--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Sometimes, when there’s been an accident…" description: "\"“Sometimes, when there’s been an accident and reality is too sudden and strange to comprehend, the surreal will take over. Action slows to a dreamlike ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/803/donna-tartt-391_quote_sometimes-when-there-s-been-an-accident_1020293.jpg" --- # Sometimes, when there’s been an accident and reality is… ![“Sometimes, when there’s been an accident and reality is too sudden and strange to comprehend, the surreal will take over. Action slows to a dreamlike glide, frame by frame; the motion of a hand, a sentence spoken, fills an eternity.” quote by Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/803/donna-tartt-391_quote_sometimes-when-there-s-been-an-accident_1020293.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/803/donna-tartt-391_quote_sometimes-when-there-s-been-an-accident_1020293.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/803/donna-tartt-391_quote_sometimes-when-there-s-been-an-accident_1020293.jpg) > ““Sometimes, when there’s been an accident and reality is too sudden and strange to comprehend, the surreal will take over. Action slows to a dreamlike glide, frame by frame; the motion of a hand, a sentence spoken, fills an eternity.”” [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. After trauma, reality feels surreal; perception slows, turning moments into timeless fragments. **In simple terms:** Trauma makes reality feel dreamlike and stretched. Key Takeaway Allow space to process and ground yourself. Themes trauma perception time Mood reflective somber Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - therapy - art therapy - mindfulness practice Key Concepts psychology philosophy Questions to Reflect On - How does you experience time after shock? - What anchors you in the present? A Different Perspective Over‑romanticizing can avoid confronting pain. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accident Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accident-reality-1500201/) [Comprehend Surreal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comprehend-surreal-2270472/) [Reality Sudden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality-sudden-2270474/) [Surreal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surreal/) [Surreal Action](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surreal-action-2270473/) ## Related quotes > [Maybe it's wrong when we remember breakthroughs to our own being as something that occurs in discrete, extraordinary moments. 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Virtual reality is the accident of reality itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/cyberspace-is-an-accident-of-the-real-virtual-reality-is-the-accident/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) > [“A Harvey Nicks chick with throwaway morals and a trustfund appetite.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saira-viola/a-harvey-nicks-chick-with-throwaway-morals-and-a-trustfund-appetite/) [Saira Viola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saira-viola/) > [Blackouts can be fun if approached with the right mindset. 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It was as if Titian had never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bishop/surreal-realized-daemon-s-madness-was-confined-to-emotions-to-people/) [Anne Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bishop/) > [I think if something resonates, even if it's surreal, it's because it is relatable and I think that that's a core issue for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-kaufman/i-think-if-something-resonates-even-if-it-s-surreal-it-s-because-it/) [Charlie Kaufman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-kaufman/) ## More by Donna Tartt > [I hope we're all ready to leave the phenomenal world, and enter into the sublime?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/i-hope-we-re-all-ready-to-leave-the-phenomenal-world-and-enter-into/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [And I add my own love to the history of people who have loved beautiful things, and looked out for them, and pulled them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/and-i-add-my-own-love-to-the-history-of-people-who-have-loved/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [And the flavor of Pippa's kiss--bittersweet and strange--stayed with me all the way back uptown, swaying and sleepy as I sailed home on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/and-the-flavor-of-pippa-s-kiss-bittersweet-and-strange-stayed-with-me/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“The world won't come to me...so I must go to it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/the-world-won-t-come-to-me-so-i-must-go-to-it/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [There's an expectation these days that novels - like any other consumer product - should be made on a production line, with one dropping…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/there-s-an-expectation-these-days-that-novels-like-any-other-consumer/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“A month or two before, I would have been appalled at the idea of any murder at all. 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He’s the one we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/always-remember-the-person-we-re-really-working-for-is-the-person-who/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“The silence between us was happy and strange, connected by the cord and the icy voices thinly echoing. “You don’t have to talk,” she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/the-silence-between-us-was-happy-and-strange-connected-by-the-cord/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“It is a terrible thing to learn as a child that one is a being separate from all the world, that no one and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/it-is-a-terrible-thing-to-learn-as-a-child-that-one-is-a-being/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“You didn’t meet many people who moved freely through the world with such a vigorous contempt for it and at the same time such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/you-didn-t-meet-many-people-who-moved-freely-through-the-world-with/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“maybe that’s what’s waiting for us at