--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I’d given up on the white picket fence…" description: "\"I’d given up on the white picket fence after Kisten had died—finding out my kids would be demons was the nail in the coffin.\" — Kim Harrison" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64a/kim-harrison-323_coffins_i-d-given-up-on-the-white-picket-fence-a_310300.png" --- # I’d given up on the white picket fence after Kisten had… ![“I’d given up on the white picket fence after Kisten had died—finding out my kids would be demons was the nail in the coffin.” quote by Kim Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64a/kim-harrison-323_coffins_i-d-given-up-on-the-white-picket-fence-a_310300.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64a/kim-harrison-323_coffins_i-d-given-up-on-the-white-picket-fence-a_310300.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64a/kim-harrison-323_coffins_i-d-given-up-on-the-white-picket-fence-a_310300.png) > “I’d given up on the white picket fence after Kisten had died—finding out my kids would be demons was the nail in the coffin.” [Kim Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-harrison/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The loss of a loved one and the revelation of a dark secret can shatter idealized visions of family, leading to disillusionment. **In simple terms:** Family ideals crumble with loss and dark truths. Key Takeaway Accept reality over fantasy. Themes grief family disillusionment fantasy Mood somber hopeful Type literary emotional When to use this quote - novel writing - character development - personal reflection Key Concepts loss secret revelation psychological horror Questions to Reflect On - How does tragedy reshape personal goals? - Can darkness fuel personal growth? A Different Perspective Hope can persist despite tragedy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Coffins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coffins/) [Demon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/demon/) [Kids](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kids/) ## Related quotes > [If you don't have humour, then you may as well nail the coffin lid down now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-moore/if-you-don-t-have-humour-then-you-may-as-well-nail-the-coffin-lid/) [Roger Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-moore/) > [The bottom line is that TV can either be a great asset to your career, or if you're a complete ass that people hate,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-michaels/the-bottom-line-is-that-tv-can-either-be-a-great-asset-to-your-career/) [Bret Michaels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-michaels/) > [When we did art with the kids, the demons would lie down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/when-we-did-art-with-the-kids-the-demons-would-lie-down/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [One more nail in the coffin, one more foot in the grave. One more time I'm on my knees and I'm trying to walk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bring-me-the-horizon/one-more-nail-in-the-coffin-one-more-foot-in-the-grave-one-more-time/) [Bring Me The Horizon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bring-me-the-horizon/) > [“And just remember, kids, three out of four demons all prefer barbecue sauce over hemoglobin." (Simi)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/and-just-remember-kids-three-out-of-four-demons-all-prefer-barbecue/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [We're much more controlled now. We were kids back then, we each had our own demons. It was insanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-criss/we-re-much-more-controlled-now-we-were-kids-back-then-we-each-had-our/) [Peter Criss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-criss/) > [I'm not white-picket-fence perfect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-klum/i-m-not-white-picket-fence-perfect/) [Heidi Klum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heidi-klum/) > [Home maybe where the hart is but life is over the white picket fence and down over the road](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-smith/home-maybe-where-the-hart-is-but-life-is-over-the-white-picket-fence/) Jeremy Smith > [Yeah, you got the family dog and the white picket fence, and you just think that's all there is. Some of us had to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-vick/yeah-you-got-the-family-dog-and-the-white-picket-fence-and-you-just/) [Michael Vick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-vick/) > [“Where we goin’?” Wade whispers to me as we approach the white picket fence that surrounds the row of wooden crosses. For all I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolee-dean/where-we-goin-wade-whispers-to-me-as-we-approach-the-white-picket/) [Carolee Dean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolee-dean/) > [“I’m not the white-picket-fence kind of guy. So don’t go building castles in the air. You’ll get trapped in the rubble when they collapse.