--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My parents would frisk me before family…" description: "\"My parents would frisk me before family events. Before weddings, funerals, bar mitzvahs, and what have you. Because if they didn't, then the book would..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b15/neil-gaiman-29_bar-mitzvah_my-parents-would-frisk-me-before-family_387587.jpg" --- # My parents would frisk me before family events. Before… ![“My parents would frisk me before family events. Before weddings, funerals, bar mitzvahs, and what have you. Because if they didn't, then the book would be hidden inside some pocket or other and as soon as whatever it was got under way I'd be found in a corner. That was who I was...that was what I…” quote by Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b15/neil-gaiman-29_bar-mitzvah_my-parents-would-frisk-me-before-family_387587.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b15/neil-gaiman-29_bar-mitzvah_my-parents-would-frisk-me-before-family_387587.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b15/neil-gaiman-29_bar-mitzvah_my-parents-would-frisk-me-before-family_387587.jpg) > “My parents would frisk me before family events. Before weddings, funerals, bar mitzvahs, and what have you. Because if they didn't, then the book would be hidden inside some pocket or other and as soon as whatever it was got under way I'd be found in a corner. That was who I was...that was what I did. I was the kid with the book.” [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator reflects on being known for a secret book, showing how identity can be tied to hidden knowledge and social expectations. **In simple terms:** Being known for a secret book shaped the narrator’s identity. Key Takeaway Embrace authenticity beyond labels. Themes identity secrecy family social norms self‑perception Mood reflective introspective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - family gatherings - personal branding - self‑discovery Key Concepts hidden knowledge labeling self‑definition Questions to Reflect On - How does secrecy affect self‑image? - What happens when the secret is revealed? A Different Perspective May oversimplify the impact of privacy on personal growth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bar mitzvah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bar-mitzvah/) [Bars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bars/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Book Hidden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book-hidden-1816094/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Didn Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/didn-book-2578821/) [Events](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/events/) [Family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/family/) [Family Events](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/family-events-213538/) [Found](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/found/) [Funeral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funeral/) [Kids](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kids/) [Marriage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marriage/) [Mitzvah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mitzvah/) [Parent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parent/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Parents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parents/) [Parents Frisk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parents-frisk-3502371/) [Pockets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pockets/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Would be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/would-be/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [My parents would frisk me before family events, and find the book, and lock it in the car. And then be disappointed where, somewhere…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/my-parents-would-frisk-me-before-family-events-and-find-the-book-and/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [I was one of those kids who had books on them. Before weddings, Bar Mitzvahs, funerals and anything else where you're actually meant to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/i-was-one-of-those-kids-who-had-books-on-them-before-weddings-bar/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [I did 'Ant-Man' and 'The Mandalorian.' They came out back to back and then I didn't book anything for months.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katy-o-brian/i-did-ant-man-and-the-mandalorian-they-came-out-back-to-back-and-then/) [Katy O'Brian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katy-o-brian/) > [I met Evan Goldberg at bar-mitzvah class. It was called tallis and tefillin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-rogen/i-met-evan-goldberg-at-bar-mitzvah-class-it-was-called-tallis-and/) [Seth Rogen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-rogen/) > [Being a writer in Hollywood is like going to Hitler's Eagle Nest with a great idea for a bar mitzvah.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/being-a-writer-in-hollywood-is-like-going-to-hitler-s-eagle-nest-with/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [When I celebrated my bar mitzvah, there was no cake. Today, there is no such thing as a bar mitzvah in the United States…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-ben-israel/when-i-celebrated-my-bar-mitzvah-there-was-no-cake-today-there-is-no/) [Ron Ben-Israel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-ben-israel/) > [I don't remember much about my bar mitzvah. The only thing I remember - I killed! That's what I remembered. Nobody could follow me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-kindler/i-don-t-remember-much-about-my-bar-mitzvah-the-only-thing-i-remember/) [Andy Kindler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-kindler/) > [I struggled with being a Latino growing up in Los Angeles. I felt very American. I still do. I went to 35 bar mitzvahs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/america-ferrera/i-struggled-with-being-a-latino-growing-up-in-los-angeles-i-felt-very/) [America Ferrera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/america-ferrera/) > [People