--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: No child, through her own will, can pull…" description: "\"No child, through her own will, can pull a mother out of her suffering, and as an adult, I have been very busy.\" — Sheila Heti" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6da/sheila-heti-2776_busy_no-child-through-her-own-will-can-pull-a_1069813.jpg" --- # No child, through her own will, can pull a mother out of… ![“No child, through her own will, can pull a mother out of her suffering, and as an adult, I have been very busy.” quote by Sheila Heti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6da/sheila-heti-2776_busy_no-child-through-her-own-will-can-pull-a_1069813.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6da/sheila-heti-2776_busy_no-child-through-her-own-will-can-pull-a_1069813.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6da/sheila-heti-2776_busy_no-child-through-her-own-will-can-pull-a_1069813.jpg) > “No child, through her own will, can pull a mother out of her suffering, and as an adult, I have been very busy.” [Sheila Heti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-heti/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Adults may feel powerless to relieve a child's suffering, yet personal agency remains essential. **In simple terms:** Adults can’t fully rescue a child’s pain. Key Takeaway Focus on what you can control. Themes suffering agency parenthood Mood empathetic somber Type counseling reflective When to use this quote - family dynamics - mental health - counseling - caregiving Key Concepts empathy boundaries support systems Questions to Reflect On - How can you support without overextending? - What boundaries protect your well‑being? A Different Perspective Emotional burden can be overwhelming. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adult Busy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adult-busy-2659492/) [Busy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/busy/) [Child Pull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/child-pull-2659494/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother/) [Mother Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother-suffering-951301/) [Own](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/own/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Pull Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pull-mother-2659491/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) [Suffering Adult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering-adult-2659493/) [Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/will/) ## Related quotes > [I mean, her father was an alcoholic, and her mother was the suffering wife of a man who she could never predict what he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blanche-wiesen-cook/i-mean-her-father-was-an-alcoholic-and-her-mother-was-the-suffering/) [Blanche Wiesen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blanche-wiesen-cook/) > [ I found a very diabolical way of making myself suffer - not in the same way \[my mother \] was suffering but to prevent… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wilder/i-found-a-very-diabolical-way-of-making-myself-suffer-not-in-the-same/) [Gene Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wilder/) > [The heaviest of my crosses was that I could do nothing to lighten the cross my mother was suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mary-alacoque/the-heaviest-of-my-crosses-was-that-i-could-do-nothing-to-lighten-the/) [Margaret Mary Alacoque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mary-alacoque/) > [I had to go on without my mother, even though I was suffering terribly, grieving her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/i-had-to-go-on-without-my-mother-even-though-i-was-suffering-terribly-2/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [“Murder was a terrible thing. 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I'm not here first in the morning and last in the evening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-farke/i-love-to-work-in-football-so-for-me-it-s-not-work-i-m-not-here-first/) [Daniel Farke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-farke/) > [I remember till 997th film, but after that I got so busy with multiple projects; I'm not sure which one released as my 1,000th…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brahmanandam/i-remember-till-997th-film-but-after-that-i-got-so-busy-with-multiple/) [Brahmanandam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brahmanandam/) > [Success doesn't have a downside for me. I'm busy, but I've always been busy whatever job I've had. My very first job working in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-derbyshire/success-doesn-t-have-a-downside-for-me-i-m-busy-but-i-ve-always-been/) [Victoria Derbyshire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-derbyshire/) ## More by Sheila Heti > [I believe there's a platonic ideal for every book that is written, like there's the perfect version of the book somewhere in the ether,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-heti/i-believe-there-s-a-platonic-ideal-for-every-book-that-is-written/) [Sheila Heti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-heti/) > [I really enjoyed the process of 'Women in Clothes,' but there's no way I would have done that again. It felt more like being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-heti/i-really-enjoyed-the-process-of-women-in-clothes-but-there-s-no-way-i/) [Sheila Heti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-heti/) > [“style is about knowing what you like and why you like it, more than anything else. GRACE”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-heti/style-is-about-knowing-what-you-like-and-why-you-like-it-more-than/) [Sheila Heti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-heti/) > [I'd rather that people could be both entertained and given rest while reading my book than for someone to have to put the book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-heti/i-d-rather-that-people-could-be-both-entertained-and-given-rest-while/) [Sheila Heti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-heti/) > [“I know that character exists from the outside alone. I know that inside the body there's just temperature.