--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Appalling things can happen to children…" description: "\"“Appalling things can happen to children. And even a happy childhood is filled with sadnesses. Is there any other period in your life when you hate you..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ab/mark-haddon-1056_best-friend_appalling-things-can-happen-to-children_1506438.png" --- # Appalling things can happen to children. And even a happy… ![“Appalling things can happen to children. And even a happy childhood is filled with sadnesses. Is there any other period in your life when you hate your best friend on Monday and love them again on Tuesday? But at eight, 10, 12, you don't realise you're going to die. There is always the possibility…” quote by Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ab/mark-haddon-1056_best-friend_appalling-things-can-happen-to-children_1506438.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ab/mark-haddon-1056_best-friend_appalling-things-can-happen-to-children_1506438.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ab/mark-haddon-1056_best-friend_appalling-things-can-happen-to-children_1506438.png) > ““Appalling things can happen to children. And even a happy childhood is filled with sadnesses. Is there any other period in your life when you hate your best friend on Monday and love them again on Tuesday? But at eight, 10, 12, you don't realise you're going to die. There is always the possibility of escape. There is always somewhere else and far away, a fact I had never really appreciated until I read Gitta Sereny's profoundly unsettling Cries Unheard about child-killer Mary Bell. At 20, 25, 30, we begin to realise that the possibilities of escape are getting fewer. We begin to picture a time when there will no longer be somewhere else and far away. We have jobs, children, partners, debts, responsibilities. And if many of these things enrich our lives immeasurably, those shrinking limits are something we all have to come to terms with. This, I think, is the part of us to which literary fiction speaks.”” [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote reflects on how childhood is a mix of joy and sorrow, and how as we age, the sense of escape diminishes, making us confront inevitable responsibilities. **In simple terms:** Childhood mixes happiness and sadness; adulthood limits escape. Key Takeaway Accept limits and find meaning within them. Themes growth mortality responsibility literary fiction existentialism Mood reflective melancholic thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - Parenting - career planning - mental health counseling - creative writing workshops Key Concepts Psychology Narrative Human development Questions to Reflect On - How do you redefine escape as responsibilities grow? - What role does literature play in processing these shifts? A Different Perspective The view may overlook resilience and the capacity to create new forms of freedom later in life. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Best friend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/best-friend/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Die Possibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/die-possibility-5535026/) [Escape](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/escape/) [Far away](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/far-away/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Happy childhood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happy-childhood/) [Literary fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literary-fiction/) [Possibilities Escape](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possibilities-escape-4680391/) [Possibility Escape](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possibility-escape-2718734/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Somewhere else](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/somewhere-else/) ## Related quotes > [At 20, 25, 30, we begin to realise that the possibilities of escape are getting fewer. We have jobs, children, partners, debts. This is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/at-20-25-30-we-begin-to-realise-that-the-possibilities-of-escape-are/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [Hiding places there are innumerable, escape is only one, but possibilities of escape, again, are as many as hiding places.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/hiding-places-there-are-innumerable-escape-is-only-one-but/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [as soon as you know you are in prison, you have a possibility to escape.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/as-soon-as-you-know-you-are-in-prison-you-have-a-possibility-to-escape/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [We need the possibility of escape as surely as we need hope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/we-need-the-possibility-of-escape-as-surely-as-we-need-hope/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“We need the possibility of escape as surely as we need hope; without it the life of the cities would drive all men into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rolf-potts/we-need-the-possibility-of-escape-as-surely-as-we-need-hope-without/) [Rolf Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rolf-potts/) > [What really counted was the possibility of escape, a leap of freedom, out of the implacable ritual, a wild run for it that would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/what-really-counted-was-the-possibility-of-escape-a-leap-of-freedom/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Appalling things can happen to children. And even a happy childhood is filled with sadnesses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/appalling-things-can-happen-to-children-and-even-a-happy-childhood-is-2/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [I don't mean that literary fiction is better than genre fiction, On the contrary; novels can perform two functions and most perform only one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/i-don-t-mean-that-literary-fiction-is-better-than-genre-fiction-on/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [“Warm, enticing scents were floating down, basil and oregano and tomato. It made Wes long for something, something he couldn't place. A happy childhood,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-addison-allen/warm-enticing-scents-were-floating-down-basil-and-oregano-and-tomato/) [Sarah Addison Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-addison-allen/) > [One doesn't know if one had a happy childhood or not. I don't really know what it means.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-malkovich/one-doesn-t-know-if-one-had-a-happy-childhood-or-not-i-don-t-really/) [John Malkovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-malkovich/) > [I had good parents. Two older brothers, bit of a handful between us, all got ginger hair, a bit fiery. I remember a very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-dyche/i-had-good-parents-two-older-brothers-bit-of-a-handful-between-us-all/) [Sean Dyche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-dyche/) > [I had a very happy childhood and very loving parents. We didn't have much money and I suppose therefore you felt that anything you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-leahy/i-had-a-very-happy-childhood-and-very-loving-parents-we-didn-t-have/) [Terry Leahy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-leahy/) > [My family life reads a bit like 'Little House on the Prairie.' I was big sister to Joan, Renee, and brother William, and we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maeve-binchy/my-family-life-reads-a-bit-like-little-house-on-the-prairie-i-was-big/) [Maeve Binchy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maeve-binchy/) > [I had a really happy childhood - my siblings were great, my mother was very fanciful, and I loved to read. But there was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/i-had-a-really-happy-childhood-my-siblings-were-great-my-mother-was/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [I had really loving parents and a happy childhood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-haynes/i-had-really-loving-parents-and-a-happy-childhood/) [Todd Haynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-haynes/) ## More by Mark Haddon > [But I said that you could still want something that is very unlikely to happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/but-i-said-that-you-could-still-want-something-that-is-very-unlikely/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [“So often these days she seemed to hover between worlds, none of them wholly real.