need what they think of as a poem to be read at their bar mitzvah, their wedding, a funeral, whatever. And people are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-larkin/people-need-what-they-think-of-as-a-poem-to-be-read-at-their-bar/) [Joan Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-larkin/) > [There was a year straight where every weekend, I went to at least one bar mitzvah or bat mitzvah, and we would all go,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-rogen/there-was-a-year-straight-where-every-weekend-i-went-to-at-least-one/) [Seth Rogen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-rogen/) > [I was the - my trendsetting moment was my bar mitzvah had the first, like, temporary tattoo guy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-goldberg/i-was-the-my-trendsetting-moment-was-my-bar-mitzvah-had-the-first/) [Evan Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-goldberg/) > [I am terminally sentimental about graduations. They are more individual than weddings, more conscious than christenings, or bar mitzvahs or bat mitzvahs. They are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/i-am-terminally-sentimental-about-graduations-they-are-more/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [My bar mitzvah, I went to my nan's, and she made kugel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-rudd/my-bar-mitzvah-i-went-to-my-nan-s-and-she-made-kugel/) [Paul Rudd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-rudd/) > [When 1:45 came, half the class left, and Danny Hupfer whispered, "If she gives you a cream puff after we leave, I'm going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-d-schmidt/when-1-45-came-half-the-class-left-and-danny-hupfer-whispered-if-she/) [Gary D. Schmidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-d-schmidt/) > [Ironically, my rabbi was a bar mitzvah Nazi. So I got bar mitzvahed. And though I didn't want to, the theme of my bar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-eichner/ironically-my-rabbi-was-a-bar-mitzvah-nazi-so-i-got-bar-mitzvahed-and/) [Billy Eichner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-eichner/) ## More by Neil Gaiman > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“Like all sentient beings, Fat Charlie had a weirdness quotient. For some days the needle had been over in the red, occasionally banging jerkily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/like-all-sentient-beings-fat-charlie-had-a-weirdness-quotient-for/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“Shadow crawled across the floor to the yellow foam-rubber pad and climbed onto it, pulling the thin blanket over himself, and closed his eyes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/shadow-crawled-across-the-floor-to-the-yellow-foam-rubber-pad-and/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [ “\[T\]hey could not help being amused every time another little human believed itself the center of its world, as each of us does.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/t-hey-could-not-help-being-amused-every-time-another-little-human/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [So many things to see, people to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/so-many-things-to-see-people-to-do/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead.’ – Ben Franklin,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/three-may-keep-a-secret-if-two-of-them-are-dead-ben-franklin/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [You need more than a beginning if you're going to start a book. If all you have is a beginning, then once you've written…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-need-more-than-a-beginning-if-you-re-going-to-start-a-book-if-all/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [You can tell the date of an old science fiction novel by every word on the page. Nothing dates harder and faster and more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-can-tell-the-date-of-an-old-science-fiction-novel-by-every-word/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“The quickest way is sometimes the longest.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/the-quickest-way-is-sometimes-the-longest/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“They were spells, spelled with words to make worlds, waiting for me, in the pages of books.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/they-were-spells-spelled-with-words-to-make-worlds-waiting-for-me-in/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [Finish what you're writing. Whatever you have to do to finish it, finish it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/finish-what-you-re-writing-whatever-you-have-to-do-to-finish-it/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [What do stars do? They shine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/what-do-stars-do-they-shine/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“What," asked Mr Croup, "do you want?" "What," asked the Marquis de Carabas, a little more rhetorically, "does anyone want?" "Dead things," suggested Mr…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/what-asked-mr-croup-do-you-want-what-asked-the-marquis-de-carabas-a/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [You get on with your own life. Lettie gave it to you. You just have to grow up and try and be worth it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-get-on-with-your-own-life-lettie-gave-it-to-you-you-just-have-to/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“Eyes will not see you. Minds will not hold you. Where you are is nothing and nobody”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/eyes-will-not-see-you-minds-will-not-hold-you-where-you-are-is/) [neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) [Explore all 2,526 Neil Gaiman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) ## More Bar mitzvah quotes > [My parents were Orthodox Jews but not very regular Orthodox Jews. I was bar mitzvahed and all that. But God was hardly ever mentioned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nat-hentoff/my-parents-were-orthodox-jews-but-not-very-regular-orthodox-jews-i/) [Nat Hentoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nat-hentoff/) > [Ironically, my