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-heti/i-know-that-character-exists-from-the-outside-alone-i-know-that/) [Sheila Heti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-heti/) > [I don't think about the reader when I'm writing, but I do when I'm editing, of course. For instance, I self-consciously didn't want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-heti/i-don-t-think-about-the-reader-when-i-m-writing-but-i-do-when-i-m/) [Sheila Heti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-heti/) > [He’s just another man who wants to teach me something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-heti/he-s-just-another-man-who-wants-to-teach-me-something/) [Sheila Heti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-heti/) > [“She had thought that when someone died, it would be like they went into a different room. She had not known that life itself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-heti/she-had-thought-that-when-someone-died-it-would-be-like-they-went/) [Sheila Heti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-heti/) > [It's so weird how our existence hinges on just absolute crazy chance, but it feels so essential. It's like, 'Nothing would be here if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-heti/it-s-so-weird-how-our-existence-hinges-on-just-absolute-crazy-chance/) [Sheila Heti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-heti/) > [In 'Sweet Days of Discipline,' the narrator, years after graduating, fortuitously encounters her old friend Frederique at a movie theatre. Frederique invites her home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-heti/in-sweet-days-of-discipline-the-narrator-years-after-graduating/) [Sheila Heti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-heti/) > [Every choice you make has higher stakes - or that's how it feels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-heti/every-choice-you-make-has-higher-stakes-or-that-s-how-it-feels/) [Sheila Heti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-heti/) > [Women without children can help mothers, and we can just be all in this together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-heti/women-without-children-can-help-mothers-and-we-can-just-be-all-in/) [Sheila Heti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-heti/) > [The reason I write is because I have questions. What I don't want is for people to forget that I'm a novelist and think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-heti/the-reason-i-write-is-because-i-have-questions-what-i-don-t-want-is/) [Sheila Heti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-heti/) > [“But style, I also learned, is not about strictly copying others, because style is not transferable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-heti/but-style-i-also-learned-is-not-about-strictly-copying-others-because/) [Sheila Heti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-heti/) > [Renown is something people have always wanted, but maybe what's modern is that it's considered a virtue, this desire, rather than a vice. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-heti/renown-is-something-people-have-always-wanted-but-maybe-what-s-modern/) [Sheila Heti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-heti/) [Explore all 150 Sheila Heti quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-heti/) ## More Busy quotes > [Success doesn't have a downside for me. I'm busy, but I've always been busy whatever job I've had. My very first job working in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-derbyshire/success-doesn-t-have-a-downside-for-me-i-m-busy-but-i-ve-always-been/) [Victoria Derbyshire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-derbyshire/) > [I remember till 997th film, but after that I got so busy with multiple projects; I'm not sure which one released as my 1,000th…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brahmanandam/i-remember-till-997th-film-but-after-that-i-got-so-busy-with-multiple/) [Brahmanandam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brahmanandam/) > [I love to work in football, so for me it's not work. I'm not here first in the morning and last in the evening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-farke/i-love-to-work-in-football-so-for-me-it-s-not-work-i-m-not-here-first/) [Daniel Farke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-farke/) > [We all have time away from football to get our head down. At the same time it is a very busy schedule.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reece-james/we-all-have-time-away-from-football-to-get-our-head-down-at-the-same/) [Reece James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reece-james/) > [I am on sabbatical as of right now, been too busy to think of about my OWN needs as of late.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-diamond/i-am-on-sabbatical-as-of-right-now-been-too-busy-to-think-of-about-my/) [Jim Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-diamond/) > [“I don't envy "busy." Busy means having a schedule, not living life. What I really covet is leisure and peace of mind. Those who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-lynn-hope/i-don-t-envy-busy-busy-means-having-a-schedule-not-living-life-what-i/) [Donna Lynn Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-lynn-hope/) > [Focus on being productive instead of busy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-ferriss/focus-on-being-productive-instead-of-busy/) [Tim Ferriss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-ferriss/) > [I do spend a lot of weekends on the road. I have to pace myself. It can be pretty busy, but I'm not out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-sinise/i-do-spend-a-lot-of-weekends-on-the-road-i-have-to-pace-myself-it-can/) [Gary Sinise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-sinise/) > [Our civilization, bequeathed to us by fierce adventurers, eaters of meat and hunters, is so full of hurry and combat, so busy about many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/our-civilization-bequeathed-to-us-by-fierce-adventurers-eaters-of/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [I have no social life. There is no time for one. 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Never allow pursuits or possessions to become bigger priorities than your relationships. 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