--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I had come to discover that \"safe\" was an…" description: "\"I had come to discover that \"safe\" was an illusion, a pretense that adults wrapped around their children- and sometimes themselves- to make the world s..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bef/holly-lisle-24129_adults_i-had-come-to-discover-that-safe-was-an_2466958.jpg" --- # I had come to discover that "safe" was an illusion, a… ![“I had come to discover that "safe" was an illusion, a pretense that adults wrapped around their children- and sometimes themselves- to make the world seem comfortable. I had discovered that under that thin cover of let's-pretend, monsters and nightmares lay, and that not all of them came from…” quote by Holly Lisle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bef/holly-lisle-24129_adults_i-had-come-to-discover-that-safe-was-an_2466958.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bef/holly-lisle-24129_adults_i-had-come-to-discover-that-safe-was-an_2466958.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bef/holly-lisle-24129_adults_i-had-come-to-discover-that-safe-was-an_2466958.jpg) > “I had come to discover that "safe" was an illusion, a pretense that adults wrapped around their children- and sometimes themselves- to make the world seem comfortable. I had discovered that under that thin cover of let's-pretend, monsters and nightmares lay, and that not all of them came from places like the moonroads or the nightling cities. Some of the monsters were people we knew. People we thought we could trust.” [Holly Lisle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-lisle/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Safety is a comforting myth that hides real dangers, often from familiar people, revealing that trust can be misplaced. **In simple terms:** Safety is an illusion that hides danger. Key Takeaway Question assumptions about safety and trust. Themes trust danger illusion family psychology Mood cautious reflective serious Type advice philosophical warning When to use this quote - parenting - friendships - workplace dynamics - community safety Key Concepts psychological safety betrayal social trust Questions to Reflect On - Who in your life might be a hidden threat? - How do you balance trust with vigilance? A Different Perspective Not all threats are obvious; some come from within. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adults](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adults/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Cities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cities/) [Illusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illusion/) [Illusion Pretense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illusion-pretense-720906/) [Monsters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/monsters/) [Monsters People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/monsters-people-720907/) [Nightmare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nightmare/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Pretend Monsters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pretend-monsters-720905/) [Pretense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pretense/) [Safe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/safe/) [Safe Illusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/safe-illusion-720904/) [Sometimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sometimes/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“Safe is an illusion, a lie we tell ourselves. The only way to gain is to risk.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/staci-hart/safe-is-an-illusion-a-lie-we-tell-ourselves-the-only-way-to-gain-is/) [Staci Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/staci-hart/) > [“no one would ever demand compensation to keep people alive. You make us sound like monsters, as if people wouldn’t help others unless they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-j-sullivan/no-one-would-ever-demand-compensation-to-keep-people-alive-you-make/) [Michael J. Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-j-sullivan/) > [Monsters are very real. But they're not just creatures. Monsters are everywhere. They're people. They're nightmares...They are the things that we harbor within ourselves.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-robert-cargill/monsters-are-very-real-but-they-re-not-just-creatures-monsters-are/) [C. Robert Cargill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-robert-cargill/) > [Computer-generated monsters - people shoot them all day with videogames, you know, so kids aren't going to be afraid of that. People are getting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-slade/computer-generated-monsters-people-shoot-them-all-day-with-videogames/) [David Slade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-slade/) > [But someone like Claude Chabrol tries to make a connection between the society in which we live and the social reasons which make monsters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabelle-huppert/but-someone-like-claude-chabrol-tries-to-make-a-connection-between/) [Isabelle Huppert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabelle-huppert/) > [If we continue...to consume the world until there's no more to consume, then there's going to come a day, sure as hell, when our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-quinn/if-we-continue-to-consume-the-world-until-there-s-no-more-to-consume/) [Daniel Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-quinn/) > [ If