--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm sorry I'm young,\" Deborah answered…" description: "\"I'm sorry I'm young,\" Deborah answered with a bitterness that was half prose. \"We have a right to be as crazy as anyone else\" — Joanne Greenberg" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e3/joanne-greenberg-14643_bitterness_i-m-sorry-i-m-young-deborah-answered-wit_2919214.png" --- # I'm sorry I'm young," Deborah answered with a bitterness… ![“I'm sorry I'm young," Deborah answered with a bitterness that was half prose. "We have a right to be as crazy as anyone else” quote by Joanne Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e3/joanne-greenberg-14643_bitterness_i-m-sorry-i-m-young-deborah-answered-wit_2919214.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e3/joanne-greenberg-14643_bitterness_i-m-sorry-i-m-young-deborah-answered-wit_2919214.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e3/joanne-greenberg-14643_bitterness_i-m-sorry-i-m-young-deborah-answered-wit_2919214.png) > “I'm sorry I'm young," Deborah answered with a bitterness that was half prose. "We have a right to be as crazy as anyone else” [Joanne Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-greenberg/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker expresses youthful frustration and a desire for freedom, highlighting the tension between societal expectations and personal authenticity. **In simple terms:** Youthful anger seeks freedom from constraints. Key Takeaway Acknowledge and channel youthful energy construct constructive change. Themes identity rebellion freedom youth emotional expression Mood defiant reflective Type literary emotive When to use this quote - adolescent rebellion - creative writing - mental health counseling - peer support groups - self‑discovery workshops Key Concepts coming‑of‑age personal agency social pressure Questions to Reflect On - What does “crazy” mean to you? - How can you express dissent without self‑destruction? A Different Perspective The quote may romanticize bitterness, overlooking constructive coping strategies. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Answered Bitterness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/answered-bitterness-2763540/) [Bitterness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bitterness/) [Bitterness Half](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bitterness-half-2763539/) [Crazy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crazy/) [Half](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/half/) [I m sorry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-m-sorry/) [Mental health](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mental-health/) [Prose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prose/) [Sorry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sorry/) [Sorry Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sorry-young-554568/) [Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young/) [Young Deborah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young-deborah-2763538/) ## Related quotes > [I'm sorry I'm young," Deborah answered with a bitterness that was half prose. 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I never meant it to be a lousy anti-religious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lennon/i-wasn-t-saying-whatever-they-re-saying-i-was-saying-i-m-sorry-i-said/) [John Lennon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lennon/) > [But, you know, I'm sorry, I think democracy requires participation. I mean, I don't want to proselytize but I do feel some sort of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cusack/but-you-know-i-m-sorry-i-think-democracy-requires-participation-i/) [John Cusack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cusack/) > [I was so frustrated with him. "I just want to be enough for you, but I never can be. This can never be enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-was-so-frustrated-with-him-i-just-want-to-be-enough-for-you-but-i/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [I said a lot of things in the heat of the moment that I shouldn't have said. Called him names I shouldn't have called…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-ali/i-said-a-lot-of-things-in-the-heat-of-the-moment-that-i-shouldn-t/) [Muhammad Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-ali/) > [Here's the thing, who cares what you have to look at, I'm a big advocate of not obscuring vistas, but even if you build…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-graffin/here-s-the-thing-who-cares-what-you-have-to-look-at-i-m-a-big/) [Greg Graffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-graffin/) > [No one seems to have learned, or can remember, the magic words that calm people when they are frightened or threatened: "I'm sorry; I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-tavris/no-one-seems-to-have-learned-or-can-remember-the-magic-words-that/) [Carol Tavris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-tavris/) > [I'm sorry, man, but I've got magic. I've got poetry in my fingertips. Most of the time - and this includes naps - I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-sheen/i-m-sorry-man-but-i-ve-got-magic-i-ve-got-poetry-in-my-fingertips/) [Charlie Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-sheen/) > [Don't give up on me now. I'm sorry. I guess that's an odd thing to say. Because isn't that what I'm doing? Giving up?