--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Never had the opportunity in her first…" description: "\"“Never had the opportunity in her first lost childhood; and in the intervening years her desire for it had doubled over and doubled over like a katana ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdf/junot-diaz-531_childhood_never-had-the-opportunity-in-her-first-l_1843809.jpg" --- # Never had the opportunity in her first lost childhood; and… ![“Never had the opportunity in her first lost childhood; and in the intervening years her desire for it had doubled over and doubled over like a katana being forged until finally it was sharper than the truth.” quote by Junot Díaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdf/junot-diaz-531_childhood_never-had-the-opportunity-in-her-first-l_1843809.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdf/junot-diaz-531_childhood_never-had-the-opportunity-in-her-first-l_1843809.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdf/junot-diaz-531_childhood_never-had-the-opportunity-in-her-first-l_1843809.jpg) > ““Never had the opportunity in her first lost childhood; and in the intervening years her desire for it had doubled over and doubled over like a katana being forged until finally it was sharper than the truth.”” [Junot Díaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Trauma can intensify desire, sharpening resolve until it surpasses ordinary truth, driving relentless pursuit. **In simple terms:** Pain fuels a fierce, sharpened drive. Key Takeaway Channel pain into purposeful action. Themes trauma desire resilience Mood intense hopeful determined Type literary inspirational When to use this quote - creative writing - personal healing - career ambition - activism Key Concepts psychology identity formation motivation Questions to Reflect On - What drives your deepest motivations? - How can you balance intensity with clarity? A Different Perspective Intense focus may blind to broader perspectives. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Childhood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/childhood/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [Desire doubled is love and love doubled is madness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-carson/desire-doubled-is-love-and-love-doubled-is-madness/) [Anne Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-carson/) > [“Games are for childhood, and sometimes I think I lost my childhood young.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/games-are-for-childhood-and-sometimes-i-think-i-lost-my-childhood/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [“So much time lost, so much of my childhood gone, because nobody every asked the right questions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/april-daniels/so-much-time-lost-so-much-of-my-childhood-gone-because-nobody-every/) [April Daniels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/april-daniels/) > [I lost my childhood. I didn't play football or video games. Or have birthdays or the love of a family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuel-jal/i-lost-my-childhood-i-didn-t-play-football-or-video-games-or-have/) [Emmanuel Jal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuel-jal/) > [You always hear these stories of people who grew up in Hollywood, and they're like, 'We lost our childhood.' But I was very fortunate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexa-vega/you-always-hear-these-stories-of-people-who-grew-up-in-hollywood-and/) [Alexa Vega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexa-vega/) > [I lost my childhood. When girls of my age were studying and playing, I was married off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asha-bhosle/i-lost-my-childhood-when-girls-of-my-age-were-studying-and-playing-i/) [Asha Bhosle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asha-bhosle/) > [I had proof that I had five senses, that I knew how to get myself to function! And then I lost my childhood...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yves-klein/i-had-proof-that-i-had-five-senses-that-i-knew-how-to-get-myself-to/) [Yves Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yves-klein/) > [Where will I find again my lost innocence..my lost dreams..my lost childhood , Where is gone the shade of trees..where I made myself a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/km-ii/where-will-i-find-again-my-lost-innocence-my-lost-dreams-my-lost/) [KM II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/km-ii/) > [“The nostalgia I have been cherishing all these years is a hypertrophied sense of lost childhood, not sorrow for lost banknotes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/the-nostalgia-i-have-been-cherishing-all-these-years-is-a/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [“Lost in the forest, I broke off a dark twig and lifted its whisper to my thirsty lips: maybe it was the voice of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/lost-in-the-forest-i-broke-off-a-dark-twig-and-lifted-its-whisper-to/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [We see these adolescents mourning for a lost childhood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-elkind/we-see-these-adolescents-mourning-for-a-lost-childhood/) [David Elkind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-elkind/) > [“I was thinking about the rubbish, the flapping plastic in the branches, the shore-line of odd stuff caught along the fencing, and I half…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/i-was-thinking-about-the-rubbish-the-flapping-plastic-in-the-branches/) [Kazuo Ishiguro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/) > [“That was the only time, as I stood there, looking at that strange rubbish, feeling the wind coming across those empty