--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I first foreswore motherhood when I was…" description: "\"I first foreswore motherhood when I was about eight years old. ... [Children] were annoying. We were loud and sneaky and broke things. As an eight-year..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ba/lionel-shriver-744_annoying_i-first-foreswore-motherhood-when-i-was_350277.jpg" --- # I first foreswore motherhood when I was about eight years… ![“I first foreswore motherhood when I was about eight years old. ... [Children] were annoying. We were loud and sneaky and broke things. As an eight-year-old, maybe I was simply mortified by the prospect of being saddled with myself.” quote by Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ba/lionel-shriver-744_annoying_i-first-foreswore-motherhood-when-i-was_350277.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ba/lionel-shriver-744_annoying_i-first-foreswore-motherhood-when-i-was_350277.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ba/lionel-shriver-744_annoying_i-first-foreswore-motherhood-when-i-was_350277.jpg) > “I first foreswore motherhood when I was about eight years old. ... \[Children\] were annoying. We were loud and sneaky and broke things. As an eight-year-old, maybe I was simply mortified by the prospect of being saddled with myself.” [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She rejected motherhood early, fearing the responsibilities and identity it would bring. **In simple terms:** She feared becoming a mother. Key Takeaway Consider personal readiness before major life choices. Themes family identity fear Mood reflective thoughtful Type literary personal When to use this quote - parenting decisions - career planning - personal growth Key Concepts psychology social expectations Questions to Reflect On - What influences early attitudes toward parenthood? - How do societal expectations shape personal decisions? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex feelings about motherhood. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Being sad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-sad/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Motherhood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motherhood/) ## Related quotes > [Also ... the plan sounded exactly like the sneaky, twisted, ridiculously annoying and noble sort of thing Leo Valdez would do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/also-the-plan-sounded-exactly-like-the-sneaky-twisted-ridiculously/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [No eleven-year-old has any real grasp of death. He doesn't have any real concept of other people--that they feel pain, even that they exist.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/no-eleven-year-old-has-any-real-grasp-of-death-he-doesn-t-have-any/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“I was the eighth dwarf. Sneaky.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bradley/i-was-the-eighth-dwarf-sneaky/) [Alan Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bradley/) > [Don't be sneaky about it...Just be real & I'll respect you a lot more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/don-t-be-sneaky-about-it-just-be-real-i-ll-respect-you-a-lot-more/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Art is a high calling - fears are coincidental. Coincidental, sneaky and disruptive, we might add, disguising themselves variously as laziness, resistance to deadlines,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bayles/art-is-a-high-calling-fears-are-coincidental-coincidental-sneaky-and/) [David Bayles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bayles/) > [Friends can make you feel that the world is smaller and less sneaky than it really is, because you know people who have similar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/friends-can-make-you-feel-that-the-world-is-smaller-and-less-sneaky/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Grief, a type of sadness that most often occurs when you have lost someone you love, is a sneaky thing, because it can disappear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/grief-a-type-of-sadness-that-most-often-occurs-when-you-have-lost/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Texting is a fundamentally sneaky form of communication, which we should despise, but it is such a boon we don't care. We are all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-truss/texting-is-a-fundamentally-sneaky-form-of-communication-which-we/) [Lynne Truss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-truss/) > [“A small compromise leads to another small compromise, and finally we wind up doing something that we do not really love. It's a sneaky…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-krenov/a-small-compromise-leads-to-another-small-compromise-and-finally-we/) James Krenov > [I hate sneaky bitches. What you being sneaky for?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-hate-sneaky-bitches-what-you-being-sneaky-for/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Where are you going?" "Nowhere special. I just have some... things to do." "Why did you pause?' "I'm sorry?" "You paused. You have 'some...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-landy/where-are-you-going-nowhere-special-i-just-have-some-things-to-do-why/) [Derek Landy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-landy/) > [“I didn't tell you this because I'm sure you would've changed your mind about the dress." "What?" I frowned. "Does it make my butt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-l-armentrout/i-didn-t-tell-you-this-because-i-m-sure-you-would-ve-changed-your/) [Jennifer L. Armentrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-l-armentrout/) > [America is not a wily, sneaky nation. We don't think that way. We don't think much at all, thank God. Start thinking and pretty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/america-is-not-a-wily-sneaky-nation-we-don-t-think-that-way-we-don-t/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [The truth is that progress is usually small and sneaky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/the-truth-is-that-progress-is-usually-small-and-sneaky/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“Damn it, he’s sneaky. Now I have to do this, for real.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-davies/damn-it-he-s-sneaky-now-i-have-to-do-this-for-real/) [E. Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-davies/) ## More by Lionel Shriver > [The discovery that heartbreak is indeed heartbreaking consoles us about our humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/the-discovery-that-heartbreak-is-indeed-heartbreaking-consoles-us/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“I’m a journalist, and journalists need news. Deprive them of it, and they go a bit barking. Deprive them of news long enough, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/i-m-a-journalist-and-journalists-need-news-deprive-them-of-it-and/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“One of the things I learned with Charles," said Gray carefully, "was that finding someone like you does not necessarily mean that either of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/one-of-the-things-i-learned-with-charles-said-gray-carefully-was-that/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [In the particular dwells the tawdry. In the conceptual dwells the grand, the transcendent, the everlasting. Earthly countries and single malignant boys can go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/in-the-particular-dwells-the-tawdry-in-the-conceptual-dwells-the/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“The idea is that you don't only have one destiny. Younger and younger, kids are pressed to decide what they want to do with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/the-idea-is-that-you-don-t-only-have-one-destiny-younger-and-younger/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [Oddly, for a book to do well merely because people like it is surprisingly rare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/oddly-for-a-book-to-do-well-merely-because-people-like-it-is/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“And there's a freedom in apathy, a wild, dizzying liberation on which you can almost get drunk.