--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: So often survivors have had their…" description: "\"So often survivors have had their experiences denied, trivialized, or distorted. Writing is an important avenue for healing because it gives you the op..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c08/ellen-bass-18832_adults_so-often-survivors-have-had-their-experi_2504346.jpg" --- # So often survivors have had their experiences denied… ![“So often survivors have had their experiences denied, trivialized, or distorted. Writing is an important avenue for healing because it gives you the opportunity to define your own reality. You can say: This did happen to me. It was that bad. It was the fault & responsibility of the adult. I…” quote by Ellen Bass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c08/ellen-bass-18832_adults_so-often-survivors-have-had-their-experi_2504346.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c08/ellen-bass-18832_adults_so-often-survivors-have-had-their-experi_2504346.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c08/ellen-bass-18832_adults_so-often-survivors-have-had-their-experi_2504346.jpg) > “So often survivors have had their experiences denied, trivialized, or distorted. Writing is an important avenue for healing because it gives you the opportunity to define your own reality. You can say: This did happen to me. It was that bad. It was the fault & responsibility of the adult. I was—and am—innocent.” The Courage to Heal by Ellen Bass & Laura Davis” [Ellen Bass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-bass/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing lets survivors reclaim their narrative, countering denial and distortion, fostering personal truth and healing. **In simple terms:** Writing helps survivors claim their truth. Key Takeaway Write to define your reality. Themes healing voice truth Mood reflective hopeful Type therapeutic inspirational When to use this quote - therapy sessions - support groups - personal journaling - creative workshops Key Concepts narrative reclamation psychological empowerment Questions to Reflect On - How does writing change your perception of past events? - What barriers stop you from expressing your story? A Different Perspective Writing alone cannot erase trauma; professional support may still be needed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adults](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adults/) [Bass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bass/) [Courage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courage/) [Courage Heal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courage-heal-676366/) [Faults](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faults/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Heal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heal/) [Healing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/healing/) [Important](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/important/) [Innocent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/innocent/) [Laura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laura/) [Opportunity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opportunity/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Responsibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsibility/) [Survivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/survivor/) [Survivors Experiences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/survivors-experiences-1093795/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing Important](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-important-601066/) ## Related quotes > [“Deciding to actively heal is terrifying because it means opening up to hope. For many survivors, hope has brought only disappointment. Although it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-bass/deciding-to-actively-heal-is-terrifying-because-it-means-opening-up/) [Ellen Bass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-bass/) > [Because it takes more courage to heal the world's hurts than to inflict them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-aguirre/because-it-takes-more-courage-to-heal-the-world-s-hurts-than-to/) [Ann Aguirre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-aguirre/) > [It is God who enables us to return to life after tragedy-not by eradicating all suffering but by giving us the strength and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-levy/it-is-god-who-enables-us-to-return-to-life-after-tragedy-not-by/) [Naomi Levy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-levy/) > [“When you find yourself in need of courage, remember that it is your faith, not your spine, that needs strengthening! And your faith will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-jeremiah/when-you-find-yourself-in-need-of-courage-remember-that-it-is-your/) [David Jeremiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-jeremiah/) > [“it takes more courage to heal the world’s hurts than to inflict them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-aguirre/it-takes-more-courage-to-heal-the-world-s-hurts-than-to-inflict-them/) [Ann Aguirre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-aguirre/) > [I don't know if there is any one secret to successful writing, but one important step is to move beyond imitation and discover what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gunn/i-don-t-know-if-there-is-any-one-secret-to-successful-writing-but-one/) [James Gunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gunn/) > [Writing is what's important to me, and anything that helps me do that - or enhances and prolongs and deepens and sometimes intensifies argument…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/writing-is-what-s-important-to-me-and-anything-that-helps-me-do-that/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Not writing is as important as writing - go out into the world and remember how interesting it, and the people in it, are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/not-writing-is-as-important-as-writing-go-out-into-the-world-and/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [When I lived in China, my works were already being banned, and I couldn't publish. In those days, when I was in China, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gao-xingjian/when-i-lived-in-china-my-works-were-already-being-banned-and-i-couldn/) [Gao Xingjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gao-xingjian/) > [For even the most childish intoxication with progress will soon be forced to recognize that writing and books have a function that is eternal.