--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It was only as I wrote about fear that I…" description: "\"It was only as I wrote about fear that I began to find paths of access to feelings that were intolerable to me then.\" — Jonathan Lethem" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/668/jonathan-lethem-1403_access_it-was-only-as-i-wrote-about-fear-that-i_1965589.png" --- # It was only as I wrote about fear that I began to find… ![“It was only as I wrote about fear that I began to find paths of access to feelings that were intolerable to me then.” quote by Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/668/jonathan-lethem-1403_access_it-was-only-as-i-wrote-about-fear-that-i_1965589.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/668/jonathan-lethem-1403_access_it-was-only-as-i-wrote-about-fear-that-i_1965589.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/668/jonathan-lethem-1403_access_it-was-only-as-i-wrote-about-fear-that-i_1965589.png) > “It was only as I wrote about fear that I began to find paths of access to feelings that were intolerable to me then.” [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing about fear can unlock access to previously intolerable emotions, facilitating personal insight. **In simple terms:** Writing helps confront fear. Key Takeaway Write to explore hidden emotions. Themes self-discovery emotional intelligence creativity Mood introspective cautious Type philosophical therapeutic When to use this quote - journaling - creative writing - therapy sessions - artistic projects Key Concepts psychology narrative therapy Questions to Reflect On - Which fears have you avoided? - How can you safely explore them? A Different Perspective May trigger overwhelming feelings. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Access](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/access/) [Access Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/access-feelings-232109/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Fear Began](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear-began-3269713/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Feelings Intolerable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings-intolerable-2829119/) [Path](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/path/) [Wrote Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wrote-fear-1449962/) ## Related quotes > [It was only as I wrote about it that I began to find paths of access to feelings that were intolerable to me then.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/it-was-only-as-i-wrote-about-it-that-i-began-to-find-paths-of-access/) [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) > [In one's youth, one has tremendous access to one's feelings. 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Conservatism is about empowering people to catch up, to give them the tools at their disposable that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/conservatism-is-not-about-leaving-people-behind-conservatism-is-about/) [Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/) ## More by Jonathan Lethem > [It was often this way, life consisted of a series of false beginnings, bluff declarations of arrival to destinations not even glimpsed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/it-was-often-this-way-life-consisted-of-a-series-of-false-beginnings/) [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) > [I've been an advocate against the view of the writer as a partitioned genius hanging in conceptual space, or up on a mountain, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/i-ve-been-an-advocate-against-the-view-of-the-writer-as-a-partitioned/) [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) > [“I suppose there was never a reason for tearing down a cabin or scrapping a stopped automobile, if you had all those acres.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/i-suppose-there-was-never-a-reason-for-tearing-down-a-cabin-or/) [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) > [Life is fundamentally up for grabs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/life-is-fundamentally-up-for-grabs/) [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) > [My heart, to put it more simply, got nostalgic for the present. 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Doily: Dylan never met anyone who wasn't about to change immediately into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/mingus-rude-arthur-lomb-gabriel-stern-and-tim-vandertooth-even-aaron/) [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) > [I try to write every day. I don't beat myself up about word counts, or how many hours are ticking by on the clock…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/i-try-to-write-every-day-i-don-t-beat-myself-up-about-word-counts-or/) [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) > [“Enough of this. Does every conversation with you have to be the director's cut? Get out of the car.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/enough-of-this-does-every-conversation-with-you-have-to-be-the/) [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) > [“The stumbling block will turn out to be the traditional one for students of consciousness: the flashlight is incapable of shining on itself, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/the-stumbling-block-will-turn-out-to-be-the-traditional-one-for/) [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) > [“May one plead, Your Honor, postmodernism as an involuntary condition?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/may-one-plead-your-honor-postmodernism-as-an-involuntary-condition/) [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) [Explore all 241 Jonathan Lethem quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) ## More Access quotes > [Conservatism is not about leaving people behind. 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