--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When my birth parents were murdered, I…" description: "\"When my birth parents were murdered, I stayed outdoors all night with the bodies. Years later in America, around fourteen, my psychiatrist explained to..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca4/kola-boof-12327_all-night_when-my-birth-parents-were-murdered-i-st_1643469.jpg" --- # When my birth parents were murdered, I stayed outdoors all… ![“When my birth parents were murdered, I stayed outdoors all night with the bodies. Years later in America, around fourteen, my psychiatrist explained to me that staying with the bodies that night made me fearless. He said that it made me an 'emotional exhibitionist' and told me never to let people…” quote by Kola Boof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca4/kola-boof-12327_all-night_when-my-birth-parents-were-murdered-i-st_1643469.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca4/kola-boof-12327_all-night_when-my-birth-parents-were-murdered-i-st_1643469.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca4/kola-boof-12327_all-night_when-my-birth-parents-were-murdered-i-st_1643469.jpg) > “When my birth parents were murdered, I stayed outdoors all night with the bodies. Years later in America, around fourteen, my psychiatrist explained to me that staying with the bodies that night made me fearless. He said that it made me an 'emotional exhibitionist' and told me never to let people convince me that I was weird for speaking with clarity and passion.” [Kola Boof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kola-boof/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Traumatic exposure can forge resilience, turning fear into bold expression. **In simple terms:** Facing death made her fearless and expressive. Key Takeaway Channel trauma into strength. Themes trauma resilience self‑expression Mood reflective hopeful Type memoir inspirational When to use this quote - personal healing Key Concepts psychological growth emotional exhibitionism Practical Applications - social activism Questions to Reflect On - How can you transform painful memories into empowerment? - What supports help maintain healthy expression? A Different Perspective Trauma can become a catalyst for confidence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [Birth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birth/) [Birth parents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birth-parents/) [Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) [Clarity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clarity/) [Emotional](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotional/) [Exhibitionist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exhibitionist/) [Fearless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fearless/) [Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night/) [Parent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parent/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Passion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passion/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Psychiatrist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychiatrist/) ## Related quotes > [I'm kind of an emotional exhibitionist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juliana-hatfield/i-m-kind-of-an-emotional-exhibitionist/) [Juliana Hatfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juliana-hatfield/) > [“Adoptees, whether or not they ever knew their birth parents, often describe the constant, gnawing feeling of there being something missing: without a connection,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saroo-brierley/adoptees-whether-or-not-they-ever-knew-their-birth-parents-often/) [Saroo Brierley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saroo-brierley/) > [“The adoptee benefits because his collective parents are permitted to grow secure in their particular roles in his life. His adoptive parents are not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-silber/the-adoptee-benefits-because-his-collective-parents-are-permitted-to/) [Kathleen Silber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-silber/) > [“If we were created from the very fiber of our birth parents' physical and emotional beings, don't you think our need to think about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrie-eldridge/if-we-were-created-from-the-very-fiber-of-our-birth-parents-physical/) [Sherrie Eldridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrie-eldridge/) > [“Adoption is a beautiful, burdensome blessing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jody-cantrell-dyer/adoption-is-a-beautiful-burdensome-blessing/) [Jody Cantrell Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jody-cantrell-dyer/) > [The benefits because his collective parents are permitted to grow secure in their particular roles in his life. His adoptive parents are not unwittingly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-silber/the-benefits-because-his-collective-parents-are-permitted-to-grow/) [Kathleen Silber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-silber/) > [First birth is from your parents, but real birth, real life, begins when one accepts a bona fide spiritual master and renders service unto…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-c-bhaktivedanta-swami-prabhupada/first-birth-is-from-your-parents-but-real-birth-real-life-begins-when/) [A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-c-bhaktivedanta-swami-prabhupada/) > [No child should be raised in a system. A system isn't a parent. Even the system knows this, which is why the Children and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhea-perlman/no-child-should-be-raised-in-a-system-a-system-isn-t-a-parent-even/) [Rhea Perlman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhea-perlman/) > [“I never wanted to find my birth parents - if one set of parents felt like a misfortune, two sets would