--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The best thing...perhaps the only good…" description: "\"“The best thing...perhaps the only good thing--about being in prison was a feeling of relief. The feeling that he'd plunged as low as he could plunge a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cec/neil-gaiman-29_good-thing_the-best-thing-perhaps-the-only-good-thi_1095061.jpg" --- # The best thing...perhaps the only good thing--about being… ![“The best thing...perhaps the only good thing--about being in prison was a feeling of relief. The feeling that he'd plunged as low as he could plunge and he's hit bottom. He didn't worry that the man was going to get him, because the man had got him. He was no longer scared of what tomorrow might…” quote by Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cec/neil-gaiman-29_good-thing_the-best-thing-perhaps-the-only-good-thi_1095061.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cec/neil-gaiman-29_good-thing_the-best-thing-perhaps-the-only-good-thi_1095061.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cec/neil-gaiman-29_good-thing_the-best-thing-perhaps-the-only-good-thi_1095061.jpg) > ““The best thing...perhaps the only good thing--about being in prison was a feeling of relief. The feeling that he'd plunged as low as he could plunge and he's hit bottom. He didn't worry that the man was going to get him, because the man had got him. He was no longer scared of what tomorrow might bring, because yesterday had brought it.”” [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. When one reaches rock lowest point, fear of the future can disappear because the worst has already happened. **In simple terms:** Bottoming out removes fear of what comes next. Key Takeaway Embrace rock moments as a chance to reset. Themes resilience fear acceptance growth Mood reflective hopeful somber Type literary philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - prison life - personal crisis - rehabilitation - mental health - recovery Key Concepts existentialism psychology hope Questions to Reflect On - What does “hitting bottom” mean for you? - How can you use that feeling to move forward? A Different Perspective Even at rock, lingering trauma can hinder true peace. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Prison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prison/) ## Related quotes > [The best thing—in Shadow's opinion, perhaps the only good thing—about being in prison was a feeling of relief. The feeling that he'd plunged as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/the-best-thing-in-shadow-s-opinion-perhaps-the-only-good-thing-about/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“He did not awake in prison with a feeling of dread; he was no longer scared of what tomorrow might bring, because yesterday had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/he-did-not-awake-in-prison-with-a-feeling-of-dread-he-was-no-longer/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“didn’t worry that the man was going to get him, because the man had got him. He did not awake in prison with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/didn-t-worry-that-the-man-was-going-to-get-him-because-the-man-had/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [Art and literature have given so many people the relief of feeling connected - pulled us out of isolation. It has let us know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/art-and-literature-have-given-so-many-people-the-relief-of-feeling/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [Describe what its like to cut. Well, go to the beach. And walk in the water, blindfolded. You just keep walking, you dont know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/describe-what-its-like-to-cut-well-go-to-the-beach-and-walk-in-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I confess that I sometimes felt like I was being launched into the endless expanses of space alone...But from the moment I had voiced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/calvin-payne-taylor/i-confess-that-i-sometimes-felt-like-i-was-being-launched-into-the/) Calvin Payne-Taylor > [When the news first came that Japan had attacked us my first feeling was of relief that ... a crisis had come in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-l-stimson/when-the-news-first-came-that-japan-had-attacked-us-my-first-feeling/) [Henry L. Stimson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-l-stimson/) > [I think the highest state of being for me is a feeling of relief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-demetriou/i-think-the-highest-state-of-being-for-me-is-a-feeling-of-relief/) [Jamie Demetriou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-demetriou/) > [I remember the day after the general election when Harold Wilson had lost, I remember quite clearly cycling from my house in Hutton along…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-hammond/i-remember-the-day-after-the-general-election-when-harold-wilson-had/) [Philip Hammond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-hammond/) > [Completing a book, it's a little like having a baby… There's a feeling of relief and satisfaction when you get to the end. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/completing-a-book-it-s-a-little-like-having-a-baby-there-s-a-feeling/) [John le Carre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [“Feeling the relief of him taking her worries, knowing that he would stew on them, mix them all around and give them back in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-marinaro/feeling-the-relief-of-him-taking-her-worries-knowing-that-he-would/) [Paula Marinaro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-marinaro/) > [“What would I like to get away from? Complexity. Anxiety. A feeling I've had my whole life that at any given time there's something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/what-would-i-like-to-get-away-from-complexity-anxiety-a-feeling-i-ve/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“And there is another feeling that is a great consolation in poverty. I believe everyone who has been hard up has experienced it. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/and-there-is-another-feeling-that-is-a-great-consolation-in-poverty-i/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [It is a feeling of relief, almost of pleasure, at knowing yourself at last genuinely down and out. You have talked so often of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/it-is-a-feeling-of-relief-almost-of-pleasure-at-knowing-yourself-at/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [...she felt, with her hand on the nursery door, that community of feeling with other people which emotion gives as if the walls of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/she-felt-with-her-hand-on-the-nursery-door-that-community-of-feeling/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) ## 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 Good thing quotes > [It can sometimes make people fold into themselves and kind of run away, but I think in this case these characters are being forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/it-can-sometimes-make-people-fold-into-themselves-and-kind-of-run/) [Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/) > [“Of the good things they do many will pass unnoticed, or will even not be considered good at all; but they need not fear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teresa-of-vila/of-the-good-things-they-do-many-will-pass-unnoticed-or-will-even-not/) [Teresa of Ávila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teresa-of-vila/) > [Certainly, it is. Love is love, and loss is loss. We all love, and we all die, and everyone suffers the pain of grieving.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynsay-sands/certainly-it-is-love-is-love-and-loss-is-loss-we-all-love-and-we-all/) [Lynsay Sands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynsay-sands/) > [It is a sweet thing that we serve a dissatisfied God who has destinations in mind for us that we would never choose for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-david-tripp/it-is-a-sweet-thing-that-we-serve-a-dissatisfied-god-who-has/) [Paul David Tripp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-david-tripp/) > [“At times, competition can be a good thing. But a person's value isn't something that can be ranked, is it?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hotaru-odagiri/at-times-competition-can-be-a-good-thing-but-a-person-s-value-isn-t/) [Hotaru Odagiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hotaru-odagiri/) > [Here are the good things about independent films: They do the more interesting, chancy scripts. They're run by love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-macy/here-are-the-good-things-about-independent-films-they-do-the-more/) [William H. Macy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-macy/) > [...Gratitude transforms the torment of memory of good things now gone into silent joy. One bears what was lovely in the past not as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/gratitude-transforms-the-torment-of-memory-of-good-things-now-gone/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [“The absence of judgment becomes a catalyst and an enabler for greater injustice. Contrary to popular thought, judgment is a GOOD thing when it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-chace-gordon/the-absence-of-judgment-becomes-a-catalyst-and-an-enabler-for-greater/) [J. Chace Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-chace-gordon/) > [“I took that warm feeling running through my veins as a good thing and embraced the darkness for I knew it was only temporary.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cox/i-took-that-warm-feeling-running-through-my-veins-as-a-good-thing-and/) [James Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-cox/) > [If good things come to those who wait then I must have something ridiculously awesome coming!!!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/if-good-things-come-to-those-who-wait-then-i-must-have-something/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [IVE LEARNED THE BEST WAY FOR YOU TO HAVE GOOD THINGS HAPPEN TO YOU , ALL THE TIME, IS TO DO GOOD THINGS FOR…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-paul-rose/ive-learned-the-best-way-for-you-to-have-good-things-happen-to-you/) [LEONARD PAUL ROSE](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-paul-rose/) > [In my rear view mirror the sun is going down sinking behind bridges in the road and I think of all the good things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-waters/in-my-rear-view-mirror-the-sun-is-going-down-sinking-behind-bridges/) [Roger Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-waters/) > [“These are all good things, I said. But no one knows where your country is or who you are. You don't have a familiar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-shteyngart/these-are-all-good-things-i-said-but-no-one-knows-where-your-country/) [Gary Shteyngart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-shteyngart/) > [Good things come to those who hustle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-noll/good-things-come-to-those-who-hustle/) [Chuck Noll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-noll/) > [Too many good things all seem the same after a while.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/too-many-good-things-all-seem-the-same-after-a-while/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) Browse all 6,343 Good thing quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The best thing...perhaps the only good thing--about being in prison was a feeling of relief. The feeling that he'd plunged as low as he could plunge and he's hit bottom. He didn't worry that the man was going to get him, because the man had got him. He was no longer scared of what tomorrow might bring, because yesterday had brought it.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Neil Gaiman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/the-best-thing-perhaps-the-only-good-thing-about-being-in-prison-was/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Good thing" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/the-best-thing-perhaps-the-only-good-thing-about-being-in-prison-was/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cec/neil-gaiman-29_good-thing_the-best-thing-perhaps-the-only-good-thi_1095061.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cec/neil-gaiman-29_good-thing_the-best-thing-perhaps-the-only-good-thi_1095061.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cec/neil-gaiman-29_good-thing_the-best-thing-perhaps-the-only-good-thi_1095061.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The best thing...perhaps the only good thing--about being in prison was a feeling of relief. The feeling…” — 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": "“The best thing...perhaps the only good...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/the-best-thing-perhaps-the-only-good-thing-about-being-in-prison-was/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/the-best-thing-perhaps-the-only-good-thing-about-being-in-prison-was/#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 } } ] } ```