--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I was eight years old when my father was…" description: "\"I was eight years old when my father was murdered. It is almost impossible to describe the pain of losing a parent to a senseless murder ... But even a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47d/kerry-kennedy-5292_accomplished_i-was-eight-years-old-when-my-father-was_1169575.png" --- # I was eight years old when my father was murdered. It is… ![“I was eight years old when my father was murdered. It is almost impossible to describe the pain of losing a parent to a senseless murder ... But even as a child, one thing was clear to me: I didn't want the killer, in turn, to be killed. I remember lying in bed and praying, Please, God. Please…” quote by Kerry Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47d/kerry-kennedy-5292_accomplished_i-was-eight-years-old-when-my-father-was_1169575.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47d/kerry-kennedy-5292_accomplished_i-was-eight-years-old-when-my-father-was_1169575.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47d/kerry-kennedy-5292_accomplished_i-was-eight-years-old-when-my-father-was_1169575.png) > “I was eight years old when my father was murdered. It is almost impossible to describe the pain of losing a parent to a senseless murder ... But even as a child, one thing was clear to me: I didn't want the killer, in turn, to be killed. I remember lying in bed and praying, Please, God. Please don't take his life, too. I saw nothing that could be accomplished in the loss of one life being answered with the loss of another.” [Kerry Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-kennedy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A child’s grief over a parent’s murder leads to a moral stance against revenge, valuing life over retribution. **In simple terms:** Reject revenge, value life. Key Takeaway Choose compassion over vengeance. Themes grief justice non‑violence Mood somber reflective Type personal philosophical When to use this quote - court sentencing - personal loss - community healing - restorative justice Key Concepts ethics psychology trauma Questions to Reflect On - Can you imagine forgiving a murderer? - What alternatives exist to retaliation? A Different Perspective The desire for revenge can be strong; forgiveness may be difficult. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Death penalty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death-penalty/) [Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father/) [Killers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/killers/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Losing a parent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/losing-a-parent/) [Loss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loss/) [Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying/) [Murder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/murder/) [Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/) [Parent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parent/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Praying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/praying/) ## Related quotes > [I pray no one of you ever gets to know the pain of losing a parent...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-pray-no-one-of-you-ever-gets-to-know-the-pain-of-losing-a-parent/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Frankenweenie is also about mortality, but at a very different stage. It's losing a parent versus losing a dog. I don't run away from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-august/frankenweenie-is-also-about-mortality-but-at-a-very-different-stage/) [John August](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-august/) > [Losing a parent is a hard thing... I often sit here and think it would be great if mum and dad were alive and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-swan/losing-a-parent-is-a-hard-thing-i-often-sit-here-and-think-it-would/) [Wayne Swan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-swan/) > [Losing a parent is something like driving through a plate-glass window. You didn't know it was there until it shattered, and then for years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/losing-a-parent-is-something-like-driving-through-a-plate-glass/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [I mean, the idea of losing a parent is really inconceivable. I think there's just an undertone of dread about the subject, so people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-linney/i-mean-the-idea-of-losing-a-parent-is-really-inconceivable-i-think/) [Laura Linney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-linney/) > [It's a very difficult thing losing a parent, but I think there's an added complication for me, because he was so well-loved and he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-beckinsale/it-s-a-very-difficult-thing-losing-a-parent-but-i-think-there-s-an/) [Kate Beckinsale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-beckinsale/) > [In April 2005, I lost my father and after a few days, I went to Sajid Khan's place to discuss a film role. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherlyn-chopra/in-april-2005-i-lost-my-father-and-after-a-few-days-i-went-to-sajid/) [Sherlyn Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherlyn-chopra/) > [Even more than getting married or having kids, I found losing a parent is what thrusts you into adulthood. For me it was. That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-rudd/even-more-than-getting-married-or-having-kids-i-found-losing-a-parent/) [Paul Rudd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-rudd/) > [Losing a parent makes you realize how temporary everything is - you're looking through someone's whole life in a drawer, and they're very simply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-jenkins/losing-a-parent-makes-you-realize-how-temporary-everything-is-you-re/) [Richard Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-jenkins/) > [I couldn't imagine losing a parent. My heart goes out to everyone who has lost a parent, I admire you. I don't know how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-couldn-t-imagine-losing-a-parent-my-heart-goes-out-to-everyone-who/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Losing a parent is always a terrible thing for anybody. It's no more or no less for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akshaye-khanna/losing-a-parent-is-always-a-terrible-thing-for-anybody-it-s-no-more/) [Akshaye Khanna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akshaye-khanna/) > [Losing a parent really makes you grow up fast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/losing-a-parent-really-makes-you-grow-up-fast/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The feeling if losing a parent never goes away. You learn to live with it and that's all you can really do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-feeling-if-losing-a-parent-never-goes-away-you-learn-to-live-with/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Losing a parent, I guess it makes you realize none of us is gonna be immortal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-kay-andrews/losing-a-parent-i-guess-it-makes-you-realize-none-of-us-is-gonna-be/) [Mary Kay Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-kay-andrews/) > [“Losing a parent was difficult; when her father had died, she had thought she’d never get over it. The pain had been like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-jenkins/losing-a-parent-was-difficult-when-her-father-had-died-she-had/) [Victoria Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-jenkins/) ## More by Kerry Kennedy > [Firefighters and rescue workers are American superheroes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-kennedy/firefighters-and-rescue-workers-are-american-superheroes/) [Kerry Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-kennedy/) > [I have 10 brothers and sisters. My mother raised us because my father died when I was 8.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-kennedy/i-have-10-brothers-and-sisters-my-mother-raised-us-because-my-father/) [Kerry Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-kennedy/) > [While the One Child Policy has been effective in drastically reducing Chinese birth rates, the measures adopted in its name have required exhaustive, violent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-kennedy/while-the-one-child-policy-has-been-effective-in-drastically-reducing/) [Kerry Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-kennedy/) > [I went to the Convent of the Sacred Heart for four years. 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Really extraordinary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-kennedy/i-have-to-tell-you-virtually-every-country-i-ve-gone-to-the-catholic/) [Kerry Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-kennedy/) > [There are no wealthy people on Rikers Island because if you are wealthy, you go free because you make bail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-kennedy/there-are-no-wealthy-people-on-rikers-island-because-if-you-are/) [Kerry Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-kennedy/) > [I grew up outside of Washington D.C., a town in which the largest industry is government and in which almost everyone I knew was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-kennedy/i-grew-up-outside-of-washington-d-c-a-town-in-which-the-largest/) [Kerry Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-kennedy/) > [We need autocracies and failing democracies alike to understand that they cannot scapegoat LGBT citizens to distract from their own shortcomings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-kennedy/we-need-autocracies-and-failing-democracies-alike-to-understand-that/) [Kerry Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-kennedy/) > [I think of myself as a human-rights advocate and as a mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-kennedy/i-think-of-myself-as-a-human-rights-advocate-and-as-a-mother/) [Kerry Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-kennedy/) > [We've got to pass legislation which will allow people to have access to competent counsel no matter who they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-kennedy/we-ve-got-to-pass-legislation-which-will-allow-people-to-have-access/) [Kerry Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-kennedy/) > [There were times I should have been completely emotionally available to my kids and I wasn't there, even for reading a book with them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-kennedy/there-were-times-i-should-have-been-completely-emotionally-available/) [Kerry Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-kennedy/) [Explore all 102 Kerry Kennedy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-kennedy/) ## More Accomplished quotes > [I never believed in trying to do anything. 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