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/so-often-these-days-she-seemed-to-hover-between-worlds-none-of-them/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [And I know I can do this because I went to London on my own, and because I solved the mystery…and I was brave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/and-i-know-i-can-do-this-because-i-went-to-london-on-my-own-and/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [And what he meant was that maths wasn't like life because in life there are no straightforward answers in the end](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/and-what-he-meant-was-that-maths-wasn-t-like-life-because-in-life/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [You love someone, you've got to let something go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/you-love-someone-you-ve-got-to-let-something-go/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [“when you describe something by using a word for something that it isn’t. This means that the word metaphor is a metaphor. I”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/when-you-describe-something-by-using-a-word-for-something-that-it-isn/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [“They are very logical but you could never work out the rules, even if you spent all your time thinking about them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/they-are-very-logical-but-you-could-never-work-out-the-rules-even-if/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [“Places remained and time flowed through them like wind through the grass. Right now. This was the future turning into the past. One thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/places-remained-and-time-flowed-through-them-like-wind-through-the/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [I suffer depression only in the sense that I am a writer. We don't have proper jobs to go to. We are on our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/i-suffer-depression-only-in-the-sense-that-i-am-a-writer-we-don-t/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [I better make the plot good. I wanted to make it grip people on the first page and have a big turning point in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/i-better-make-the-plot-good-i-wanted-to-make-it-grip-people-on-the/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [“And it was strange because he was calling, "Christopher. . . ? Christopher. . . ?" and I could see my name written out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/and-it-was-strange-because-he-was-calling-christopher-christopher-and/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [A lot of roles for people with disabilities are quite patronising. 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All the books I can remember are junior science books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/i-read-very-very-little-fiction-as-a-kid-all-the-books-i-can-remember/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) [Explore all 278 Mark Haddon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) ## More Best friend quotes > [“But my best friend from college was silent for a long time. She, of all of my friends, had seen the parade of sad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-groff/but-my-best-friend-from-college-was-silent-for-a-long-time-she-of-all/) [Lauren Groff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-groff/) > [No one is completely unhappy at the failure of his best friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/no-one-is-completely-unhappy-at-the-failure-of-his-best-friend/) [Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/) > [“Before you were my enemy, you were my best friend.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kresley-cole/before-you-were-my-enemy-you-were-my-best-friend/) [Kresley Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kresley-cole/) > [I fell in love with my best friend, but I know that if it doesn't last, it will never be the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelly-yang/i-fell-in-love-with-my-best-friend-but-i-know-that-if-it-doesn-t-last/) [Shelly Yang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelly-yang/) > [A best friend isn't someone who's just always there for you.Its someone who understands you a bit more than you understand yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/a-best-friend-isn-t-someone-who-s-just-always-there-for-you-its/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [Back home I get to see my old friends!(: But they don't understand the change in me and I can't explain it to them...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jade/back-home-i-get-to-see-my-old-friends-but-they-don-t-understand-the/) [Jade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jade/) > [This goes out to someone that was Once the most important person in my life I didn't realize it at the time I can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aviation/this-goes-out-to-someone-that-was-once-the-most-important-person-in/) [Aviation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aviation/) > [You’re crazy,” said her best friend, Angela, as the bell rang to signal five minutes before the first class on the first day back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-rees-brennan/you-re-crazy-said-her-best-friend-angela-as-the-bell-rang-to-signal/) [Sarah Rees Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-rees-brennan/) > [Sometimes the right people can make your day. They're called best friends :)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/sometimes-the-right-people-can-make-your-day-they-re-called-best/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [Here is your third gift from Me once again..I had a fourth gift it was about me making a video telling you how much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lilbear/here-is-your-third-gift-from-me-once-again-i-had-a-fourth-gift-it-was/) [LilBear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lilbear/) > [Our friendship is like a cup of tea¦a special blend of you and me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orebela-gbenga/our-friendship-is-like-a-cup-of-tea-a-special-blend-of-you-and-me/) [Orebela Gbenga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orebela-gbenga/) > [When you have the most beautiful best friend in the world what more could I ask for I love you Tay :) you mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick/when-you-have-the-most-beautiful-best-friend-in-the-world-what-more/) [Nick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick/) > [I believe in God, because he is the only thing that kept me going. He's my best friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-hahn/i-believe-in-god-because-he-is-the-only-thing-that-kept-me-going-he-s/) [Jessica Hahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-hahn/) > [ONE stone enough to break a glass,,, ONE sentence is enough to break a heart,,, FIRST sight is enough to fall in love,,, ONE…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-stone-enough-to-break-a-glass-one-sentence-is-enough-to-break-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A Real Man will help build his woman's self esteem not break it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-s-voice/a-real-man-will-help-build-his-woman-s-self-esteem-not-break-it/) [Lisa's Voice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-s-voice/) [Browse all 6,524 Best friend quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/best-friend/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Appalling things can happen to children. 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