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/and-there-s-a-freedom-in-apathy-a-wild-dizzying-liberation-on-which/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [The sign that I don't like the book I'm reading is finding myself watching reruns of 'Come Dine With Me.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/the-sign-that-i-don-t-like-the-book-i-m-reading-is-finding-myself/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [We speak often of 'destroying the planet' when what we mean is destroying its habitability for humans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/we-speak-often-of-destroying-the-planet-when-what-we-mean-is/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [My agent had warned that, while a fine film would do my profile a world of good, a bad one wouldn't help me at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/my-agent-had-warned-that-while-a-fine-film-would-do-my-profile-a/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“I think that's the biggest favor you can grant anyone, don't you? Permission to be dull. I know Henry will sometimes say something so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/i-think-that-s-the-biggest-favor-you-can-grant-anyone-don-t-you/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“They were determined to find something mechanically wrong with him - because broken machines are easier to fix. p303”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/they-were-determined-to-find-something-mechanically-wrong-with-him/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“Bur Armenians have a talent for sorrow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/bur-armenians-have-a-talent-for-sorrow/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“What is cool changes; that there is such a thing as cool is immutable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/what-is-cool-changes-that-there-is-such-a-thing-as-cool-is-immutable/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“I have theorized that you can locate most people on a spectrum of the crudest sort and that it may be their position on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/i-have-theorized-that-you-can-locate-most-people-on-a-spectrum-of-the/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) [Explore all 375 Lionel Shriver quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) ## More Annoying quotes > [Why couldn't Jesus command us to obsess over everything, to try to control and manipulate people, to try not to breathe at all, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/why-couldn-t-jesus-command-us-to-obsess-over-everything-to-try-to/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [The trouble is. . .that everybody sneers at restrictions and demands freedom, till something annoying happens; then they demand angrily what has become of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/the-trouble-is-that-everybody-sneers-at-restrictions-and-demands/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [At Epcot Center the Disney corporation has focused its attention on two things greatly in need of Disneyfication: the tedious future and the annoying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/at-epcot-center-the-disney-corporation-has-focused-its-attention-on/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [The book it reminded me of most is Henry Miller’s The Books in My Life. Like Miller, Shields manages to convey his affection for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-alexis/the-book-it-reminded-me-of-most-is-henry-miller-s-the-books-in-my/) [Andre Alexis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-alexis/) > [When you're standing around for an hour doing stand up it's no big deal but when you're standing around watching a show for an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-rogan/when-you-re-standing-around-for-an-hour-doing-stand-up-it-s-no-big/) [Joe Rogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-rogan/) > [Belief is a good thing in principle, but an annoying thing in human beings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wurtzel/belief-is-a-good-thing-in-principle-but-an-annoying-thing-in-human/) [Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/) > [Shut the fuck up ur so annoying and you think your the shit lmao sit the fuck down](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/shut-the-fuck-up-ur-so-annoying-and-you-think-your-the-shit-lmao-sit/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The only kind of freedom that the mob can imagine is freedom to annoy and oppress its betters, and that is precisely the kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-kind-of-freedom-that-the-mob-can-imagine-is-freedom-to-annoy/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Die, enemies of Ra!" Sekhemet yelled. "Perish in agony!" "She's almost as annoying as you," I told Horus. "Impossible," Horus said. "No one bests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/die-enemies-of-ra-sekhemet-yelled-perish-in-agony-she-s-almost-as/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [My middle finger is used when words aren't enough for people to understand that they're annoying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/my-middle-finger-is-used-when-words-aren-t-enough-for-people-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [...Be grateful for what you have to be thankful for instead of complaining about the little things that annoy you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-carnegie/be-grateful-for-what-you-have-to-be-thankful-for-instead-of/) [Dale Carnegie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-carnegie/) > [Would you want people walking up to you and pointing at your d--k? I can't believe I'm still talking about this. But I've worn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-hamm/would-you-want-people-walking-up-to-you-and-pointing-at-your-d-k-i/) [Jon Hamm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-hamm/) > [I ceased in the year 1764 to believe that one can convince one’s opponents with arguments printed in books. It is not to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/i-ceased-in-the-year-1764-to-believe-that-one-can-convince-one-s/) [Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/) > [WikiLeaks is irritating and annoying for Germany, but not a threat. From an international perspective, I see their actions as totally irresponsible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-de-maiziere/wikileaks-is-irritating-and-annoying-for-germany-but-not-a-threat/) [Thomas de Maiziere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-de-maiziere/) > [It doesn't annoy me but I think of myself as a presenter who is gay, rather than a gay presenter. It's a subtle distinction,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-davis/it-doesn-t-annoy-me-but-i-think-of-myself-as-a-presenter-who-is-gay/) [Evan Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-davis/) Browse all 1,217 Annoying quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I first foreswore motherhood when I was about eight years old. ... [Children] were annoying. We were loud and sneaky and broke things. 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