--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This, too, was like seeing double. This…" description: "\"“This, too, was like seeing double. This was where my heartaches began. In combat zones there is no structure, the form of things changes all the time...." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/613/salman-rushdie-153_truth_this-too-was-like-seeing-double-this-was_1228994.jpg" --- # This, too, was like seeing double. This was where my… ![“This, too, was like seeing double. This was where my heartaches began. In combat zones there is no structure, the form of things changes all the time. Safety, danger, control, panic, these and other labels constantly attach and detach themselves from places and people. When you emerge from such a…” quote by Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/613/salman-rushdie-153_truth_this-too-was-like-seeing-double-this-was_1228994.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/613/salman-rushdie-153_truth_this-too-was-like-seeing-double-this-was_1228994.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/613/salman-rushdie-153_truth_this-too-was-like-seeing-double-this-was_1228994.jpg) > ““This, too, was like seeing double. This was where my heartaches began. In combat zones there is no structure, the form of things changes all the time. Safety, danger, control, panic, these and other labels constantly attach and detach themselves from places and people. When you emerge from such a space it stays with you, its otherness randomly imposes itself on the apparent stability of your peaceful home-town streets. What-if becomes the truth, you imagine buildings exploding in Gramercy Park, you see craters appear in the middle of Washington Square, and women carrying shopping bags drop dead on Delancey Street, bee-stung by sniper fire. You take pictures of your small patch of Manhattan and ghost images begin to appear in them, negative phantoms of the distant dead. Double exposure: like Kirlian photography, it becomes a new kind of truth.”” [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. War trauma blurs reality, causing past horrors to overlay everyday life, creating a persistent sense of danger and altered perception. **In simple terms:** War leaves lingering mental images that haunt normal life. Key Takeaway Recognize and process trauma to reclaim peace. Themes war trauma memory perception Mood somber introspective Type literary psychological When to use this quote - combat veteran - urban dweller - first‑responder - artist - journalist Key Concepts psychological impact post‑traumatic stress reality distortion Questions to Reflect On - How does your mind separate past trauma from present reality? - What coping strategies help you stay grounded? A Different Perspective Trauma may be suppressed, leading to denial or overwhelming anxiety. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Peaceful home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peaceful-home/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [Hardly you can see someone on the streets of truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/hardly-you-can-see-someone-on-the-streets-of-truth/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Jerusalem - a divided city, where demonstrations for and against various issues occur regularly. One day, during an Orthodox demonstration against autopsies, I happened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/micha-bar-am/jerusalem-a-divided-city-where-demonstrations-for-and-against-various/) Micha Bar-Am > [I'm about being single, seeing double, making triple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-about-being-single-seeing-double-making-triple/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I was feeling single, seeing double, wound up in a whole lotta trouble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmylou-harris/i-was-feeling-single-seeing-double-wound-up-in-a-whole-lotta-trouble/) [Emmylou Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmylou-harris/) > [She's got everything I need. Takes the steering wheel when I'm seeing double, pays my tickets when I speed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grateful-dead/she-s-got-everything-i-need-takes-the-steering-wheel-when-i-m-seeing/) [Grateful Dead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grateful-dead/) > [“When you are going to tell someone everything, you see your day through your eyes and theirs, as if they're living ît alongside you.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-roe/when-you-are-going-to-tell-someone-everything-you-see-your-day/) [Robin Roe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-roe/) > [Far beneath the tainted foamThat frets above our peaceful home,We dream in joy and wake in loveNor know the rage that yells above.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gardiner-calkins-brainard/far-beneath-the-tainted-foamthat-frets-above-our-peaceful-home-we/) [John Gardiner Calkins Brainard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gardiner-calkins-brainard/) > [To live in a peaceful home is to experience paradise on earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shri-radhe-maa/to-live-in-a-peaceful-home-is-to-experience-paradise-on-earth/) [Shri Radhe Maa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shri-radhe-maa/) > [“I'd always thought death would be some sort of peaceful homecoming - a sweet, sad lullaby to usher me into whatever waited afterward.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-maas/i-d-always-thought-death-would-be-some-sort-of-peaceful-homecoming-a/) [Sarah J. Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/) > [I respect marriage, and I think it's beautiful that people do it. But for me, more important than anything is having a peaceful life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camila-alves/i-respect-marriage-and-i-think-it-s-beautiful-that-people-do-it-but/) [Camila Alves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camila-alves/) > [“But there was a cost. Being near Ethan was just... incendiary. Part animosity, part ridiculous chemistry, neither conducive to a peaceful home environment. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chloe-neill/but-there-was-a-cost-being-near-ethan-was-just-incendiary-part/) [Chloe Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chloe-neill/) > [“Silence is my defense. The protector whom I trust. A sturdy shield, A loyal safe-keeper, A sentinel, impassable. Silence is my refuge. The shelter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/silence-is-my-defense-the-protector-whom-i-trust-a-sturdy-shield-a/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [“Don't search for a better paradise than a peaceful home in a world in chaos!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/don-t-search-for-a-better-paradise-than-a-peaceful-home-in-a-world-in/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Possibly the best suggestion in condensed form, as to how to live, was given by my old Headmaster, Dr. Haig Brown, in 1904, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-baden-powell/possibly-the-best-suggestion-in-condensed-form-as-to-how-to-live-was/) [Robert Baden-Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-baden-powell/) > [A peaceful home is as sacred a place as any chapel or cathedral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bil-keane/a-peaceful-home-is-as-sacred-a-place-as-any-chapel-or-cathedral/) [Bil Keane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bil-keane/) ## More by Salman Rushdie > [If my child had prejudice in his head, I'd be ashamed. I would see it as my failure as a parent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-my-child-had-prejudice-in-his-head-i-d-be-ashamed-i-would-see-it/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [It's a terrible thing that your life turns into a good story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/it-s-a-terrible-thing-that-your-life-turns-into-a-good-story/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [Sometimes by a woodland stream he watched the water rush over the pebbled bed, its tiny modulations of bounce and flow. A woman's body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/sometimes-by-a-woodland-stream-he-watched-the-water-rush-over-the/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I want to write novels. I want to write stories. I want to do the stuff that I became a writer to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-want-to-write-novels-i-want-to-write-stories-i-want-to-do-the-stuff/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [If you want to be a serious writer, then you have to write what there is to write about. If you're going to pull…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-you-want-to-be-a-serious-writer-then-you-have-to-write-what-there/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“Después de exigir mi marcha, ya no posees jurisdicción en lo concerniente a mi salud.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/despu-s-de-exigir-mi-marcha-ya-no-posees-jurisdicci-n-en-lo/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [If there is a choice between absolute safety and freedom, then freedom must always prevail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-there-is-a-choice-between-absolute-safety-and-freedom-then-freedom/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I'm not a prophet, but I always thought it was natural for dictatorships to fall. I remember in 1989, two months before the fall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-m-not-a-prophet-but-i-always-thought-it-was-natural-for/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I'd wanted to create a storm so that I could become more famous and richer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-d-wanted-to-create-a-storm-so-that-i-could-become-more-famous-and/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [Who what am I? My answer: I am the sum total of everything that went before me, of all I have been seen done,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/who-what-am-i-my-answer-i-am-the-sum-total-of-everything-that-went/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“...proving once again that there was no escape from recurrence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/proving-once-again-that-there-was-no-escape-from-recurrence/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“information, in a stream-of-consciousness soliloquy that revealed the extent to which he had internalised the adversarial fragmentation of American culture and made it a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/information-in-a-stream-of-consciousness-soliloquy-that-revealed-the/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [A little bit of one story joins onto an idea from another, and hey presto, . . . not old tales but new ones.