fields, that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/that-was-the-only-time-as-i-stood-there-looking-at-that-strange/) [Kazuo Ishiguro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/) > [The loss of my childhood was the price for becoming the youngest world champion in history. When you have to fight every day from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-kasparov/the-loss-of-my-childhood-was-the-price-for-becoming-the-youngest/) [Garry Kasparov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-kasparov/) > [“Children's lives are always beginning and adults' lives are always ending. Or is it the opposite? Your childhood is always ending and your adult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-espach/children-s-lives-are-always-beginning-and-adults-lives-are-always/) [Alison Espach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-espach/) ## More by Junot Díaz > [It might interest you that just as the U.S. was ramping up its involvement in Vietnam, LBJ launched an illegal invasion of the Dominican…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/it-might-interest-you-that-just-as-the-u-s-was-ramping-up-its/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [Tell her that you love her hair, that you love her skin, her lips, because, in truth, you love them more than you love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/tell-her-that-you-love-her-hair-that-you-love-her-skin-her-lips/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [It took me sixteen years to write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/it-took-me-sixteen-years-to-write/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [You ask everybody you know: How long does it usually take to get over it? There are many formulas. One year for every year…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/you-ask-everybody-you-know-how-long-does-it-usually-take-to-get-over/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [Instead of finding himself in nerd heaven—where every nerd gets fifty-eight virgins to role-play with—he woke up in Robert Wood Johnson with two broken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/instead-of-finding-himself-in-nerd-heaven-where-every-nerd-gets-fifty/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [The one thing about being a dude and writing from a female perspective is that the baseline is, you suck. The baseline is it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/the-one-thing-about-being-a-dude-and-writing-from-a-female/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [“I used to think those were the barrio rules, Latinos and blacks in, whites out —a place we down cats weren’t supposed to go.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/i-used-to-think-those-were-the-barrio-rules-latinos-and-blacks-in/) [Junot Díaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [“I put my hand on her knee. I just wish you'd say you love me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/i-put-my-hand-on-her-knee-i-just-wish-you-d-say-you-love-me/) [Junot Díaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [I've always thought that you don't love a country by turning a blind eye to its crimes and to a problem. The way that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/i-ve-always-thought-that-you-don-t-love-a-country-by-turning-a-blind/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [“Called her a whore and attacked her walls, tearing down her posters and throwing her books everywhere. I found out because some whitegirl ran…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/called-her-a-whore-and-attacked-her-walls-tearing-down-her-posters/) [Junot Díaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [You're Dominican only if you do this, this, and that. And if you do this and that, you'll be accepted to a certain degree…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/you-re-dominican-only-if-you-do-this-this-and-that-and-if-you-do-this/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [“Ramfis fled the country after Trujillo's death, lived dissolutely off his father's swag, and ended up dying in a car crash of his own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/ramfis-fled-the-country-after-trujillo-s-death-lived-dissolutely-off/) [Junot Díaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [If you didn't grow up like I did then you don't know, and if you don't know it's probably better you don't judge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/if-you-didn-t-grow-up-like-i-did-then-you-don-t-know-and-if-you-don-t/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [“If you ask me I don't think there are any such things as curses. I think there is only life. That's enough.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/if-you-ask-me-i-don-t-think-there-are-any-such-things-as-curses-i/) [Junot Díaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [The only difference between a published and unpublished writer is a tolerance for imperfection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/the-only-difference-between-a-published-and-unpublished-writer-is-a/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) [Explore all 486 Junot Díaz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) ## More Childhood quotes > [“Children's lives are always beginning and adults' lives are always ending. Or is it the opposite? Your childhood is always ending and your adult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-espach/children-s-lives-are-always-beginning-and-adults-lives-are-always/) [Alison Espach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-espach/) > [“From childhood’s hour I have not been As others were—I have not seen As others saw—I could not bring My passions from a common…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/from-childhood-s-hour-i-have-not-been-as-others-were-i-have-not-seen/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [We were so poor as kids. I didn't even see a bathtub, running water, hot water, commode - we didn't have any of that.