--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The truth has not so much set us free as…" description: "\"The truth has not so much set us free as it has ripped away a carefully constructed facade, leaving us naked to begin again.\" — Lisa Unger" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7b/lisa-unger-3678_begin-again_the-truth-has-not-so-much-set-us-free-as_2569972.png" --- # The truth has not so much set us free as it has ripped… ![“The truth has not so much set us free as it has ripped away a carefully constructed facade, leaving us naked to begin again.” quote by Lisa Unger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7b/lisa-unger-3678_begin-again_the-truth-has-not-so-much-set-us-free-as_2569972.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7b/lisa-unger-3678_begin-again_the-truth-has-not-so-much-set-us-free-as_2569972.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7b/lisa-unger-3678_begin-again_the-truth-has-not-so-much-set-us-free-as_2569972.png) > “The truth has not so much set us free as it has ripped away a carefully constructed facade, leaving us naked to begin again.” [Lisa Unger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-unger/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Truth can dismantle comforting lies, exposing vulnerability and prompting a fresh start. **In simple terms:** Truth strips away lies, leaving us exposed. Key Takeaway Embrace honesty to rebuild. Themes truth vulnerability renewal Mood introspective hopeful Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - personal crises - relationship breakdowns - public scandals - creative breakthroughs Key Concepts psychology self‑discovery transformation Questions to Reflect On - How do you respond when a cherished belief is shattered? - What steps help you rebuild after exposure? A Different Perspective Truth can cause pain and resistance, making people cling to familiar falsehoods. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Begin again](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/begin-again/) [Facade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facade/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [“A knock interrupted my thoughts. “You okay?” “Yeah. Can I have some freaking privacy?” “Sorry. You’ve just been in there for a while; I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-m-cameron/a-knock-interrupted-my-thoughts-you-okay-yeah-can-i-have-some/) [Chelsea M. Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-m-cameron/) > [“Some people, when there’s a threat of everything they have being ripped away at a moments notice, they place value on the things they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-r-smith/some-people-when-there-s-a-threat-of-everything-they-have-being/) [Benjamin R. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-r-smith/) > [No, now he didn't want to let himself get too close because he knew it wasn't going to last. Good stuff never lasted. Change…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-perry/no-now-he-didn-t-want-to-let-himself-get-too-close-because-he-knew-it/) [Steve Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-perry/) > [Fame is an illusion. Things can be given to you quite easily, but they get ripped away so quickly as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-olsen/fame-is-an-illusion-things-can-be-given-to-you-quite-easily-but-they/) [Ashley Olsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-olsen/) > [I had just broke in and everything was going so well, to have it all ripped away like that is not nice. That's part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-longstaff/i-had-just-broke-in-and-everything-was-going-so-well-to-have-it-all/) [Sean Longstaff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-longstaff/) > [“...I understood how things can change in an instant. All the stuff we take for granted can just be ripped away.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-j-tudor/i-understood-how-things-can-change-in-an-instant-all-the-stuff-we/) [C.J. Tudor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-j-tudor/) > [“All the stuff we take for granted can just be ripped away”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-j-tudor/all-the-stuff-we-take-for-granted-can-just-be-ripped-away/) [C.J. Tudor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-j-tudor/) > [“I know the grim probability of my own future. The odds are high that the best of me has already been ripped away and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-wiess/i-know-the-grim-probability-of-my-own-future-the-odds-are-high-that/) [Laura Wiess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-wiess/) > [“horrifyingly ripped away from you in the middle”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-collins/horrifyingly-ripped-away-from-you-in-the-middle/) [Melissa Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-collins/) > [Now hell and heaven grapple on our backs and all our old pretense is ripped away. Aye, and God's icy wind will blow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/now-hell-and-heaven-grapple-on-our-backs-and-all-our-old-pretense-is/) [Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/) > [“Funny to get so close...only to have him ripped away again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-grahame-smith/funny-to-get-so-close-only-to-have-him-ripped-away-again/) [Seth Grahame-Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-grahame-smith/) > [“I guess that’s why I put those walls up. It’s easier to keep people away than it is to have them look at you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-collins/i-guess-that-s-why-i-put-those-walls-up-it-s-easier-to-keep-people/) [Melissa Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-collins/) > [The little things that made up the fabric of the first six years of my life were suddenly ripped away, and I didn't