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-child/i-m-not-the-white-picket-fence-kind-of-guy-so-don-t-go-building/) Maureen Child > [When I was little, I didn't have dreams to be an actress or a star; I wanted to be a mom, have a house…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherilyn-fenn/when-i-was-little-i-didn-t-have-dreams-to-be-an-actress-or-a-star-i/) [Sherilyn Fenn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherilyn-fenn/) > [“She wants the kids, the cars, the house, and the white picket fence. I said sure, I can give you a fence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/she-wants-the-kids-the-cars-the-house-and-the-white-picket-fence-i/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [It's all kind of a big illusion: the white picket fence and the perfect marriage and the kids. Check that box off, check that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-mclachlan/it-s-all-kind-of-a-big-illusion-the-white-picket-fence-and-the/) [Sarah McLachlan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-mclachlan/) > [I can't give you the white picket fence, and if I did, you'd set it on fire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilona-andrews/i-can-t-give-you-the-white-picket-fence-and-if-i-did-you-d-set-it-on/) [Ilona Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilona-andrews/) ## More by Kim Harrison > [Maybe I could be friends with a ghost. I wouldn’t be able to kill him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-harrison/maybe-i-could-be-friends-with-a-ghost-i-wouldn-t-be-able-to-kill-him/) [Kim Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-harrison/) > [My God", he whispered. What have I done to her? He thought, humbled. The spell was broken, but it wasn't sealed, and her soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-harrison/my-god-he-whispered-what-have-i-done-to-her-he-thought-humbled-the/) [Kim Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-harrison/) > [I turned back to the mirror, seeing that there were no lines on it. It was empty. "What happened to my mirror?" I said,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-harrison/i-turned-back-to-the-mirror-seeing-that-there-were-no-lines-on-it-it/) [Kim Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-harrison/) > [“Half of it was meticulously arranged as an office with her computer - faster and more powerful than an industrial-sized package of laxative -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-harrison/half-of-it-was-meticulously-arranged-as-an-office-with-her-computer/) [Kim Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-harrison/) > [Actually,” I said, hesitant to bring it up, “I was thinking along the lines of a curse that can turn you human.” “Or witch?”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-harrison/actually-i-said-hesitant-to-bring-it-up-i-was-thinking-along-the/) [Kim Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-harrison/) > [“I’m giving you fair warning, Mr. Cormel. If you bespell Rachel, I’ll open up your head for the sunshine to come in.” - Jenks”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-harrison/i-m-giving-you-fair-warning-mr-cormel-if-you-bespell-rachel-i-ll-open/) [Kim Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-harrison/) > [The demon had trouble remembering what she was doing, but she was powerful, sort of the crazy Wendy of the lost lord-of-the-flies boys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-harrison/the-demon-had-trouble-remembering-what-she-was-doing-but-she-was/) [Kim Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-harrison/) > [Your hair is a tangled mess,"he said, thinking he liked it that way, like a lion's mane.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-harrison/your-hair-is-a-tangled-mess-he-said-thinking-he-liked-it-that-way/) [Kim Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-harrison/) > [Keep your vampire mitts off me. I'm not your friggin' blood toy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-harrison/keep-your-vampire-mitts-off-me-i-m-not-your-friggin-blood-toy/) [Kim Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-harrison/) > [“From my ear Jenks snickered. “Awwww, you two are so sweet, I could fart fairy balls.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-harrison/from-my-ear-jenks-snickered-awwww-you-two-are-so-sweet-i-could-fart/) [Kim Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-harrison/) > [Uh... ," Ivy stammered, and I glanced up to see her eyes wide in consideration. "I'm kidding," I said. "It passed the lethal-amulet test,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-harrison/uh-ivy-stammered-and-i-glanced-up-to-see-her-eyes-wide-in/) [Kim Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-harrison/) > [I'll always be here," he said softly. "You can never fill my need, never drive me away, no matter how much you give me.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-harrison/i-ll-always-be-here-he-said-softly-you-can-never-fill-my-need-never/) [Kim Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-harrison/) > [“I hoped he was right. I’d never heard of a university refusing money.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-harrison/i-hoped-he-was-right-i-d-never-heard-of-a-university-refusing-money/) [Kim Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-harrison/) > [“The rag he'd used to clean the table went into the fire behind him. "I saw what you are," he said, "and I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-harrison/the-rag-he-d-used-to-clean-the-table-went-into-the-fire-behind-him-i/) [Kim Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-harrison/) > [“I’m not afraid of love being difficult. If it was easy, then everyone would find it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-harrison/i-m-not-afraid-of-love-being-difficult-if-it-was-easy-then-everyone/) [Kim Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-harrison/) [Explore all 672 Kim Harrison quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-harrison/) ## More Coffins quotes > [His smile is like the silver plate on a coffin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-philpot-curran/his-smile-is-like-the-silver-plate-on-a-coffin/) [John Philpot Curran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-philpot-curran/) > [At my funeral, if one said, 'Nick was a generous person,' trust me I won't be doing cartwheels in my coffin. Recognition