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-robertson/we-were-so-poor-as-kids-i-didn-t-even-see-a-bathtub-running-water-hot/) [Phil Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-robertson/) > [I had a rough upbringing. Group homes. Foster homes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-shamrock/i-had-a-rough-upbringing-group-homes-foster-homes/) [Frank Shamrock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-shamrock/) > [When I talk about my childhood I used to say it as if it was scripted and I'd make jokes because it was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-katona/when-i-talk-about-my-childhood-i-used-to-say-it-as-if-it-was-scripted/) [Kerry Katona](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-katona/) > [Every man remembers his childhood as a kind of mythical age, just as every nation's childhood is its mythical age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giacomo-leopardi/every-man-remembers-his-childhood-as-a-kind-of-mythical-age-just-as/) [Giacomo Leopardi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giacomo-leopardi/) > [It's a very familiar type of place where people either go to their house on the lake or they get together in different places.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-carell/it-s-a-very-familiar-type-of-place-where-people-either-go-to-their/) [Steve Carell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-carell/) > [Ideal for the child and society in the best of times, Rudolf Steiner's brilliant process of education is critically needed and profoundly relevant now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-chilton-pearce/ideal-for-the-child-and-society-in-the-best-of-times-rudolf-steiner-s/) [Joseph Chilton Pearce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-chilton-pearce/) > [Downstairs in my house, I have a museum room. I keep all of my awards down there, and childhood photos, and even all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-kelly/downstairs-in-my-house-i-have-a-museum-room-i-keep-all-of-my-awards/) [R. Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-kelly/) > [Childhood is Last Chance Gulch for happiness. After that, you know too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/childhood-is-last-chance-gulch-for-happiness-after-that-you-know-too/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [On paper, it looks rough, but I had a great childhood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-morton/on-paper-it-looks-rough-but-i-had-a-great-childhood/) [Samantha Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha-morton/) > [Let positive, strong, helpful thoughts enter into your brains from very childhood. Lay yourselves open to these thoughts, and not to weakening and paralysing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/let-positive-strong-helpful-thoughts-enter-into-your-brains-from-very/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [I always knew that I was kind of bored; the regular life of a child didn't fit me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-ricci/i-always-knew-that-i-was-kind-of-bored-the-regular-life-of-a-child/) [Christina Ricci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-ricci/) > [Children are not a zoo of entertainingly exotic creatures, but an array of mirrors in which the human predicament leaps out at us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/children-are-not-a-zoo-of-entertainingly-exotic-creatures-but-an/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [I'm not sure I would have ever started to draw, let alone write, if my childhood hadn't been so happy. It was a mixture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tove-jansson/i-m-not-sure-i-would-have-ever-started-to-draw-let-alone-write-if-my/) [Tove Jansson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tove-jansson/) [Browse all 5,837 Childhood quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/childhood/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Never had the opportunity in her first lost childhood; and in the intervening years her desire for it had doubled over and doubled over like a katana being forged until finally it was sharper than the truth.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Junot Díaz" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/never-had-the-opportunity-in-her-first-lost-childhood-and-in-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Childhood" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/never-had-the-opportunity-in-her-first-lost-childhood-and-in-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdf/junot-diaz-531_childhood_never-had-the-opportunity-in-her-first-l_1843809.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdf/junot-diaz-531_childhood_never-had-the-opportunity-in-her-first-l_1843809.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdf/junot-diaz-531_childhood_never-had-the-opportunity-in-her-first-l_1843809.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Never had the opportunity in her first lost childhood; and in the intervening years her desire for it had…” — Junot Díaz", "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": "Junot Díaz", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Never had the opportunity in her...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/never-had-the-opportunity-in-her-first-lost-childhood-and-in-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/never-had-the-opportunity-in-her-first-lost-childhood-and-in-the/#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 } } ] } ```