---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When mauma saw my raw eyes, she said…"
description: "\"“When mauma saw my raw eyes, she said, “Ain’t nobody can write down in a book what you worth.”\" — Sue Monk Kidd"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/29c/sue-monk-kidd-404_books_when-mauma-saw-my-raw-eyes-she-said-ain_1577578.png"
---

#  When mauma saw my raw eyes, she said, “Ain’t nobody can…

![“When mauma saw my raw eyes, she said, “Ain’t nobody can write down in a book what you worth.” quote by Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/29c/sue-monk-kidd-404_books_when-mauma-saw-my-raw-eyes-she-said-ain_1577578.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/29c/sue-monk-kidd-404_books_when-mauma-saw-my-raw-eyes-she-said-ain_1577578.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/29c/sue-monk-kidd-404_books_when-mauma-saw-my-raw-eyes-she-said-ain_1577578.png)

> ““When mauma saw my raw eyes, she said, “Ain’t nobody can write down in a book what you worth.””

[Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Self‑worth cannot be fully captured by external validation; it lives inside you.

**In simple terms:** Your value isn’t written in a book.

Key Takeaway

Trust your inner worth.

Themes

self‑esteem identity validation

Mood

reflective confident

Type

inspirational philosophical

When to use this quote

- personal growth
- career advancement
- relationships
- overcoming self‑doubt

Key Concepts

intrinsic value self‑recognition

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you measure your own worth?
- What internal signs affirm your value?

A Different Perspective

External opinions may still influence confidence.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/)

## Related quotes

> [There ain't nothing more to write about and I'm rotten glad of it, because if I'd know'd what trouble it was to make a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/there-ain-t-nothing-more-to-write-about-and-i-m-rotten-glad-of-it/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [“Goods and chattel. The words from the leather book came into my head. We were like the gold leaf mirror and the horse saddle.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/goods-and-chattel-the-words-from-the-leather-book-came-into-my-head/)

[Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/)

> [A book is worth a few francs; we Germans can afford to destroy those. We all may not appreciate artistic merit, but cash value…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-scofield/a-book-is-worth-a-few-francs-we-germans-can-afford-to-destroy-those/)

[Paul Scofield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-scofield/)

> [Fame, money and the size of the market are not very important to me. What is, is writing a book that is worth doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aidan-chambers/fame-money-and-the-size-of-the-market-are-not-very-important-to-me/)

[Aidan Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aidan-chambers/)

> [A book worth reading is worth buying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/a-book-worth-reading-is-worth-buying/)

[John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/)

> [The heart is the only book worth reading.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ajahn-chah/the-heart-is-the-only-book-worth-reading/)

[Ajahn Chah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ajahn-chah/)

> [“No book is worth reading once if it is not worth reading many times.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/no-book-is-worth-reading-once-if-it-is-not-worth-reading-many-times/)

[Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/)

> [“The book is worth reading, in part because it is enjoyable to read of other people's folly, not to mention their avarice and stupidity."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-lowenstein/the-book-is-worth-reading-in-part-because-it-is-enjoyable-to-read-of/)

[Roger Lowenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-lowenstein/)

> [The way a book is read - which is to say, the qualities a reader brings to a book - can have as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-cousins/the-way-a-book-is-read-which-is-to-say-the-qualities-a-reader-brings/)

[Norman Cousins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-cousins/)

> [There is no such thing as a worthless book though there are some far worse than worthless; no book that is not worth preserving,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-worthless-book-though-there-are-some-far/)

[Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/)

> [The very cheapness of literature is making even wise people forget that if a book is worth reading, it is worth buying. No book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/the-very-cheapness-of-literature-is-making-even-wise-people-forget/)

[John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/)

> [Not every book has to be loaded with symbolism, irony, or musical language, but it seems to me that every book-at least every one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/not-every-book-has-to-be-loaded-with-symbolism-irony-or-musical/)

[Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/)

> [“No book worth reading ever fails to be steeped with the spirit of the person who wrote it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-leicester-ford/no-book-worth-reading-ever-fails-to-be-steeped-with-the-spirit-of-the/)

Paul Leicester Ford

> [Before I start a project, I always ask myself the following question. Why is this book worth a year of my life? There needs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-morrell/before-i-start-a-project-i-always-ask-myself-the-following-question/)

[David Morrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-morrell/)

> [“One of these days, Strickland is going to write a little book on his experiences. That book will be worth buying; and even more,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/one-of-these-days-strickland-is-going-to-write-a-little-book-on-his/)

[Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/)