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/for-even-the-most-childish-intoxication-with-progress-will-soon-be/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [You think you're writing the most important book, you think you're writing the most stupid book, and you never really know before it's done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-heti/you-think-you-re-writing-the-most-important-book-you-think-you-re/) [Sheila Heti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-heti/) > [You have to fight against all the things that will keep you out of writing, because life doesn't go with writing. You will always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leila-slimani/you-have-to-fight-against-all-the-things-that-will-keep-you-out-of/) [Leila Slimani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leila-slimani/) > [“Even great, best selling writers produce works that fall flat from expectations. This writing thing isn't easy and everything you produce won't be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-arroyo-ruffin/even-great-best-selling-writers-produce-works-that-fall-flat-from/) [Nancy Arroyo Ruffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-arroyo-ruffin/) > [“I never knew why or how writing could be so important until I learned about the no-talking rule and found that writing was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karol-jackowski/i-never-knew-why-or-how-writing-could-be-so-important-until-i-learned/) [Karol Jackowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karol-jackowski/) > [What I'm after is something different than supplying people with the idea that I'm writing an important play.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-shepard/what-i-m-after-is-something-different-than-supplying-people-with-the/) [Sam Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-shepard/) ## More by Ellen Bass > [“In spite of the horror, in spite of the tragedy, in spite of the weeks of sleepless nights, I'm finally alive. I'm not pretending.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-bass/in-spite-of-the-horror-in-spite-of-the-tragedy-in-spite-of-the-weeks/) [Ellen Bass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-bass/) > [Garrison Keillor read several of my poems on 'The Writer's Almanac' and I've heard from listeners nationally and internationally. That's one of the great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-bass/garrison-keillor-read-several-of-my-poems-on-the-writer-s-almanac-and/) [Ellen Bass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-bass/) > [“If You Knew What if you knew you'd be the last to touch someone? 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To and from school in her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-bass/dead-butterfly-by-ellen-bass-for-months-my-daughter-carried-a-dead/) [Ellen Bass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-bass/) > [If you’ve managed to do one good thing, the ocean doesn’t care. But when Newton’s apple fell toward the earth, the earth, ever so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-bass/if-you-ve-managed-to-do-one-good-thing-the-ocean-doesn-t-care-but/) [Ellen Bass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-bass/) > [There is a comfort in knowing that you don’t have to pretend anymore, that you are going to do everything within your power to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-bass/there-is-a-comfort-in-knowing-that-you-don-t-have-to-pretend-anymore/) [Ellen Bass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-bass/) > [ Visualizing how you want to be is \[an\] effective way to move toward your goal. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-bass/visualizing-how-you-want-to-be-is-an-effective-way-to-move-toward/) [Ellen Bass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-bass/) > [“Healing was a terrifying and painful experience and my life was as full of struggle and heartache as it had always been. 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Exercise is also a great way to discharge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-bass/exercise-stimulates-your-circulation-massages-your-internal-organs/) [Ellen Bass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-bass/) > [I wanted to be a writer since I was in high school, but I never thought it was possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-bass/i-wanted-to-be-a-writer-since-i-was-in-high-school-but-i-never/) [Ellen Bass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-bass/) > [Your wallet will be stolen, you'll get fat, slip on the bathroom tiles of a foreign hotel and crack your hip.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-bass/your-wallet-will-be-stolen-you-ll-get-fat-slip-on-the-bathroom-tiles/) [Ellen Bass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-bass/) > [What would people look like if we could see them as they are, soaked in honey, stung and swollen, reckless, pinned against time?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-bass/what-would-people-look-like-if-we-could-see-them-as-they-are-soaked/) [Ellen Bass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-bass/) [Explore all 34 Ellen Bass quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-bass/) ## More Adults quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [Behind every successful child is an adult who believed in him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/behind-every-successful-child-is-an-adult-who-believed-in-him/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [Gratitude isn't just a feeling, it's an action. 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Hitting your kid is really the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zach-braff/the-thing-about-hitting-kids-is-think-about-if-you-were-doing-the/) [Zach Braff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zach-braff/) > [Plainly, the environment must be a living one, directed by a higher intelligence, arranged by an adult who is prepared for his mission.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/plainly-the-environment-must-be-a-living-one-directed-by-a-higher/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [Almost everywhere we find . . . the use of various coercive measures, to rid ourselves as quickly as possible of the child withinus--i.e.,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-miller/almost-everywhere-we-find-the-use-of-various-coercive-measures-to-rid/) [Alice Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-miller/) > [Education, for most people, means trying to lead the child to resemble the typical adult of his society . . . but for me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-piaget/education-for-most-people-means-trying-to-lead-the-child-to-resemble/) [Jean Piaget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-piaget/) > [I do not believe in public shaming. 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