have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-christie/the-little-things-that-made-up-the-fabric-of-the-first-six-years-of/) [Julie Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-christie/) > [Hell and Heaven grapple on our backs, and all our old pretenses ripped away. God's icy wind will blow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-proctor/hell-and-heaven-grapple-on-our-backs-and-all-our-old-pretenses-ripped/) [John Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-proctor/) > [My whole worlds being ripped away from me. So is Jakes and yours and all I can do is sit here and watch it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peyton-sawyer/my-whole-worlds-being-ripped-away-from-me-so-is-jakes-and-yours-and/) [Peyton Sawyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peyton-sawyer/) ## More by Lisa Unger > [“When they’re small, they’re part of you, on you in bed, showering with you, climbing onto your lap, holding on to your leg. Slowly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-unger/when-they-re-small-they-re-part-of-you-on-you-in-bed-showering-with/) [Lisa Unger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-unger/) > [“We hate our parents for having their own lives, don’t we, for making decisions for themselves that don’t seem to take us into account.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-unger/we-hate-our-parents-for-having-their-own-lives-don-t-we-for-making/) [Lisa Unger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-unger/) > [“Depression is not dramatic, but it is total. It’s sneaky - you almost don’t notice it at first. Like a cat burglar, it comes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-unger/depression-is-not-dramatic-but-it-is-total-it-s-sneaky-you-almost-don/) [Lisa Unger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-unger/) > [“...in the end it's not just the big and small events that make you who you are, make your life what it is, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-unger/in-the-end-it-s-not-just-the-big-and-small-events-that-make-you-who/) [Lisa Unger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-unger/) > [The Universe doesn't like secrets. It conspires to reveal the truth, to lead you to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-unger/the-universe-doesn-t-like-secrets-it-conspires-to-reveal-the-truth-to/) [Lisa Unger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-unger/) > [“We have more patience for girls who act like boys than boys who act like girls. A tomboy is considered cute. One day she’ll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-unger/we-have-more-patience-for-girls-who-act-like-boys-than-boys-who-act/) [Lisa Unger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-unger/) > [“You didn't wind up on a pole without a lot of help from your family.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-unger/you-didn-t-wind-up-on-a-pole-without-a-lot-of-help-from-your-family/) [Lisa Unger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-unger/) > [Writers are first and foremost observers. We lose ourselves in the watching and then the telling of the world we find. Often we feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-unger/writers-are-first-and-foremost-observers-we-lose-ourselves-in-the/) [Lisa Unger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-unger/) > [I loved him so much. It didn't change all the reasons we couldn't be together, but it kept me returning to his body, kept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-unger/i-loved-him-so-much-it-didn-t-change-all-the-reasons-we-couldn-t-be/) [Lisa Unger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-unger/) > [It was a strange lightness, a drifting feeling. Zero gravity. I understood that everything that once seemed solid and immovable might just float away.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-unger/it-was-a-strange-lightness-a-drifting-feeling-zero-gravity-i/) [Lisa Unger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-unger/) > [Of course, like all organic processes, there is an ebb and a flow to writing. One does not exist without the other. The writer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-unger/of-course-like-all-organic-processes-there-is-an-ebb-and-a-flow-to/) [Lisa Unger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-unger/) > [When you start to really know someone, all his physical characteristics start to disappear. You begin to dwell in his energy, recognize the scent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-unger/when-you-start-to-really-know-someone-all-his-physical/) [Lisa Unger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-unger/) > [It's strange how memory gets twisted and pulled like taffy in its retelling, how a single event can mean something different to everyone present.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-unger/it-s-strange-how-memory-gets-twisted-and-pulled-like-taffy-in-its/) [Lisa Unger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-unger/) > [Many people believe that evil is the presence of something. I think it's the absence of something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-unger/many-people-believe-that-evil-is-the-presence-of-something-i-think-it/) [Lisa Unger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-unger/) > [Even if someone is overcome with rage, it takes amazing arrogance to kill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-unger/even-if-someone-is-overcome-with-rage-it-takes-amazing-arrogance-to/) [Lisa Unger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-unger/) [Explore all 124 Lisa Unger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-unger/) ## More Begin again quotes > [Begin: To have commenced is half the deed. Half yet remains; Begin again on this and thou wilt finish all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/decimius-magnus-ausonius/begin-to-have-commenced-is-half-the-deed-half-yet-remains-begin-again/) [Decimius Magnus Ausonius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/decimius-magnus-ausonius/) > [The