be self-destructive... I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/i-never-wanted-to-find-my-birth-parents-if-one-set-of-parents-felt/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [Adoption was a bumpy ride - very bumpy. But, God, was it worth the fight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariska-hargitay/adoption-was-a-bumpy-ride-very-bumpy-but-god-was-it-worth-the-fight/) [Mariska Hargitay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariska-hargitay/) > [Could you not lie and tell me you care about me. Thanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessi/could-you-not-lie-and-tell-me-you-care-about-me-thanks/) [Jessi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessi/) > [As anyone who's ever adopted a dog will tell you, there's always the fear that one day the birth parents will come scratching at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-gould/as-anyone-who-s-ever-adopted-a-dog-will-tell-you-there-s-always-the/) [Dana Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-gould/) > [What is your future? Shortly after giving birth to you if your parents kicked you out of the house is \| now you seem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/what-is-your-future-shortly-after-giving-birth-to-you-if-your-parents-2/) Mak\_786 > [You keep so much shit from me and then you get mad when I don't tell you things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessi/you-keep-so-much-shit-from-me-and-then-you-get-mad-when-i-don-t-tell/) [Jessi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessi/) > [“Like almost all girls I don't know the date of my birth: my parents did not trouble to record the day and the time.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philippa-gregory/like-almost-all-girls-i-don-t-know-the-date-of-my-birth-my-parents/) [Philippa Gregory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philippa-gregory/) ## More by Kola Boof > [I'm not at all against white people adopting black children, because we're all human beings who need to give love and be nurtured in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kola-boof/i-m-not-at-all-against-white-people-adopting-black-children-because/) [Kola Boof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kola-boof/) > [What makes me angry'is that it wasn't me who revealed that I had been with Osama Bin Laden. I originally denied being involved with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kola-boof/what-makes-me-angry-is-that-it-wasn-t-me-who-revealed-that-i-had-been/) [Kola Boof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kola-boof/) > [I was adopted my black Americans, I feel that I'm a 'Hybrid'. When I'm around Africans'I suddenly feel very black American. And when I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kola-boof/i-was-adopted-my-black-americans-i-feel-that-i-m-a-hybrid-when-i-m/) [Kola Boof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kola-boof/) > [I'm an African woman, I suppose these thoughts torture me more than they do black American people, because it's like watching my own children…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kola-boof/i-m-an-african-woman-i-suppose-these-thoughts-torture-me-more-than/) [Kola Boof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kola-boof/) > [Race means family and all black people whether they like it or not, are family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kola-boof/race-means-family-and-all-black-people-whether-they-like-it-or-not/) [Kola Boof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kola-boof/) > [Though the white man is a kind of Satan, and though the black man is Satan for selling his own children into bondage and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kola-boof/though-the-white-man-is-a-kind-of-satan-and-though-the-black-man-is/) [Kola Boof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kola-boof/) > [I wasn't allowed to use people's real names, such as my siblings and my children's father, but there's nothing fabricated or untrue in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kola-boof/i-wasn-t-allowed-to-use-people-s-real-names-such-as-my-siblings-and/) [Kola Boof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kola-boof/) > [I met rich men and they became my boyfriends. When I was a kept woman'it was a relationship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kola-boof/i-met-rich-men-and-they-became-my-boyfriends-when-i-was-a-kept-woman/) [Kola Boof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kola-boof/) > [I loved 1930's women's pictures'films by Josef Von Sternberg or William Wyler. So, I fashioned a style out of that. The integrity and ethos…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kola-boof/i-loved-1930-s-women-s-pictures-films-by-josef-von-sternberg-or/) [Kola Boof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kola-boof/) > [“My look, mind you, is not chocolate like Lauryn Hill, Whoopi Goldberg, or Naomi Campbell - it is pitch black and shimmering like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kola-boof/my-look-mind-you-is-not-chocolate-like-lauryn-hill-whoopi-goldberg-or/) [Kola Boof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kola-boof/) > [The Black woman is the most unprotected, unloved woman on earth...she is the only flower on earth...that grows unwatered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kola-boof/the-black-woman-is-the-most-unprotected-unloved-woman-on-earth-she-is/) [Kola Boof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kola-boof/) > [While I love Mohammed and Jesus Christ'I reject all men's religions, not just Islam, but Christianity, Judaism and whatever else the men use for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kola-boof/while-i-love-mohammed-and-jesus-christ-i-reject-all-men-s-religions/) [Kola Boof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kola-boof/) > [I was born to an Arab father and I was born