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-asher/don-t-give-up-on-me-now-i-m-sorry-i-guess-that-s-an-odd-thing-to-say/) [Jay Asher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-asher/) ## More by Joanne Greenberg > [The creative strength is good enough and deep enough to bring itself to flower and to grow in spite of this sickness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-greenberg/the-creative-strength-is-good-enough-and-deep-enough-to-bring-itself/) [Joanne Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-greenberg/) > [“They had shared much of their pasts, most of their fears, and all of their tenuous and fragile hopes, but Deborah had noticed over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-greenberg/they-had-shared-much-of-their-pasts-most-of-their-fears-and-all-of/) [Joanne Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-greenberg/) > [What cook can match herself against hunger and memory?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-greenberg/what-cook-can-match-herself-against-hunger-and-memory/) [Joanne Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-greenberg/) > [Sometimes the world is so much sicker than the inmates of its institutions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-greenberg/sometimes-the-world-is-so-much-sicker-than-the-inmates-of-its/) [Joanne Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-greenberg/) > [suicide is the ultimate 'one-up,' as it were, the accusation that brooks no defense, the argument won at last.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-greenberg/suicide-is-the-ultimate-one-up-as-it-were-the-accusation-that-brooks/) [Joanne Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-greenberg/) > [“Among equals gratitude is reciprocal; her gratitude to these Titans, who called themselves average and were unaware of their own tremendous strength in being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-greenberg/among-equals-gratitude-is-reciprocal-her-gratitude-to-these-titans/) [Joanne Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-greenberg/) > [“People were differentiated by this substance, which was called nganon . Nganon was a concentrate which was defined in each person by nurture and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-greenberg/people-were-differentiated-by-this-substance-which-was-called-nganon/) [Joanne Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-greenberg/) > [“You know... the thing that is so wrong about being mentally ill is the terrible price you have to pay for survival.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-greenberg/you-know-the-thing-that-is-so-wrong-about-being-mentally-ill-is-the/) [Joanne Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-greenberg/) > [“Yr had a region called the Fear-bog. Lactamaeon had taken her there once to see the monsters and corpses of her nightmares accumulating there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-greenberg/yr-had-a-region-called-the-fear-bog-lactamaeon-had-taken-her-there/) [Joanne Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-greenberg/) > [“Later, they began to explore the secret idea that Deborah shared with all the ill—that she had infinitely more power than the ordinary person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-greenberg/later-they-began-to-explore-the-secret-idea-that-deborah-shared-with/) [Joanne Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-greenberg/) > [There is nothing that you can do to me that my own craziness doesn't do to me smarter and faster and better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-greenberg/there-is-nothing-that-you-can-do-to-me-that-my-own-craziness-doesn-t/) [Joanne Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-greenberg/) > [all children blackmail their parents with their innocence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-greenberg/all-children-blackmail-their-parents-with-their-innocence/) [Joanne Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-greenberg/) > [Money in the hand is real - coins and bills. The rest I don't believe in, and I don't think I ever did, really.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-greenberg/money-in-the-hand-is-real-coins-and-bills-the-rest-i-don-t-believe-in/) [Joanne Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-greenberg/) > [A humane and authentic book written by another voice from the trenches.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-greenberg/a-humane-and-authentic-book-written-by-another-voice-from-the-trenches/) [Joanne Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-greenberg/) > [The hidden strength is too deep a secret. But in the end...in the end it is our only ally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-greenberg/the-hidden-strength-is-too-deep-a-secret-but-in-the-end-in-the-end-it/) [Joanne Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-greenberg/) [Explore all 41 Joanne Greenberg quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-greenberg/) ## More Bitterness quotes > [You should be angry. You must not be bitter. Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. It doesn't do anything to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-should-be-angry-you-must-not-be-bitter-bitterness-is-like-cancer/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [If Japanese tea 'stands,' it acquires a coarse bitterness and an unwholesome astringency. Milk and sugar are not used.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabella-bird/if-japanese-tea-stands-it-acquires-a-coarse-bitterness-and-an/) [Isabella Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabella-bird/) > [Stronger than alcohol, vaster than poetry, Ferment the freckled red bitterness of love!