we say that monsters \[people who do terrible evil\] are beyond forgiving, we give them a power they should never have...they are given… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-b-smedes/if-we-say-that-monsters-people-who-do-terrible-evil-are-beyond/) [Lewis B. Smedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/) > [“Don't you see? Those monsters you've been so worried about. Not aliens. People. The monsters have always been people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-revis/don-t-you-see-those-monsters-you-ve-been-so-worried-about-not-aliens/) [Beth Revis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-revis/) > [People who are considered scary or odd or even monsters are so often the people that just need love and someone to care for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-o-hara/people-who-are-considered-scary-or-odd-or-even-monsters-are-so-often/) [Catherine O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-o-hara/) > [... a less than perfect meddling in the spiritual world can breed monsters for other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/a-less-than-perfect-meddling-in-the-spiritual-world-can-breed/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [Love of another is merely empty flattery and self-deception for one who cannot accept himself without pretense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-e-modesitt-jr/love-of-another-is-merely-empty-flattery-and-self-deception-for-one/) [L.E. Modesitt Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-e-modesitt-jr/) > [pretense is the oil that lubricates society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roberts-rinehart/pretense-is-the-oil-that-lubricates-society/) [Mary Roberts Rinehart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roberts-rinehart/) > [Once you can fake sincerity, you can fake anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-jo-putney/once-you-can-fake-sincerity-you-can-fake-anything/) [Mary Jo Putney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-jo-putney/) > [“Employment is an employee’s kissing of an employer’s ass. A salary is the employer’s pretense to be cleaning his ass.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/employment-is-an-employee-s-kissing-of-an-employer-s-ass-a-salary-is/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [There's this American pretense, which is the pretense of the journalist with the view from nowhere - which has somehow morphed into the journalist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/there-s-this-american-pretense-which-is-the-pretense-of-the/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) ## More by Holly Lisle > [“Which would be at about shoulder height. Apparently, in Pada’s search for her path, the Saints needed to be sure that they had nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-lisle/which-would-be-at-about-shoulder-height-apparently-in-pada-s-search/) [Holly Lisle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-lisle/) > [“May we see our paths clearly, may we follow them truly, and may the roads we walk always bring us back together safely from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-lisle/may-we-see-our-paths-clearly-may-we-follow-them-truly-and-may-the/) [Holly Lisle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-lisle/) > [Adventures are only interesting once you've lived to see the end of them. Before that, they are nothing but fear, and being too cold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-lisle/adventures-are-only-interesting-once-you-ve-lived-to-see-the-end-of/) [Holly Lisle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-lisle/) > [Anything designed to be inoffensive isn't worth your time -- life itself is pretty offensive, ending as it does with death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-lisle/anything-designed-to-be-inoffensive-isn-t-worth-your-time-life-itself/) [Holly Lisle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-lisle/) > [If you have dreams you want to pursue, the time is now. There is no perfect time, and there is no better time. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-lisle/if-you-have-dreams-you-want-to-pursue-the-time-is-now-there-is-no/) [Holly Lisle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-lisle/) > [The definition of a writing career, is write a book, write another book, write another book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-lisle/the-definition-of-a-writing-career-is-write-a-book-write-another-book/) [Holly Lisle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-lisle/) > [Guilt is a good friend, isn't it? It will stand at your back when every other friend has abandoned you, and in the face…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-lisle/guilt-is-a-good-friend-isn-t-it-it-will-stand-at-your-back-when-every/) [Holly Lisle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-lisle/) > [Courage is nothing more than taking one step more than you think you can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-lisle/courage-is-nothing-more-than-taking-one-step-more-than-you-think-you/) [Holly Lisle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-lisle/) > [Willful ignorance and endless laws become the replacement for self-education and self-restraint, because ignorance and laws are easy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-lisle/willful-ignorance-and-endless-laws-become-the-replacement-for-self/) [Holly Lisle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-lisle/) > [“Fiction---good fiction, anyway---is dream made