Islamic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kola-boof/i-was-born-to-an-arab-father-and-i-was-born-islamic/) [Kola Boof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kola-boof/) > [Men always liked me, because I was very damaged and unpredictable, my children's father claims that I have multiple personalities, but I don't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kola-boof/men-always-liked-me-because-i-was-very-damaged-and-unpredictable-my/) [Kola Boof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kola-boof/) > [ I never wanted anyone to know about me and Osama \[Bin Laden\]. I wanted that to be a secret that I carried to my… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kola-boof/i-never-wanted-anyone-to-know-about-me-and-osama-bin-laden-i-wanted/) [Kola Boof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kola-boof/) [Explore all 55 Kola Boof quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kola-boof/) ## More All night quotes > [Every wife ought to answer for her man. If the husband be engaged in a seditious club, or drinks mysterious healths, or be frugal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/every-wife-ought-to-answer-for-her-man-if-the-husband-be-engaged-in-a/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [I'm neurotic in the sense that I can have a crowd of 300 people cheering you, applauding you, standing O, but one guy come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-white/i-m-neurotic-in-the-sense-that-i-can-have-a-crowd-of-300-people/) [Wayne White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-white/) > [ Senator \[Tom\] Cotton has campaigned on wanting to kill Obamacare. He voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act back in January, but he now… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-maddow/senator-tom-cotton-has-campaigned-on-wanting-to-kill-obamacare-he/) [Rachel Maddow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-maddow/) > [Teenagers complain there's nothing to do, then stay out all night doing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-phillips/teenagers-complain-there-s-nothing-to-do-then-stay-out-all-night/) [Bob Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-phillips/) > [Few, if any, creatures are equally active all night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/few-if-any-creatures-are-equally-active-all-night/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Everyone has seen people dancing all night. But take a man and make him dance for a quarter of an hour without music and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-de-saxe/everyone-has-seen-people-dancing-all-night-but-take-a-man-and-make/) [Maurice de Saxe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-de-saxe/) > [Never walk near the bed; to a ghost your ankle is your most vulnerable part-once in bed, you're safe; he may lie around under…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/never-walk-near-the-bed-to-a-ghost-your-ankle-is-your-most-vulnerable/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [I think I fully commit myself to any role to the extent to which I can. In other words there's some roles that maybe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-bob-thornton/i-think-i-fully-commit-myself-to-any-role-to-the-extent-to-which-i/) [Billy Bob Thornton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-bob-thornton/) > [I memorize my lines and I show up. I think it's just instinctual, and sometimes it's wrong and the director says, "No, do it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-lawrence/i-memorize-my-lines-and-i-show-up-i-think-it-s-just-instinctual-and/) [Jennifer Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-lawrence/) > [I feel like a midget with muddy feet had been walking over my tongue all night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-fields/i-feel-like-a-midget-with-muddy-feet-had-been-walking-over-my-tongue/) [W. C. Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-c-fields/) > [If I walk into a place, a party, say, and there's a bookshelf, I immediately gravitate toward it. Unless there's a bar. But even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-evison/if-i-walk-into-a-place-a-party-say-and-there-s-a-bookshelf-i/) [Jonathan Evison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-evison/) > [When you're doing a play you get to go full speed ahead, all night, in front of an audience. It's a roller-coaster ride, responding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-patrick-thomas/when-you-re-doing-a-play-you-get-to-go-full-speed-ahead-all-night-in/) [Sean Patrick Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-patrick-thomas/) > [I'm kinda tired. I was up all night trying to round off infinity. Then I got bored and went out and painted passing lines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/i-m-kinda-tired-i-was-up-all-night-trying-to-round-off-infinity-then/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) > [I've been thinking of a story from the Old Testament: Moses stood all day and all night with outstretched arms, praying to God for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-scholl/i-ve-been-thinking-of-a-story-from-the-old-testament-moses-stood-all/) [Sophie Scholl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-scholl/) > [Basically Ken is a very gentle, home-loving person. I remember when one of his stick insects had a knee infection. He stayed up all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/basically-ken-is-a-very-gentle-home-loving-person-i-remember-when-one/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) Browse all 335 All night quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When my birth parents were murdered, I stayed outdoors all night with the bodies. Years later in America, around fourteen, my psychiatrist explained to me that staying with the bodies that night made me fearless. 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