rabbi was a bar mitzvah Nazi. So I got bar mitzvahed. And though I didn't want to, the theme of my bar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-eichner/ironically-my-rabbi-was-a-bar-mitzvah-nazi-so-i-got-bar-mitzvahed-and/) [Billy Eichner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-eichner/) > [When 1:45 came, half the class left, and Danny Hupfer whispered, "If she gives you a cream puff after we leave, I'm going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-d-schmidt/when-1-45-came-half-the-class-left-and-danny-hupfer-whispered-if-she/) [Gary D. Schmidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-d-schmidt/) > [My bar mitzvah, I went to my nan's, and she made kugel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-rudd/my-bar-mitzvah-i-went-to-my-nan-s-and-she-made-kugel/) [Paul Rudd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-rudd/) > [I am terminally sentimental about graduations. They are more individual than weddings, more conscious than christenings, or bar mitzvahs or bat mitzvahs. They are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/i-am-terminally-sentimental-about-graduations-they-are-more/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [I've studied Kabbalah, as you know, for many years, so there are a lot of things I do that one would associate with practising…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madonna-ciccone/i-ve-studied-kabbalah-as-you-know-for-many-years-so-there-are-a-lot/) [Madonna Ciccone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madonna-ciccone/) > [“The ceremony was fast so we wouldn't be caught. When it was over, the men all whispered 'Mazel tov' and climbed back onto their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-gratz/the-ceremony-was-fast-so-we-wouldn-t-be-caught-when-it-was-over-the/) [Alan Gratz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-gratz/) > [The loss of my father marked my life. I'm 88 years old and I'm still mourning him because it's such a drama for me.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-lowy/the-loss-of-my-father-marked-my-life-i-m-88-years-old-and-i-m-still/) [Frank Lowy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-lowy/) > [“Theo, Celery doesn't think you should invite Lulu to your hypothetical Bar Mitzvah.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gitty-daneshvari/theo-celery-doesn-t-think-you-should-invite-lulu-to-your-hypothetical/) [Gitty Daneshvari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gitty-daneshvari/) > [I was the - my trendsetting moment was my bar mitzvah had the first, like, temporary tattoo guy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-goldberg/i-was-the-my-trendsetting-moment-was-my-bar-mitzvah-had-the-first/) [Evan Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-goldberg/) > [Steven Spielberg's mother, who said to E.T., I don't care where you're from, you're here and you're gonna get bar mitzvahed! Never got a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/red-buttons/steven-spielberg-s-mother-who-said-to-e-t-i-don-t-care-where-you-re/) [Red Buttons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/red-buttons/) > [“I had survived the work gangs in the ghetto. Baked bread under cover of night. Hidden in a pigeon coop. Had a midnight bar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-gratz/i-had-survived-the-work-gangs-in-the-ghetto-baked-bread-under-cover/) [Alan Gratz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-gratz/) > [There was a year straight where every weekend, I went to at least one bar mitzvah or bat mitzvah, and we would all go,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-rogen/there-was-a-year-straight-where-every-weekend-i-went-to-at-least-one/) [Seth Rogen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-rogen/) > [He shall be like a tree planted by waters sending forth its roots by a stream. -Jeremiah 17. 8](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bible/he-shall-be-like-a-tree-planted-by-waters-sending-forth-its-roots-by/) [Bible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bible/) > [I was one of those kids who had books on them. Before weddings, Bar Mitzvahs, funerals and anything else where you're actually meant to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/i-was-one-of-those-kids-who-had-books-on-them-before-weddings-bar/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) [Browse all 113 Bar mitzvah quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bar-mitzvah/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My parents would frisk me before family events. Before weddings, funerals, bar mitzvahs, and what have you. Because if they didn't, then the book would be hidden inside some pocket or other and as soon as whatever it was got under way I'd be found in a corner. That was who I was...that was what I did. I was the kid with the book.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Neil Gaiman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/my-parents-would-frisk-me-before-family-events-before-weddings/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bar mitzvah" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/my-parents-would-frisk-me-before-family-events-before-weddings/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b15/neil-gaiman-29_bar-mitzvah_my-parents-would-frisk-me-before-family_387587.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b15/neil-gaiman-29_bar-mitzvah_my-parents-would-frisk-me-before-family_387587.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b15/neil-gaiman-29_bar-mitzvah_my-parents-would-frisk-me-before-family_387587.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“My parents would frisk me before family events. Before weddings, funerals, bar mitzvahs, and what have you…” — Neil Gaiman", "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": "Neil Gaiman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "My parents would frisk me before...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/my-parents-would-frisk-me-before-family-events-before-weddings/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/my-parents-would-frisk-me-before-family-events-before-weddings/#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 } } ] } ```