thing about acting is even if you get technically more skilled at what you do, every time you begin a film or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-weisz/the-thing-about-acting-is-even-if-you-get-technically-more-skilled-at/) [Rachel Weisz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-weisz/) > [For the first time in a long time I thought about Maman. I felt as if I understood why at the end of her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/for-the-first-time-in-a-long-time-i-thought-about-maman-i-felt-as-if/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Sometimes I find the best way of getting from one place to another is simply to erase everything and begin again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norton-juster/sometimes-i-find-the-best-way-of-getting-from-one-place-to-another-is/) [Norton Juster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norton-juster/) > [If once again Germany destabilizes Europe, then Germany will be not be divided again, but wiped off the map. East and West have the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lech-walesa/if-once-again-germany-destabilizes-europe-then-germany-will-be-not-be/) [Lech Walesa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lech-walesa/) > [My day's work will begin again the next morning. The tomb is not a blind alley.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/my-day-s-work-will-begin-again-the-next-morning-the-tomb-is-not-a/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [I close my eyes. An image flashes—emerging from the van with Julian after our escape from New York City; believing, in that moment, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/i-close-my-eyes-an-image-flashes-emerging-from-the-van-with-julian/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [“Sometimes we reach a dead end. In that case, start again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felisa-tan/sometimes-we-reach-a-dead-end-in-that-case-start-again/) [Felisa Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felisa-tan/) > [I am from time to time congratulating myself on my general want of success as a lecturer; apparent want of success, but is it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-am-from-time-to-time-congratulating-myself-on-my-general-want-of/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Living is the purpose of life, And meaning can be found therein. I finds thou. Thou becomes it. And it begins again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-kesey/living-is-the-purpose-of-life-and-meaning-can-be-found-therein-i/) [Ken Kesey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-kesey/) > [One of the characteristics of North American culture is that you can always start again. You can always move forward, cross a border of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/one-of-the-characteristics-of-north-american-culture-is-that-you-can/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [Since the 1960s, exile for Haitians is a condition that ends only to begin again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madison-smartt-bell/since-the-1960s-exile-for-haitians-is-a-condition-that-ends-only-to/) [Madison Smartt Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madison-smartt-bell/) > [The hunger and thirst for knowledge, the keen delight in the chase, the good humored willingness to admit that the scent was false, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-william-maitland/the-hunger-and-thirst-for-knowledge-the-keen-delight-in-the-chase-the/) Frederic William Maitland > [Everyone's mind wanders, without doubt, and we always have to start over. Everyone resists or dislikes the thought of or is too tired to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-salzberg/everyone-s-mind-wanders-without-doubt-and-we-always-have-to-start/) [Sharon Salzberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-salzberg/) > [Reconcile the loss of the painting - no matter how many times it may happen - with the joy of beginning again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-l-goldberg/reconcile-the-loss-of-the-painting-no-matter-how-many-times-it-may/) [Joshua L. Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-l-goldberg/) [Browse all 127 Begin again quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/begin-again/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The truth has not so much set us free as it has ripped away a carefully constructed facade, leaving us naked to begin again.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lisa Unger" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-unger/the-truth-has-not-so-much-set-us-free-as-it-has-ripped-away-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Begin again" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-unger/the-truth-has-not-so-much-set-us-free-as-it-has-ripped-away-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7b/lisa-unger-3678_begin-again_the-truth-has-not-so-much-set-us-free-as_2569972.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7b/lisa-unger-3678_begin-again_the-truth-has-not-so-much-set-us-free-as_2569972.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7b/lisa-unger-3678_begin-again_the-truth-has-not-so-much-set-us-free-as_2569972.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The truth has not so much set us free as it has ripped away a carefully constructed facade, leaving us naked…” — Lisa Unger", "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": "Lisa Unger", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-unger/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The truth has not so much...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-unger/the-truth-has-not-so-much-set-us-free-as-it-has-ripped-away-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-unger/the-truth-has-not-so-much-set-us-free-as-it-has-ripped-away-a/#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 } } ] } ```