--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It was so easy to disown what you…" description: "\"“It was so easy to disown what you couldn’t recognize, to keep yourself apart from things that were foreign and unsettling”\" — Sarah Dessen" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e9/sarah-dessen-110_disown_it-was-so-easy-to-disown-what-you-couldn_1327497.png" --- # It was so easy to disown what you couldn’t recognize, to… ![“It was so easy to disown what you couldn’t recognize, to keep yourself apart from things that were foreign and unsettling” quote by Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e9/sarah-dessen-110_disown_it-was-so-easy-to-disown-what-you-couldn_1327497.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e9/sarah-dessen-110_disown_it-was-so-easy-to-disown-what-you-couldn_1327497.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e9/sarah-dessen-110_disown_it-was-so-easy-to-disown-what-you-couldn_1327497.png) > ““It was so easy to disown what you couldn’t recognize, to keep yourself apart from things that were foreign and unsettling”” [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Denial of unfamiliar or uncomfortable truths isolates us; confronting them integrates us with reality. **In simple terms:** Avoiding the unknown separates you from truth. Key Takeaway Face uncomfortable truths to grow. Themes self-awareness acceptance growth Mood reflective empathetic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - therapy sessions - personal relationships - cultural integration - education - conflict resolution Key Concepts psychological defense cognitive dissonance identity formation Questions to Reflect On - What discomfort have you ignored? - How does confronting the foreign change you? A Different Perspective Some truths may be harmful if unprocessed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Disown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disown/) [Disown Couldn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disown-couldn-2403537/) [Easy Disown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/easy-disown-2403538/) [Foreign Unsettling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foreign-unsettling-4443367/) [Unsettling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unsettling/) ## Related quotes > [It was so easy to disown what you couldn't recognize, to keep yourself apart from things that were foreign and unsettling. The only person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/it-was-so-easy-to-disown-what-you-couldn-t-recognize-to-keep-yourself-2/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [It's always very pure, that last moment before an ugly, unsettling truth hits someone. The most stark of before-and-afters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/it-s-always-very-pure-that-last-moment-before-an-ugly-unsettling/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [“You can't avoid success if you disown your fear.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sravani-saha-nakhro/you-can-t-avoid-success-if-you-disown-your-fear/) [Sravani Saha Nakhro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sravani-saha-nakhro/) > [“is the only person who has the right to disown and give up on the church. But He never has. And He never will.5…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caleb-breakey/is-the-only-person-who-has-the-right-to-disown-and-give-up-on-the/) [Caleb Breakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caleb-breakey/) > [I write fiction because it's a way of making statements I can disown.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/i-write-fiction-because-it-s-a-way-of-making-statements-i-can-disown/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [“In the unpacking process, you’ve got to own it to disown it!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evinda-lepins/in-the-unpacking-process-you-ve-got-to-own-it-to-disown-it/) [Evinda Lepins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evinda-lepins/) > [“He that complies against his will is of his own opinion still Which he may adhere to, yet disown, For reasons to himself best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/he-that-complies-against-his-will-is-of-his-own-opinion-still-which/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [If you are a seer, whenever you meet a man you will see all that he owns, ay, and much that he pretends to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/if-you-are-a-seer-whenever-you-meet-a-man-you-will-see-all-that-he/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I can no more disown (Jeremiah Wright) than I can disown the black community. I can no more disown him than I can my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/i-can-no-more-disown-jeremiah-wright-than-i-can-disown-the-black/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Hereafter she is only my sister in name; not because I disown her, but because she has disowned me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/hereafter-she-is-only-my-sister-in-name-not-because-i-disown-her-but/) [Emily Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [It's very difficult for a mother to disown her child even if he/she is wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shefali-shah/it-s-very-difficult-for-a-mother-to-disown-her-child-even-if-he-she/) [Shefali Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shefali-shah/) > [“You cannot disown what is yours. Flung out, there is always the return, the reckoning, the revenge, perhaps the reconciliation. There is always the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/you-cannot-disown-what-is-yours-flung-out-there-is-always-the-return/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“Own your own story and then disown it. See how that feels.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/art-hochberg/own-your-own-story-and-then-disown-it-see-how-that-feels/) [Art Hochberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/art-hochberg/) > [If I said to my mum I'd left home, she'd probably disown me, especially as I'm the youngest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naughty-boy/if-i-said-to-my-mum-i-d-left-home-she-d-probably-disown-me-especially/) [Naughty Boy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naughty-boy/) > [I don't disown feminism, but I don't believe in such labels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tabu/i-don-t-disown-feminism-but-i-don-t-believe-in-such-labels/) [Tabu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tabu/) ## More by Sarah Dessen > [Sometimes a question can hurt more than an answer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/sometimes-a-question-can-hurt-more-than-an-answer/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [“if i were a book i would be so open”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/if-i-were-a-book-i-would-be-so-open/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [Harder to get in than out, like so little else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/harder-to-get-in-than-out-like-so-little-else/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [“At times, I found myself questioning his very existence, even though I knew I had, in fact, spotted him, with my own eyes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/at-times-i-found-myself-questioning-his-very-existence-even-though-i/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [You don't have to say it out loud. I already know why you like me.' 'You do, huh?' 