--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: [Stephanie] \"This won't be so bad,\" I…" description: "\"“[Stephanie] \"This won't be so bad,\" I said to her, making an effort at convincing myself. \"How about your blanket? We could wrap him up in the blanket..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d9/janet-evanovich-291_gaze_stephanie-this-won-t-be-so-bad-i-said-to_1197917.png" --- # \[Stephanie\] "This won't be so bad," I said to her, making… ![“[Stephanie] "This won't be so bad," I said to her, making an effort at convincing myself. "How about your blanket? We could wrap him up in the blanket. Then we could pick him up without actually touching him." "I suppose that'd be all right," Lula said. "We could give it a try" I spread the…” quote by Janet Evanovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d9/janet-evanovich-291_gaze_stephanie-this-won-t-be-so-bad-i-said-to_1197917.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d9/janet-evanovich-291_gaze_stephanie-this-won-t-be-so-bad-i-said-to_1197917.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d9/janet-evanovich-291_gaze_stephanie-this-won-t-be-so-bad-i-said-to_1197917.png) > ““\[Stephanie\] "This won't be so bad," I said to her, making an effort at convincing myself. "How about your blanket? We could wrap him up in the blanket. Then we could pick him up without actually touching him." "I suppose that'd be all right," Lula said. "We could give it a try" I spread the blanket on the ground beside Elliot Harp, took a deep breath, hooked my fingers around his belt and rolled him onto the blanket. I jumped back, squeezed my eyes closed tight and exhaled. No matter how much violent death I saw, I would never get used to it. "I'm gonna definitely have the runs," Lula said. "I can feel it coming on." "Forget about the runs and help me with this body!" Lula grabbed hold of the head end of the blanket, and I grabbed hold of the foot end. Harp had full rigor and wouldn't bend, so we put him in the trunk headfirst with his legs sticking out. We carefully closed the lid on Harp's knees and secured the lid with a piece of rope Lula had in her trunk. "Hold on," Lula said, pulling a red flowered scarf from her coat pocket, tying the scarf on Harp's foot like a flag. "Don't want to get a ticket. I hear the police are real picky about having things sticking out of your trunk." Especially dead guys.”” [Janet Evanovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-evanovich/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A character tries to rationalize a gruesome act, using humor and practical tricks to cope with violent reality. **In simple terms:** People use jokes to handle horror. Key Takeaway Find healthier coping methods. Themes humor coping violence morality friendship Mood tense darkly comic anxious Type literary dialogue dark humor When to use this quote - handling trauma - making difficult decisions - supporting friends - dealing with death - managing fear Key Concepts psychological denial ethical conflict survival tactics Questions to Reflect On - How do jokes affect your perception of trauma? - When is humor inappropriate? A Different Perspective The humor may downplay seriousness, risking desensitization. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Blanket Grabbed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blanket-grabbed-1763320/) [Gaze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gaze/) [Hold Lula](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hold-lula-3579925/) [Humor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humor/) [Lula Grabbed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lula-grabbed-3579924/) [Lula Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lula-said-944368/) [Lula Trunk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lula-trunk-3579926/) [Making An Effort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/making-an-effort/) [Stephanie plum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stephanie-plum/) ## Related quotes > [“Remember, so swashing anyone into the trunk of your car!” “Sure,” Lula said, “I know that”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-evanovich/remember-so-swashing-anyone-into-the-trunk-of-your-car-sure-lula-said/) [Janet Evanovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-evanovich/) > [“Darla had been doing something by the fire. 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"I just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-evanovich/deangelo-blew-up-my-bus-so-i-filled-his-car-with-shit-genius-right/) [Janet Evanovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-evanovich/) > [Good thing he's dead," Lula said, "or that would have hurt like the devil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-evanovich/good-thing-he-s-dead-lula-said-or-that-would-have-hurt-like-the-devil/) [Janet Evanovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-evanovich/) > [Amen" Lula said and she made the sign of the cross. "I thought you were Baptist." "Yeah, but we don't got any hand signals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-evanovich/amen-lula-said-and-she-made-the-sign-of-the-cross-i-thought-you-were/) [Janet Evanovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-evanovich/) ## More by Janet Evanovich > [“His pager beeped, and he looked at the readout. “I have to get back to Deal. 