the end of the journey, a majesty unimaginable until the very moment we find ourselves walking through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/maybe-that-s-what-s-waiting-for-us-at-the-end-of-the-journey-a/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“lights and moods and seasons was to see it a thousand different ways and to keep it shut in the dark—a thing made of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/lights-and-moods-and-seasons-was-to-see-it-a-thousand-different-ways/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [A great sorrow, and one that I am only beginning to understand: we don’t get to choose our own hearts. We can’t make ourselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/a-great-sorrow-and-one-that-i-am-only-beginning-to-understand-we-don/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“Upon meeting Julian Morrow, one has the impression that he is a man of extraordinary sympathy and warmth. But what you call his 'Asiatic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/upon-meeting-julian-morrow-one-has-the-impression-that-he-is-a-man-of/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) [Explore all 590 Donna Tartt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) ## More Surreal quotes > [I think if something resonates, even if it's surreal, it's because it is relatable and I think that that's a core issue for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-kaufman/i-think-if-something-resonates-even-if-it-s-surreal-it-s-because-it/) [Charlie Kaufman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-kaufman/) > [“Surreal realized Daemon’s madness was confined to emotions, to people, to that single tragedy he couldn’t face. It was as if Titian had never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bishop/surreal-realized-daemon-s-madness-was-confined-to-emotions-to-people/) [Anne Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bishop/) > [People just have no idea how strange and surreal a football life can be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peyton-hillis/people-just-have-no-idea-how-strange-and-surreal-a-football-life-can/) [Peyton Hillis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peyton-hillis/) > [I left home at 21 to go and play for Munich and was immediately able to perform at a high standard. It was totally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-gotze/i-left-home-at-21-to-go-and-play-for-munich-and-was-immediately-able/) [Mario Gotze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-gotze/) > [It's 'Star Trek!' It's as close to an American mythology as we get. To be a part of that storytelling after being a fan…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilson-cruz/it-s-star-trek-it-s-as-close-to-an-american-mythology-as-we-get-to-be/) [Wilson Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilson-cruz/) > [“Tina thought about the idea of how much a person could take. People only survived because they turned the real into the surreal. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-trope/tina-thought-about-the-idea-of-how-much-a-person-could-take-people/) [Nicole Trope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-trope/) > [No culture on earth is as heavily narcotized as the industrial West in terms of being inured to the consequences of maladaptive behavior. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/no-culture-on-earth-is-as-heavily-narcotized-as-the-industrial-west/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [My images were surreal simply in the sense that my vision brought out the fantastic dimension of reality. My only aim was to express…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brassai/my-images-were-surreal-simply-in-the-sense-that-my-vision-brought-out/) [Brassai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brassai/) > [I had no idea the amount of people who even knew who I was. Suddenly, they were coming up and saying, "You're my favorite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-wight/i-had-no-idea-the-amount-of-people-who-even-knew-who-i-was-suddenly/) [Eric Wight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-wight/) > [It's a very surreal thing to go from something you think about for so long and dream up, and then it is this thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-victor/it-s-a-very-surreal-thing-to-go-from-something-you-think-about-for-so/) [Eva Victor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-victor/) > [Blackouts can be fun if approached with the right mindset. You just can't sweat the fact that you've lost a small portion of your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-kilmer-purcell/blackouts-can-be-fun-if-approached-with-the-right-mindset-you-just/) [Josh Kilmer-Purcell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-kilmer-purcell/) > [“A Harvey Nicks chick with throwaway morals and a trustfund appetite.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saira-viola/a-harvey-nicks-chick-with-throwaway-morals-and-a-trustfund-appetite/) [Saira Viola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saira-viola/) > [I would say that my music is surreal, it's inspired by dreams, and it's inspired by heartbreak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gus-dapperton/i-would-say-that-my-music-is-surreal-it-s-inspired-by-dreams-and-it-s/) [Gus Dapperton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gus-dapperton/) > [We made basement practice songs.To have them presented in such a huge fashion today - like at Primavera, where it's thousands of people in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-pajo/we-made-basement-practice-songs-to-have-them-presented-in-such-a-huge/) [David Pajo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-pajo/) > [Because of Walter, we did it the other way around. We also worked with an awesome sound designer named Will Patterson who just worked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-pressman/because-of-walter-we-did-it-the-other-way-around-we-also-worked-with/) [Sam Pressman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-pressman/) [Browse all 485 Surreal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surreal/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Sometimes, when there’s been an accident and reality is too sudden and strange to comprehend, the surreal will take over. 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