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-rimbaud/stronger-than-alcohol-vaster-than-poetry-ferment-the-freckled-red/) [Arthur Rimbaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-rimbaud/) > [“What?" I ask. I try not to get snappy with her. She hasn't really done anything wrong. Falling in love with Turner isn't a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-m-stunich/what-i-ask-i-try-not-to-get-snappy-with-her-she-hasn-t-really-done/) [C.M. Stunich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-m-stunich/) > [“The fairest things have fleetest end, Their scent survives their close: But the rose’s scent is bitterness To him that loved the rose. —Francis…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-rule/the-fairest-things-have-fleetest-end-their-scent-survives-their-close/) [Ann Rule](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-rule/) > [Life appears to me too short to be spent in nursing animosity, or registering wrongs. With this creed, revenge never worries my heart, degradation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/life-appears-to-me-too-short-to-be-spent-in-nursing-animosity-or/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [“No," I say. "I didn't know that," and as I say it I feel flooded with bitterness at all the things Ingrid kept secret…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-lacour/no-i-say-i-didn-t-know-that-and-as-i-say-it-i-feel-flooded-with/) [Nina LaCour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-lacour/) > [Forgiving someone who've done you wrong or didn't treat you right could mean that you are allowing yourself to end up away from bitterness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/april-t-pascua/forgiving-someone-who-ve-done-you-wrong-or-didn-t-treat-you-right/) [April T Pascua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/april-t-pascua/) > [You cannot be inspired if you are surrounded with negativity, open the door and step into the inspirational garden of nature. Do not let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kemmy-nola/you-cannot-be-inspired-if-you-are-surrounded-with-negativity-open-the/) [Kemmy Nola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kemmy-nola/) > [It's not the load that breaks you down, it's the way you carry it. Carry it by the comfortable handles of gratitude for what's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-horne/it-s-not-the-load-that-breaks-you-down-it-s-the-way-you-carry-it/) [Lena Horne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-horne/) > [Not forgiving prolongs hurt and anger and leads to smoldering resentment, which will make us miserable until it kills us. Resentment destroys the perception…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-walters/not-forgiving-prolongs-hurt-and-anger-and-leads-to-smoldering/) [Richard Walters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-walters/) > [Let us not give in to pessimism, to that bitterness that the devil offers us every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/let-us-not-give-in-to-pessimism-to-that-bitterness-that-the-devil/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [“Sometimes it is good to remind ourselves how bitterness tastes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rin-chupeco/sometimes-it-is-good-to-remind-ourselves-how-bitterness-tastes/) [Rin Chupeco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rin-chupeco/) > [What folly made young people, even those in middle age, think they were immortal? How much better, their lives, if they could remember the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rohinton-mistry/what-folly-made-young-people-even-those-in-middle-age-think-they-were/) [Rohinton Mistry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rohinton-mistry/) > [Be sure there is something waiting for you after much patience, to astonish you to a degree, that you forget the bitterness of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/be-sure-there-is-something-waiting-for-you-after-much-patience-to/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) [Browse all 1,210 Bitterness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bitterness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I'm sorry I'm young,\" Deborah answered with a bitterness that was half prose. \"We have a right to be as crazy as anyone else", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Joanne Greenberg" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-greenberg/i-m-sorry-i-m-young-deborah-answered-with-a-bitterness-that-was-half-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bitterness" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-greenberg/i-m-sorry-i-m-young-deborah-answered-with-a-bitterness-that-was-half-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e3/joanne-greenberg-14643_bitterness_i-m-sorry-i-m-young-deborah-answered-wit_2919214.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e3/joanne-greenberg-14643_bitterness_i-m-sorry-i-m-young-deborah-answered-wit_2919214.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e3/joanne-greenberg-14643_bitterness_i-m-sorry-i-m-young-deborah-answered-wit_2919214.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I'm sorry I'm young,\" Deborah answered with a bitterness that was half prose. \"We have a right to be as…” — Joanne Greenberg", "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": "Joanne Greenberg", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-greenberg/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I'm sorry I'm young,\" Deborah answered...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-greenberg/i-m-sorry-i-m-young-deborah-answered-with-a-bitterness-that-was-half-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-greenberg/i-m-sorry-i-m-young-deborah-answered-with-a-bitterness-that-was-half-2/#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 } } ] } ```