from people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-vujicic/at-my-funeral-if-one-said-nick-was-a-generous-person-trust-me-i-won-t/) [Nick Vujicic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-vujicic/) > [Well, I guess I am about the livest dead man you ever saw; although I was once asked to accept a coffin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-rice/well-i-guess-i-am-about-the-livest-dead-man-you-ever-saw-although-i/) Dan Rice > [She wanted to be buried in a coffin filled with used paperbacks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/she-wanted-to-be-buried-in-a-coffin-filled-with-used-paperbacks/) [Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) > [I don't think we have all the words in a single vocabulary to explain what we are or why we are. I don't think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-fuller/i-don-t-think-we-have-all-the-words-in-a-single-vocabulary-to-explain/) [Alexandra Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-fuller/) > [“An expensive coffin does not decrease the deceased’s chances of going to hell.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/an-expensive-coffin-does-not-decrease-the-deceased-s-chances-of-going/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [The reason they invented coffins, to lock the dead in, preserve them, they put makeup on them; they didn't want them spreading or changing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/the-reason-they-invented-coffins-to-lock-the-dead-in-preserve-them/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [One of the lessons learned during the Vietnam War was that the depiction of wounded soldiers, of coffins stacked higher than their living guards,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-dean-myers/one-of-the-lessons-learned-during-the-vietnam-war-was-that-the/) [Walter Dean Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-dean-myers/) > [For me, curiosity is life. If you are not curious, you are in your coffin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-boulez/for-me-curiosity-is-life-if-you-are-not-curious-you-are-in-your-coffin/) [Pierre Boulez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-boulez/) > [“A premature death does not only rob one of the countless instances where one would have experienced pleasure, it also saves one from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/a-premature-death-does-not-only-rob-one-of-the-countless-instances/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [We all have two lives: The true, the one we dreamed of in childhood And go on dreaming of as adults in a substratum…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/we-all-have-two-lives-the-true-the-one-we-dreamed-of-in-childhood-and/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [Childhood is long and narrow like a coffin, and you can't get out of it on your own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tove-ditlevsen/childhood-is-long-and-narrow-like-a-coffin-and-you-can-t-get-out-of/) [Tove Ditlevsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tove-ditlevsen/) > [Science itself is steadily nailing the lid on atheism's coffin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-strobel/science-itself-is-steadily-nailing-the-lid-on-atheism-s-coffin/) [Lee Strobel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-strobel/) > [Now hoppin'-john was F. Jasmine's very favorite food. She had always warned them to wave a plate of rice and peas before her nose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/now-hoppin-john-was-f-jasmine-s-very-favorite-food-she-had-always/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [I understand the power and the alarm of words - Not those that they applaud from theatre-boxes, but those which make coffins break from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-mayakovsky/i-understand-the-power-and-the-alarm-of-words-not-those-that-they/) [Vladimir Mayakovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-mayakovsky/) [Browse all 250 Coffins quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coffins/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I’d given up on the white picket fence after Kisten had died—finding out my kids would be demons was the nail in the coffin.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kim Harrison" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-harrison/i-d-given-up-on-the-white-picket-fence-after-kisten-had-died-finding/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Coffins" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-harrison/i-d-given-up-on-the-white-picket-fence-after-kisten-had-died-finding/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64a/kim-harrison-323_coffins_i-d-given-up-on-the-white-picket-fence-a_310300.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64a/kim-harrison-323_coffins_i-d-given-up-on-the-white-picket-fence-a_310300.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64a/kim-harrison-323_coffins_i-d-given-up-on-the-white-picket-fence-a_310300.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I’d given up on the white picket fence after Kisten had died—finding out my kids would be demons was the…” — Kim Harrison", "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": "Kim Harrison", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-harrison/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I’d given up on the white...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-harrison/i-d-given-up-on-the-white-picket-fence-after-kisten-had-died-finding/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-harrison/i-d-given-up-on-the-white-picket-fence-after-kisten-had-died-finding/#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 } } ] } ```