## More by Sue Monk Kidd

> [“But benevolent patriarchy is still patriarchy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/but-benevolent-patriarchy-is-still-patriarchy/)

[Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/)

> [“It's part of our overall Body Negation Program.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/it-s-part-of-our-overall-body-negation-program/)

[Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/)

> [“That was the thing mauma and I loved, our time with the quilts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/that-was-the-thing-mauma-and-i-loved-our-time-with-the-quilts/)

[Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/)

> [In recent years my understanding of God had evolved into increasingly remote abstractions. I'd come to think of God in terms like Divine Reality,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/in-recent-years-my-understanding-of-god-had-evolved-into-increasingly/)

[Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/)

> [we need not avoid our active lives, but simply bring to them a new vision and shift of gravity. for in the center we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/we-need-not-avoid-our-active-lives-but-simply-bring-to-them-a-new/)

[Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/)

> [“The mermaids came to me finally, in the pink hours of my life. They are my consolation. For them I dove with arms outstretched,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/the-mermaids-came-to-me-finally-in-the-pink-hours-of-my-life-they-are/)

[Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/)

> [“The bag contained a pair of white cotton gloves stained the color of age.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/the-bag-contained-a-pair-of-white-cotton-gloves-stained-the-color-of/)

[Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/)

> [I eventually found that the soul is more than an immortal commodity to win and save. It is the repository of the inner divine,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/i-eventually-found-that-the-soul-is-more-than-an-immortal-commodity/)

[Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/)

> [“Readiness for dying arrives by attending the smallest moment and finding the eternal inside of it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/readiness-for-dying-arrives-by-attending-the-smallest-moment-and/)

[Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/)

> [“I sat at her desk and turned one page after another, staring at what looked like bits and pieces of black lace laid cross…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/i-sat-at-her-desk-and-turned-one-page-after-another-staring-at-what/)

[Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/)

> [The translucence that comes when life hardens into a bead of such cruel perfection you see it with the purest clarity. Everything suddenly there--life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/the-translucence-that-comes-when-life-hardens-into-a-bead-of-such/)

[Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/)

> [“There's no pain on earth that doesn't require a benevolent witness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/there-s-no-pain-on-earth-that-doesn-t-require-a-benevolent-witness/)

[sue monk kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/)

> [“afflicted with the worst female curse on earth, the need to mold myself to expectations.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/afflicted-with-the-worst-female-curse-on-earth-the-need-to-mold/)

[Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/)

> [“Her forbidden bath all those months ago still hung leaden between us, though Handful didn't seem the least bit ashamed by my discovery of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/her-forbidden-bath-all-those-months-ago-still-hung-leaden-between-us/)

[Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/)

> [“Why should God’s perfection be based on having an unchanging nature?” I asked. “Isn’t flexibility more perfect than stasis?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/why-should-god-s-perfection-be-based-on-having-an-unchanging-nature-i/)

[Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/)

[Explore all 584 Sue Monk Kidd quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/)

## More Books quotes

> [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/)

[Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/)

> [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/)

[Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/)

> [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/)

[Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/)

> [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/)

[Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/)

> [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/)

[Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/)

> [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/)

[Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/)

> [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/)

[Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/)

> [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/)

Christopher K. Krebs

> [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/)

[Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/)

> [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/)

[Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/)

> [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/)

[Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/)

> [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/)

[Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

> [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/)

[Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/)

> [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/)

Markus Herz

> [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/)

[Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/)

[Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“When mauma saw my raw eyes, she said, “Ain’t nobody can write down in a book what you worth.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Sue Monk Kidd"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/when-mauma-saw-my-raw-eyes-she-said-ain-t-nobody-can-write-down-in-a/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Books"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/when-mauma-saw-my-raw-eyes-she-said-ain-t-nobody-can-write-down-in-a/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/29c/sue-monk-kidd-404_books_when-mauma-saw-my-raw-eyes-she-said-ain_1577578.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/29c/sue-monk-kidd-404_books_when-mauma-saw-my-raw-eyes-she-said-ain_1577578.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/29c/sue-monk-kidd-404_books_when-mauma-saw-my-raw-eyes-she-said-ain_1577578.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“When mauma saw my raw eyes, she said, “Ain’t nobody can write down in a book what you worth.” — Sue Monk Kidd",
                "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": "Sue Monk Kidd",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“When mauma saw my raw eyes,...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/when-mauma-saw-my-raw-eyes-she-said-ain-t-nobody-can-write-down-in-a/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/when-mauma-saw-my-raw-eyes-she-said-ain-t-nobody-can-write-down-in-a/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
