--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We want our wounds to speak for…" description: "\"“We want our wounds to speak for themselves, but usually we end up having to speak for them.”\" — Leslie Jamison" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc9/leslie-jamison-8628_pain_we-want-our-wounds-to-speak-for-themselv_2993456.jpg" --- # We want our wounds to speak for themselves, but usually we… ![“We want our wounds to speak for themselves, but usually we end up having to speak for them.” quote by Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc9/leslie-jamison-8628_pain_we-want-our-wounds-to-speak-for-themselv_2993456.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc9/leslie-jamison-8628_pain_we-want-our-wounds-to-speak-for-themselv_2993456.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc9/leslie-jamison-8628_pain_we-want-our-wounds-to-speak-for-themselv_2993456.jpg) > ““We want our wounds to speak for themselves, but usually we end up having to speak for them.”” [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We often try to let our pain be evident without explanation, yet we find ourselves narrating it to be understood. **In simple terms:** Pain needs a voice to be recognized. Key Takeaway Share your story honestly. Themes vulnerability communication healing Mood reflective introspective Type personal therapeutic When to use this quote - therapy sessions - support groups - personal blogs - public speaking Key Concepts storytelling empathy self‑advocacy Questions to Reflect On - How does telling your wound change its meaning? - When is silence more powerful than speech? A Different Perspective Narration can distort the original feeling. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/) [Wounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wounds/) ## Related quotes > [We don't want to be wounds ("No, you're the wound!") but we should be allowed to have them, to speak about having them, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/we-don-t-want-to-be-wounds-no-you-re-the-wound-but-we-should-be/) [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) > [The flow of time cleanses the past and heals the wounds in people's hearts. But there are wounds we cant speak of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-yazawa/the-flow-of-time-cleanses-the-past-and-heals-the-wounds-in-people-s/) [Ai Yazawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-yazawa/) > [“People who speak less, they usually pray a lot. I think that a great nation is a nation of prayer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alin-sav/people-who-speak-less-they-usually-pray-a-lot-i-think-that-a-great/) [Alin Sav](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alin-sav/) > [Sometimes when you make a record and it's not successful, you just don't want to go through that process for a while. You want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-wright/sometimes-when-you-make-a-record-and-it-s-not-successful-you-just-don/) [Gary Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-wright/) > [When a man says he does not want to speak of something he usually means he can think of nothing else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/when-a-man-says-he-does-not-want-to-speak-of-something-he-usually/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“She will have brown eyes that say everything I ever need to know without her having to speak. She will be beyond extraordinary. She…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-k-n-hammerstone/she-will-have-brown-eyes-that-say-everything-i-ever-need-to-know/) [S.K.N. Hammerstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-k-n-hammerstone/) > [I wanted each different Chelsea to be able to navigate her own world without having to also speak to a larger narrative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-martin/i-wanted-each-different-chelsea-to-be-able-to-navigate-her-own-world/) [Chelsea Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-martin/) > [“...Dialogue is an activity that represents a state of relations going well beyond tolerance...You can coexist with people without ever having to speak meaningfully…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustav-niebuhr/dialogue-is-an-activity-that-represents-a-state-of-relations-going/) [Gustav Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustav-niebuhr/) > [I've just always been terrified of having to speak in front of people. When I used to go in school and then I had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-potter/i-ve-just-always-been-terrified-of-having-to-speak-in-front-of-people/) [Dean Potter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-potter/) > [Style is a way to say who you are without having to speak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-zoe/style-is-a-way-to-say-who-you-are-without-having-to-speak/) [Rachel Zoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-zoe/) > [Clearly she was expected to say something, but panic at having to speak stole the thoughts from her head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-hale/clearly-she-was-expected-to-say-something-but-panic-at-having-to/) [Shannon Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-hale/) > [Some wounds are too deep to heal, or too deep to heal quickly. In addition, many memories are simply painful, and there is no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/some-wounds-are-too-deep-to-heal-or-too-deep-to-heal-quickly-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Who can calculate the wounds inflicted, their depth and pain, by harsh and mean words spoken in anger? How pitiful a sight is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-b-hinckley/who-can-calculate-the-wounds-inflicted-their-depth-and-pain-by-harsh/) [Gordon B. Hinckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-b-hinckley/) > [The pain of love is the pain of being alive. It is a perpetual wound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/the-pain-of-love-is-the-pain-of-being-alive-it-is-a-perpetual-wound/) [Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/) > [A poet is wounded into speech, and he examines these wounds, meticulously, to discover how to heal them. The bad poet harangues at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/a-poet-is-wounded-into-speech-and-he-examines-these-wounds/) [Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/) ## More by Leslie Jamison > [When people ask what kind of nonfiction I write, I say 'all kinds,' but really I mean I don’t write any kind at all:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/when-people-ask-what-kind-of-nonfiction-i-write-i-say-all-kinds-but/) [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) > [It's one of the most liberating things I experience in writing - letting yourself get rid of a gesture or character or plot point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/it-s-one-of-the-most-liberating-things-i-experience-in-writing/) [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) > [The pain is what you make of it. You have to find something in it that yields. 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Most of the time (except when I'm a neurotic mess about uncertainty) I feel glad that the horizon is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/i-m-happy-not-knowing-most-of-the-time-except-when-i-m-a-neurotic/) [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) > [I do like arranging things. I like order. I basically like all these things that are the opposite of what people associate with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/i-do-like-arranging-things-i-like-order-i-basically-like-all-these/) [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) > [I used to believe that hurting would make you more alive to the hurting of others. 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Their hurt has a new native language spoken in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/post-wounded-women-know-that-postures-of-pain-play-into-limited-and/) [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) > [12-step recovery is very focused on abstinence, and that's bled into the broader understanding of treatment. It would be most useful to have multiple…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/12-step-recovery-is-very-focused-on-abstinence-and-that-s-bled-into/) [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) > [We don't want to be wounds ("No, you're the wound!") but we should be allowed to have them, to speak about having them, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/we-don-t-want-to-be-wounds-no-you-re-the-wound-but-we-should-be/) [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) > [“Empathy means realizing no trauma has discrete edges. Trauma bleeds.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/empathy-means-realizing-no-trauma-has-discrete-edges-trauma-bleeds/) [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) > [“Empathy isn't just listening, it's asking the questions whose answers need to be listened to.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/empathy-isn-t-just-listening-it-s-asking-the-questions-whose-answers/) [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) [Explore all 79 Leslie Jamison quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) ## More Pain quotes > [Pain is meant to wake us up. People try to hide their pain. But they're wrong. 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The bad poet harangues at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/a-poet-is-wounded-into-speech-and-he-examines-these-wounds/) [Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/) > [It hurts wanting the best for someone you love, even if they feel the best isn't you. That's real love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-hurts-wanting-the-best-for-someone-you-love-even-if-they-feel-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Tryna hide this pain with these pain killers, she said the storms only will last a little while but shit it got me feeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myself/tryna-hide-this-pain-with-these-pain-killers-she-said-the-storms-only/) Myself > [“do not misunderstand person by beauty You really do not know its real or Mask on dirty thoughts”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-zaki-ansari/do-not-misunderstand-person-by-beauty-you-really-do-not-know-its-real/) [Mohammed Zaki Ansari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-zaki-ansari/) > [Many Republicans have always reminded me of professional WWF wrestlers. They come into the ring all pumped up and acting like they're invincible and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-feig/many-republicans-have-always-reminded-me-of-professional-wwf/) [Paul Feig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-feig/) > [“What is there, in the mention of Time To Come, that is so quick to wrench at the heart, to inflict a pain in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-llewellyn/what-is-there-in-the-mention-of-time-to-come-that-is-so-quick-to/) [Richard Llewellyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-llewellyn/) > [“Where there is doubt (shanka), there is misery. The moment one begins to doubt the knowledge that, 'I am Chandubhai,' misery arises. Once one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/where-there-is-doubt-shanka-there-is-misery-the-moment-one-begins-to/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [Stop trying to give me hope ... 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