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He was dressed in black slacks, a form-fitting black T-shirt, and a black blazer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-evanovich/ranger-was-waiting-he-was-dressed-in-black-slacks-a-form-fitting/) [Janet Evanovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-evanovich/) > [I guessed my mother figured if my father got right down to the task of eating he wouldn’t be so inclined to jump up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-evanovich/i-guessed-my-mother-figured-if-my-father-got-right-down-to-the-task/) [Janet Evanovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-evanovich/) > [You can get through very serious and sometimes horrible and sometimes embarrassing and very awkward situations with humor. It gives us a way out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-evanovich/you-can-get-through-very-serious-and-sometimes-horrible-and-sometimes/) [Janet Evanovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-evanovich/) > [Way back before the 'Alex Barnaby' series was first published, we were talking with Dark Horse then about making it into a graphic novel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-evanovich/way-back-before-the-alex-barnaby-series-was-first-published-we-were/) [Janet Evanovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-evanovich/) > [I made a choice that I was not going to be a pretentious writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-evanovich/i-made-a-choice-that-i-was-not-going-to-be-a-pretentious-writer/) [Janet Evanovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-evanovich/) > [“He wears jeans, untucked shirts, and a Glock 19, and he has a big shaggy dog named Bob.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-evanovich/he-wears-jeans-untucked-shirts-and-a-glock-19-and-he-has-a-big-shaggy/) [Janet Evanovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-evanovich/) > [I write to entertain. When people read one of my books I want them to finish with a smile on their faces, feeling a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-evanovich/i-write-to-entertain-when-people-read-one-of-my-books-i-want-them-to/) [Janet Evanovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-evanovich/) > [“I hate shopping for clothes," Kate said. "I liked when I was in the military and all I needed was camouflage gear." 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What the devil was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tessa-dare/this-explains-so-much-she-said-clucking-her-tongue-in-mother-hen/) [Tessa Dare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tessa-dare/) [Browse all 15,087 Gaze quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gaze/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“[Stephanie] \"This won't be so bad,\" I said to her, making an effort at convincing myself. \"How about your blanket? We could wrap him up in the blanket. Then we could pick him up without actually touching him.\" \"I suppose that'd be all right,\" Lula said. \"We could give it a try\" I spread the blanket on the ground beside Elliot Harp, took a deep breath, hooked my fingers around his belt and rolled him onto the blanket. I jumped back, squeezed my eyes closed tight and exhaled. No matter how much violent death I saw, I would never get used to it. \"I'm gonna definitely have the runs,\" Lula said. \"I can feel it coming on.\" \"Forget about the runs and help me with this body!\" Lula grabbed hold of the head end of the blanket, and I grabbed hold of the foot end. Harp had full rigor and wouldn't bend, so we put him in the trunk headfirst with his legs sticking out. We carefully closed the lid on Harp's knees and secured the lid with a piece of rope Lula had in her trunk. \"Hold on,\" Lula said, pulling a red flowered scarf from her coat pocket, tying the scarf on Harp's foot like a flag. \"Don't want to get a ticket. I hear the police are real picky about having things sticking out of your trunk.\" Especially dead guys.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Janet Evanovich" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-evanovich/stephanie-this-won-t-be-so-bad-i-said-to-her-making-an-effort-at/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Gaze" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-evanovich/stephanie-this-won-t-be-so-bad-i-said-to-her-making-an-effort-at/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d9/janet-evanovich-291_gaze_stephanie-this-won-t-be-so-bad-i-said-to_1197917.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d9/janet-evanovich-291_gaze_stephanie-this-won-t-be-so-bad-i-said-to_1197917.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d9/janet-evanovich-291_gaze_stephanie-this-won-t-be-so-bad-i-said-to_1197917.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“[Stephanie] \"This won't be so bad,\" I said to her, making an effort at convincing myself. \"How about your…” — Janet Evanovich", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Janet Evanovich", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-evanovich/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“[Stephanie] \"This won't be so bad,\"...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-evanovich/stephanie-this-won-t-be-so-bad-i-said-to-her-making-an-effort-at/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-evanovich/stephanie-this-won-t-be-so-bad-i-said-to-her-making-an-effort-at/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```