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/a-little-bit-of-one-story-joins-onto-an-idea-from-another-and-hey/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I'm a novelist. Fortunately I don't have to rule the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-m-a-novelist-fortunately-i-don-t-have-to-rule-the-world/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [The First Amendment defends all forms of speech including hate speech, which is why groups like Ku Klux Klan are allowed to utter their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/the-first-amendment-defends-all-forms-of-speech-including-hate-speech/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) [Explore all 1,087 Salman Rushdie quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) ## More Peaceful home quotes > [A peaceful home is as sacred a place as any chapel or cathedral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bil-keane/a-peaceful-home-is-as-sacred-a-place-as-any-chapel-or-cathedral/) [Bil Keane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bil-keane/) > [Possibly the best suggestion in condensed form, as to how to live, was given by my old Headmaster, Dr. Haig Brown, in 1904, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-baden-powell/possibly-the-best-suggestion-in-condensed-form-as-to-how-to-live-was/) [Robert Baden-Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-baden-powell/) > [“Don't search for a better paradise than a peaceful home in a world in chaos!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/don-t-search-for-a-better-paradise-than-a-peaceful-home-in-a-world-in/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“Silence is my defense. The protector whom I trust. A sturdy shield, A loyal safe-keeper, A sentinel, impassable. Silence is my refuge. The shelter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/silence-is-my-defense-the-protector-whom-i-trust-a-sturdy-shield-a/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [“But there was a cost. Being near Ethan was just... incendiary. Part animosity, part ridiculous chemistry, neither conducive to a peaceful home environment. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chloe-neill/but-there-was-a-cost-being-near-ethan-was-just-incendiary-part/) [Chloe Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chloe-neill/) > [I respect marriage, and I think it's beautiful that people do it. But for me, more important than anything is having a peaceful life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camila-alves/i-respect-marriage-and-i-think-it-s-beautiful-that-people-do-it-but/) [Camila Alves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camila-alves/) > [“I'd always thought death would be some sort of peaceful homecoming - a sweet, sad lullaby to usher me into whatever waited afterward.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-maas/i-d-always-thought-death-would-be-some-sort-of-peaceful-homecoming-a/) [Sarah J. Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/) > [To live in a peaceful home is to experience paradise on earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shri-radhe-maa/to-live-in-a-peaceful-home-is-to-experience-paradise-on-earth/) [Shri Radhe Maa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shri-radhe-maa/) > [Far beneath the tainted foamThat frets above our peaceful home,We dream in joy and wake in loveNor know the rage that yells above.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gardiner-calkins-brainard/far-beneath-the-tainted-foamthat-frets-above-our-peaceful-home-we/) [John Gardiner Calkins Brainard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gardiner-calkins-brainard/) > [“You are the gatekeeper to your life and your home. You get to decide who or what comes in and what needs to stay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jen-grice/you-are-the-gatekeeper-to-your-life-and-your-home-you-get-to-decide/) Jen Grice > [Oh! welcome to the wearied Earth The Sabbath resting comes, Gathering the sons of toil and care Back to their peaceful homes; And, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-josepha-hale/oh-welcome-to-the-wearied-earth-the-sabbath-resting-comes-gathering/) [Sarah Josepha Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-josepha-hale/) > [I am with the South in life or death, in victory or defeat. I believe the North is about to wage a brutal and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-cleburne/i-am-with-the-south-in-life-or-death-in-victory-or-defeat-i-believe/) Patrick Cleburne > [“He does love prophesying a misfortune, does the average British ghost. Send him out to prognosticate trouble to somebody, and he is happy. Let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-k-jerome/he-does-love-prophesying-a-misfortune-does-the-average-british-ghost/) [Jerome K. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-k-jerome/) > [“For the author as for God, standing outwith his creation, all times are one; all times are now. In mine own country, we accept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-m-w-wemyss/for-the-author-as-for-god-standing-outwith-his-creation-all-times-are/) [G.M.W. Wemyss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-m-w-wemyss/) [Browse all 15 Peaceful home quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peaceful-home/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“This, too, was like seeing double. This was where my heartaches began. In combat zones there is no structure, the form of things changes all the time. Safety, danger, control, panic, these and other labels constantly attach and detach themselves from places and people. When you emerge from such a space it stays with you, its otherness randomly imposes itself on the apparent stability of your peaceful home-town streets. What-if becomes the truth, you imagine buildings exploding in Gramercy Park, you see craters appear in the middle of Washington Square, and women carrying shopping bags drop dead on Delancey Street, bee-stung by sniper fire. You take pictures of your small patch of Manhattan and ghost images begin to appear in them, negative phantoms of the distant dead. 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