'Yep.' He wrapped his arms around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/you-don-t-have-to-say-it-out-loud-i-already-know-why-you-like-me-you/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [No relationship is perfect, ever. There are always some ways you have to bend, to compromise, to give something up in order to gain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/no-relationship-is-perfect-ever-there-are-always-some-ways-you-have/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [When you had to do something, you had to do it. And eventually, if you were lucky, you did it well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/when-you-had-to-do-something-you-had-to-do-it-and-eventually-if-you/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [the truth about forever is that it is happening right now](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/the-truth-about-forever-is-that-it-is-happening-right-now/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [I jammed my hand in my jacket pocket, bracing myself fo the next hit, and fel something. Something grainy and samll, sticking to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/i-jammed-my-hand-in-my-jacket-pocket-bracing-myself-fo-the-next-hit/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [I had no illusions about love anymore. It came, it went, it left casualties or it didn't. People weren't meant to be together forever,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/i-had-no-illusions-about-love-anymore-it-came-it-went-it-left/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [“But maybe that isn't so bad. You can't love anyone that way more than once in a lifetime. It's too hard and it hurts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/but-maybe-that-isn-t-so-bad-you-can-t-love-anyone-that-way-more-than/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [This was just one night, one chance to vary and see where it took me. The fireflies were probably already out: maybe it wasn’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/this-was-just-one-night-one-chance-to-vary-and-see-where-it-took-me/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [call it chicken salad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/call-it-chicken-salad/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [“For me, however, it was a mix of the two, this constant push and pull. I loved it here. But I'd been in that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/for-me-however-it-was-a-mix-of-the-two-this-constant-push-and-pull-i/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [I think whenever a writer is really enjoying themselves and liking what they are doing, that shows on the page.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/i-think-whenever-a-writer-is-really-enjoying-themselves-and-liking/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) [Explore all 1,251 Sarah Dessen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) ## More Disown quotes > [I don't disown feminism, but I don't believe in such labels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tabu/i-don-t-disown-feminism-but-i-don-t-believe-in-such-labels/) [Tabu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tabu/) > [If I said to my mum I'd left home, she'd probably disown me, especially as I'm the youngest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naughty-boy/if-i-said-to-my-mum-i-d-left-home-she-d-probably-disown-me-especially/) [Naughty Boy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naughty-boy/) > [“Own your own story and then disown it. See how that feels.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/art-hochberg/own-your-own-story-and-then-disown-it-see-how-that-feels/) [Art Hochberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/art-hochberg/) > [“You cannot disown what is yours. Flung out, there is always the return, the reckoning, the revenge, perhaps the reconciliation. There is always the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/you-cannot-disown-what-is-yours-flung-out-there-is-always-the-return/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [It's very difficult for a mother to disown her child even if he/she is wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shefali-shah/it-s-very-difficult-for-a-mother-to-disown-her-child-even-if-he-she/) [Shefali Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shefali-shah/) > [Hereafter she is only my sister in name; not because I disown her, but because she has disowned me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/hereafter-she-is-only-my-sister-in-name-not-because-i-disown-her-but/) [Emily Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [I can no more disown (Jeremiah Wright) than I can disown the black community. I can no more disown him than I can my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/i-can-no-more-disown-jeremiah-wright-than-i-can-disown-the-black/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [If you are a seer, whenever you meet a man you will see all that he owns, ay, and much that he pretends to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/if-you-are-a-seer-whenever-you-meet-a-man-you-will-see-all-that-he/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“He that complies against his will is of his own opinion still Which he may adhere to, yet disown, For reasons to himself best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/he-that-complies-against-his-will-is-of-his-own-opinion-still-which/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [“In the unpacking process, you’ve got to own it to disown it!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evinda-lepins/in-the-unpacking-process-you-ve-got-to-own-it-to-disown-it/) [Evinda Lepins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evinda-lepins/) > [I write fiction because it's a way of making statements I can disown.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/i-write-fiction-because-it-s-a-way-of-making-statements-i-can-disown/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [“is the only person who has the right to disown and give up on the church. But He never has. And He never will.5…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caleb-breakey/is-the-only-person-who-has-the-right-to-disown-and-give-up-on-the/) [Caleb Breakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caleb-breakey/) > [“You can't avoid success if you disown your fear.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sravani-saha-nakhro/you-can-t-avoid-success-if-you-disown-your-fear/) [Sravani Saha Nakhro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sravani-saha-nakhro/) > [“In our unpacking process, we must own it before we can disown it!" EL”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evinda-lepins/in-our-unpacking-process-we-must-own-it-before-we-can-disown-it-el/) [Evinda Lepins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evinda-lepins/) > [“People from the past, have a tendency to walk back into the present, and run over the future.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-liccione/people-from-the-past-have-a-tendency-to-walk-back-into-the-present/) [Anthony Liccione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-liccione/) [Browse all 25 Disown quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disown/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It was so easy to disown what you couldn’t recognize, to keep yourself apart from things that were foreign and unsettling”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sarah Dessen" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/it-was-so-easy-to-disown-what-you-couldn-t-recognize-to-keep-yourself/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Disown" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/it-was-so-easy-to-disown-what-you-couldn-t-recognize-to-keep-yourself/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e9/sarah-dessen-110_disown_it-was-so-easy-to-disown-what-you-couldn_1327497.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e9/sarah-dessen-110_disown_it-was-so-easy-to-disown-what-you-couldn_1327497.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e9/sarah-dessen-110_disown_it-was-so-easy-to-disown-what-you-couldn_1327497.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It was so easy to disown what you couldn’t recognize, to keep yourself apart from things that were foreign…” — Sarah Dessen", "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": "Sarah Dessen", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“It was so easy to disown...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/it-was-so-easy-to-disown-what-you-couldn-t-recognize-to-keep-yourself/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/it-was-so-easy-to-disown-what-you-couldn-t-recognize-to-keep-yourself/#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 } } ] } ```