--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It made me alert, like someone had…" description: "\"“It made me alert, like someone had scrubbed mint all over my skin. I'd walk into that stinking, miserable prison and for the next three hours, a wise ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/efc/jennifer-egan-825_beautiful-woman_it-made-me-alert-like-someone-had-scrubb_2260792.jpg" --- # It made me alert, like someone had scrubbed mint all over… ![“It made me alert, like someone had scrubbed mint all over my skin. I'd walk into that stinking, miserable prison and for the next three hours, a wise and beautiful woman would float out of the wreckage of my life, and her words and thoughts and tiniest movements were precious.” quote by Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/efc/jennifer-egan-825_beautiful-woman_it-made-me-alert-like-someone-had-scrubb_2260792.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/efc/jennifer-egan-825_beautiful-woman_it-made-me-alert-like-someone-had-scrubb_2260792.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/efc/jennifer-egan-825_beautiful-woman_it-made-me-alert-like-someone-had-scrubb_2260792.jpg) > ““It made me alert, like someone had scrubbed mint all over my skin. I'd walk into that stinking, miserable prison and for the next three hours, a wise and beautiful woman would float out of the wreckage of my life, and her words and thoughts and tiniest movements were precious.”” [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A vivid sensory metaphor describes a sudden, intense clarity that emerges amid hardship, revealing inner wisdom. **In simple terms:** A sudden clarity appears in tough times. Key Takeaway Seek moments of insight in difficulty. Themes clarity resilience inner wisdom Mood introspective hopeful Type literary reflective When to use this quote - personal crisis - creative work - emotional healing Key Concepts sensory metaphor personal transformation Questions to Reflect On - How do you cultivate awareness during struggle? - What practices help you retain fleeting insights? A Different Perspective The insight may be fleeting and hard to capture. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beautiful woman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautiful-woman/) [Drugs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drugs/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Mint Skin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mint-skin-5201900/) [Miserable Prison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/miserable-prison-1908287/) [Prison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prison/) [Redemption](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/redemption/) [Scrubbed Mint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scrubbed-mint-5201899/) ## Related quotes > [The most miserable prison in the world is the prison we make for ourselves when we refuse to show mercy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-w-wiersbe/the-most-miserable-prison-in-the-world-is-the-prison-we-make-for-2/) [Warren W. Wiersbe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-w-wiersbe/) > [The most miserable prison in the world is the prison we make for ourselves when we refuse to show mercy. Our thoughts become shackled,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-w-wiersbe/the-most-miserable-prison-in-the-world-is-the-prison-we-make-for/) [Warren W. Wiersbe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-w-wiersbe/) > [“Will you treat people who make you miserable, as prison guards, or travel agents?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-miklosy/will-you-treat-people-who-make-you-miserable-as-prison-guards-or/) [Leslie Miklosy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-miklosy/) > [You have been to Hell and Back. On your long way to redemption, some demons have rode your coattails. To truly recover, to really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-nathaniel-butler/you-have-been-to-hell-and-back-on-your-long-way-to-redemption-some/) [Eugene Nathaniel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-nathaniel-butler/) > [A beautiful woman that can go out and then come home alone and lay in bed alone, is a woman with standards and self…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-beautiful-woman-that-can-go-out-and-then-come-home-alone-and-lay-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“A strange thing happened to me in my dream. I was rapt into the Seventh Heaven. There sat all the gods assembled. As a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/a-strange-thing-happened-to-me-in-my-dream-i-was-rapt-into-the/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [Being jealous of a beautiful woman is not going to make you more beautiful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zsa-zsa-gabor/being-jealous-of-a-beautiful-woman-is-not-going-to-make-you-more/) [Zsa Zsa Gabor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zsa-zsa-gabor/) > [I was in the South of France, in Saint-Tropez and I met her when it was totally unexpected. I was very lucky because she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bert-stern/i-was-in-the-south-of-france-in-saint-tropez-and-i-met-her-when-it/) [Bert Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bert-stern/) > [No matter how beautiful a woman might be, you're always threatened by certain... You're always threatened by](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dolly-parton/no-matter-how-beautiful-a-woman-might-be-you-re-always-threatened-by/) [Dolly Parton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dolly-parton/) > [“She told me once that when she was with me she felt like the beautiful woman she never thought she'd be. I can't imagine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-finn/she-told-me-once-that-when-she-was-with-me-she-felt-like-the/) [Elizabeth Finn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-finn/) > [“Muriel sprinkled salt over her haddock mousse. ‘It is not easy to be specific, but both morally and hygienically there is . . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-ibbotson/muriel-sprinkled-salt-over-her-haddock-mousse-it-is-not-easy-to-be/) [Eva Ibbotson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-ibbotson/) > [A beautiful woman, if poor, should use double circumspection; for her beauty will tempt others, her poverty herself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/a-beautiful-woman-if-poor-should-use-double-circumspection-for-her/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [There is nothing touches our imagination so much as a beautiful woman in a plain dress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/there-is-nothing-touches-our-imagination-so-much-as-a-beautiful-woman/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [In New York, you are constantly faced with this very urgent decision that you have to make, about every twenty minutes...you have to decide,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cross/in-new-york-you-are-constantly-faced-with-this-very-urgent-decision/) [David Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cross/) > [A beautiful woman must expect to be more accountable for her steps, than one less attractive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-richardson/a-beautiful-woman-must-expect-to-be-more-accountable-for-her-steps/) [Samuel Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-richardson/) ## More by Jennifer Egan > [“Behind the desk was nothing but view-the whole city flung out in front of us the way street vendors fling out their towels packed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/behind-the-desk-was-nothing-but-view-the-whole-city-flung-out-in/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [I just think that, for my particular personality, feeling slightly invisible is always a help.