flesh, given purpose and drive, and set on a quest to show us the best in us and to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-lisle/fiction-good-fiction-anyway-is-dream-made-flesh-given-purpose-and/) [Holly Lisle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-lisle/) > [“Race doesn't exist. Skin color exists. Hair and eye color are real. Body type varies from individual to individual, as does tooth shape and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-lisle/race-doesn-t-exist-skin-color-exists-hair-and-eye-color-are-real-body/) [Holly Lisle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-lisle/) > [You must learn to face the fact, always, that you choose to do what you do, and that everything you do affects not only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-lisle/you-must-learn-to-face-the-fact-always-that-you-choose-to-do-what-you/) [Holly Lisle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-lisle/) > [A voice speaks to each of us in the still silent places - a voice that tells us to stand, to have courage, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-lisle/a-voice-speaks-to-each-of-us-in-the-still-silent-places-a-voice-that/) [Holly Lisle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-lisle/) > [The only place you will be accepted is the place you make for yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-lisle/the-only-place-you-will-be-accepted-is-the-place-you-make-for-yourself/) [Holly Lisle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-lisle/) > [“The story I'm writing finds its own voice while I'm writing it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-lisle/the-story-i-m-writing-finds-its-own-voice-while-i-m-writing-it/) [Holly Lisle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-lisle/) [Explore all 25 Holly Lisle quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-lisle/) ## 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. Expressing gratitude by writing in a journal, taking a photo, or shooting a video creates a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-kaplan/gratitude-isn-t-just-a-feeling-it-s-an-action-expressing-gratitude-by/) [Janice Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-kaplan/) > [The thing about hitting kids is, think about if you were doing the same thing to another adult. 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. I do believe that young adults go to college to learn things, and that this process will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-weingarten/i-do-not-believe-in-public-shaming-i-do-believe-that-young-adults-go/) [Gene Weingarten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-weingarten/) > [The Role of Deliberate Practice in the Acquisition of Expert Performance”: “The differences between expert performers and normal adults are not immutable, that is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-anders-ericsson/the-role-of-deliberate-practice-in-the-acquisition-of-expert/) [K. Anders Ericsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-anders-ericsson/) > [Part of life is doing stuff that you don't want to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/one-who-does-not-wish-to-be-named/part-of-life-is-doing-stuff-that-you-don-t-want-to-do/) [One Who Does Not Wish To Be Named](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/one-who-does-not-wish-to-be-named/) > [ He \[an earnest young reporter\] seemed to share the view of many intelligent, well-educated, well-meaning people that, while adult literature may aim to be… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-paterson/he-an-earnest-young-reporter-seemed-to-share-the-view-of-many/) [Katherine Paterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-paterson/) > [Kids, if anything, are harder to write for because they are a more discerning audience. They will not stay with you if you go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/kids-if-anything-are-harder-to-write-for-because-they-are-a-more/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [On the one hand, we had great filmic spectacles that brought in big audiences, adults as well as primary and secondary school students. On…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrzej-wajda/on-the-one-hand-we-had-great-filmic-spectacles-that-brought-in-big/) [Andrzej Wajda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrzej-wajda/) > [It's hard to change adults, and it's hard to change it from a political position or a perceived political position.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-obama/it-s-hard-to-change-adults-and-it-s-hard-to-change-it-from-a/) [Michelle Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-obama/) > [When I was a child at sixteen, I was just a child. All sixteen year-olds are just children. As much as we like them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-abagnale/when-i-was-a-child-at-sixteen-i-was-just-a-child-all-sixteen-year/) [Frank Abagnale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-abagnale/) [Browse all 3,113 Adults quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adults/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I had come to discover that \"safe\" was an illusion, a pretense that adults wrapped around their children- and sometimes themselves- to make the world seem comfortable. I had discovered that under that thin cover of let's-pretend, monsters and nightmares lay, and that not all of them came from places like the moonroads or the nightling cities. Some of the monsters were people we knew. 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