459/) [Continuation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/continuation/) [Lives Start](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lives-start-2615761/) [Really Beginning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/really-beginning-1479667/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) ## Related quotes > [This isn't the END,It's a new BEGINNING to OUR lives Together..In the Future I hope God has you planned to be with me forever...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twilight/this-isn-t-the-end-it-s-a-new-beginning-to-our-lives-together-in-the/) [Twilight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twilight/) > [We are all born with an open heart, but at some point as we are growing up, things happen in our lives where we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agapi-stassinopoulos/we-are-all-born-with-an-open-heart-but-at-some-point-as-we-are/) [Agapi Stassinopoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agapi-stassinopoulos/) > [“We were growing up. It was one of those moments when you could practically feel the adult pushing out, pushing forward into the world.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-pittard/we-were-growing-up-it-was-one-of-those-moments-when-you-could/) [Hannah Pittard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-pittard/) > [Let's don't wait forever for our lives to start. Let's begin them ourselves. Let's be fearless for once and say, we can do this.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cammie-mcgovern/let-s-don-t-wait-forever-for-our-lives-to-start-let-s-begin-them/) [Cammie McGovern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cammie-mcgovern/) > [Being pregnant is a marvellous experience. Before, I was afraid about the idea of giving birth, but now, I'm really looking forward to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-loos/being-pregnant-is-a-marvellous-experience-before-i-was-afraid-about/) [Rebecca Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-loos/) > [Right now, after giving birth, I really understand the power of my body. I just feel my body means something completely different.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beyonce-knowles/right-now-after-giving-birth-i-really-understand-the-power-of-my-body/) [Beyonce Knowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beyonce-knowles/) > [I had a home birth because I really believe in the body's natural ability to give birth. The medical profession has kind of warped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-shahi/i-had-a-home-birth-because-i-really-believe-in-the-body-s-natural/) [Sarah Shahi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-shahi/) > [“You know, Liz, I really got how women can just slip away when they bleed like that. 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And that was pretty much among people that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-guidoni/i-started-this-whole-endeavor-really-and-at-the-beginning-we-had-the/) [Umberto Guidoni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-guidoni/) > [I've said it really from the beginning that the stars have always aligned with Inspiration4.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-isaacman/i-ve-said-it-really-from-the-beginning-that-the-stars-have-always/) [Jared Isaacman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-isaacman/) > [When children are immunized, it's really the beginning of a new day for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuna/when-children-are-immunized-it-s-really-the-beginning-of-a-new-day/) [Yuna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuna/) ## More by Diane Setterfield > [“They are more real than the books on the shelves, books that are sketched with the barest hint of a line here and there,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/they-are-more-real-than-the-books-on-the-shelves-books-that-are/) [Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/) > [“Margaret Lea.” “The biographer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/margaret-lea-the-biographer/) [Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/) > [“He was the first of my ghosts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/he-was-the-first-of-my-ghosts/) [Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/) > [“It was like living entirely inside a book.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/it-was-like-living-entirely-inside-a-book/) [Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/) > [“Then something rang a bell in his mind. 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Of course I valued "Jane Eyre" over the anonymous stranger...Of course all of Shakespeare was worth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/of-course-i-loved-books-more-than-people-of-course-i-valued-jane-eyre/) [Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/) [Explore all 292 Diane Setterfield quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/) ## More Birth quotes > [“Conception is the beginning of human life. From the time that an ovum is fertilized a new life begins that is neither that of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/declaration-on-procured-abortion-congregation-for-the-doctrine-of-the-faith-1974/conception-is-the-beginning-of-human-life-from-the-time-that-an-ovum/) [Declaration on Procured Abortion Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith 1974](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/declaration-on-procured-abortion-congregation-for-the-doctrine-of-the-faith-1974/) > [In the entire history of the universe, let alone in your own history, there has never been another day just like today, and there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/in-the-entire-history-of-the-universe-let-alone-in-your-own-history/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [The greatest mystery in life is not life itself, but death. Death is the culmination of life, the ultimate blossoming of life. In death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/the-greatest-mystery-in-life-is-not-life-itself-but-death-death-is/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [Guns have little or nothing to do with juvenile violence. The causes of youth violence are working parents who put their kids into daycare,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-delay/guns-have-little-or-nothing-to-do-with-juvenile-violence-the-causes/) [Tom DeLay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-delay/) > [“Every child is born as angel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/every-child-is-born-as-angel/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [Nirvana is a word that means enlightenment, being beyond the illusion of birth and death, the illusion of pain, the illusion of love, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/nirvana-is-a-word-that-means-enlightenment-being-beyond-the-illusion/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [It was no accident, no coincidence, that the seasons came round and round year after year. It was the Lord speaking to us all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-rivers/it-was-no-accident-no-coincidence-that-the-seasons-came-round-and/) [Francine Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-rivers/) > [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/) > [There are two kinds of beauty; there is a beauty which God gives at birth, and which withers as a flower. And there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-kuyper/there-are-two-kinds-of-beauty-there-is-a-beauty-which-god-gives-at/) [Abraham Kuyper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-kuyper/) > [Always keep the smile, because the smile is the beginning of love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-imad/always-keep-the-smile-because-the-smile-is-the-beginning-of-love/) [Adam Imad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-imad/) > [The wailing of the newborn infant is mingled with the dirge for the dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucretius/the-wailing-of-the-newborn-infant-is-mingled-with-the-dirge-for-the/) [Lucretius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucretius/) > [I gave birth to most of them MC's... 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