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/i-just-think-that-for-my-particular-personality-feeling-slightly/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [Between books, I have to throw out everything I did before, because the tools I've used to write the previous book will not only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/between-books-i-have-to-throw-out-everything-i-did-before-because-the/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [As a reader and a writer, I'm happiest when apparently mutually exclusive states can somehow coexist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/as-a-reader-and-a-writer-i-m-happiest-when-apparently-mutually/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [I teach intermittently, and while I enjoy it, I don't find that it's a calling for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/i-teach-intermittently-and-while-i-enjoy-it-i-don-t-find-that-it-s-a/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [Like all failed experiments, that one taught me something I didn’t expect: one key ingredient of so-called experience is the delusional faith that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/like-all-failed-experiments-that-one-taught-me-something-i-didn-t/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [“Thousands of solar panels lift and tilt at the same time, in the same way. I clutch at Dad's arm: "Why are they doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/thousands-of-solar-panels-lift-and-tilt-at-the-same-time-in-the-same/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [It was the hat. He looked sweet in the hat. How could a man in a fuzzy blue hat have used human bones to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/it-was-the-hat-he-looked-sweet-in-the-hat-how-could-a-man-in-a-fuzzy/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [I was a stepchild in two different families. The hardest thing about being a stepchild is you know that in some way everything would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/i-was-a-stepchild-in-two-different-families-the-hardest-thing-about/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [“The seconds pass. I know what’s going on because it’s the same thing that always happens: give me something nice, something I love or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/the-seconds-pass-i-know-what-s-going-on-because-it-s-the-same-thing/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [I had this idea that I could hire myself out as a person to go on archeological digs and dig, without any training! I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/i-had-this-idea-that-i-could-hire-myself-out-as-a-person-to-go-on/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [At night, the house thick with sleep, she would peer out her bedroom window at the trees and sky and feel the presence of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/at-night-the-house-thick-with-sleep-she-would-peer-out-her-bedroom/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [I number my drafts, and by the time a book is done, I'll have 75 or 80 drafts of some sections.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/i-number-my-drafts-and-by-the-time-a-book-is-done-i-ll-have-75-or-80/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [Read at the level at which you want to write. Reading is the nourishment that feeds the kind of writing you want to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/read-at-the-level-at-which-you-want-to-write-reading-is-the/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [I was a stepchild in two different families. The hardest thing about being a stepchild is you know that in some way everything would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/i-was-a-stepchild-in-two-different-families-the-hardest-thing-about-2/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) [Explore all 358 Jennifer Egan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) ## More Beautiful woman quotes > [A beautiful woman must expect to be more accountable for her steps, than one less attractive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-richardson/a-beautiful-woman-must-expect-to-be-more-accountable-for-her-steps/) [Samuel Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-richardson/) > [In New York, you are constantly faced with this very urgent decision that you have to make, about every twenty minutes...you have to decide,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cross/in-new-york-you-are-constantly-faced-with-this-very-urgent-decision/) [David Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cross/) > [There is nothing touches our imagination so much as a beautiful woman in a plain dress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/there-is-nothing-touches-our-imagination-so-much-as-a-beautiful-woman/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [A beautiful woman, if poor, should use double circumspection; for her beauty will tempt others, her poverty herself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/a-beautiful-woman-if-poor-should-use-double-circumspection-for-her/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [“Muriel sprinkled salt over her haddock mousse. ‘It is not easy to be specific, but both morally and hygienically there is . . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-ibbotson/muriel-sprinkled-salt-over-her-haddock-mousse-it-is-not-easy-to-be/) [Eva Ibbotson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-ibbotson/) > [“She told me once that when she was with me she felt like the beautiful woman she never thought she'd be. I can't imagine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-finn/she-told-me-once-that-when-she-was-with-me-she-felt-like-the/) [Elizabeth Finn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-finn/) > [No matter how beautiful a woman might be, you're always threatened by certain... You're always threatened by](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dolly-parton/no-matter-how-beautiful-a-woman-might-be-you-re-always-threatened-by/) [Dolly Parton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dolly-parton/) > [I was in the South of France, in Saint-Tropez and I met her when it was totally unexpected. I was very lucky because she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bert-stern/i-was-in-the-south-of-france-in-saint-tropez-and-i-met-her-when-it/) [Bert Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bert-stern/) > [Being jealous of a beautiful woman is not going to make you more beautiful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zsa-zsa-gabor/being-jealous-of-a-beautiful-woman-is-not-going-to-make-you-more/) [Zsa Zsa Gabor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zsa-zsa-gabor/) > [“A strange thing happened to me in my dream. I was rapt into the Seventh Heaven. There sat all the gods assembled. As a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/a-strange-thing-happened-to-me-in-my-dream-i-was-rapt-into-the/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [A beautiful woman that can go out and then come home alone and lay in bed alone, is a woman with standards and self…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-beautiful-woman-that-can-go-out-and-then-come-home-alone-and-lay-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Behind every successful man, there's a beautiful woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hammody-ali/behind-every-successful-man-there-s-a-beautiful-woman/) [Hammody Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hammody-ali/) > [You're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen, and that's not saying much for you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/you-re-the-most-beautiful-woman-i-ve-ever-seen-and-that-s-not-saying/) [Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/) > [A beautiful woman looking at her image in the mirror may very well believe the image is herself. An ugly woman knows it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/a-beautiful-woman-looking-at-her-image-in-the-mirror-may-very-well/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [“For here he was, barely able to tread water, some gargantuan lizard in the water with him, and the most beautiful woman in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernon-d-burns/for-here-he-was-barely-able-to-tread-water-some-gargantuan-lizard-in/) [Vernon D. Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernon-d-burns/) [Browse all 599 Beautiful woman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautiful-woman/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It made me alert, like someone had scrubbed mint all over my skin. 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