--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: his body break into heaving sobs, his…" description: "\"“his body break into heaving sobs, his small face smeared into the dirt, his arms clutching at his bruised abdomen. I couldn’t look”\" — Tahereh Mafi" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/449/tahereh-mafi-229_bruised_his-body-break-into-heaving-sobs-his-sma_2240751.png" --- # his body break into heaving sobs, his small face smeared… ![“his body break into heaving sobs, his small face smeared into the dirt, his arms clutching at his bruised abdomen. I couldn’t look” quote by Tahereh Mafi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/449/tahereh-mafi-229_bruised_his-body-break-into-heaving-sobs-his-sma_2240751.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/449/tahereh-mafi-229_bruised_his-body-break-into-heaving-sobs-his-sma_2240751.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/449/tahereh-mafi-229_bruised_his-body-break-into-heaving-sobs-his-sma_2240751.png) > ““his body break into heaving sobs, his small face smeared into the dirt, his arms clutching at his bruised abdomen. I couldn’t look”” [Tahereh Mafi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahereh-mafi/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A character experiences intense grief and physical pain, feeling helpless and unable to look at the suffering. **In simple terms:** She is overwhelmed by sorrow and physical injury, unable to face it. Key Takeaway Acknowledge and process deep emotional pain. Themes grief pain vulnerability Mood somber introspective Type literary emotional When to use this quote - personal loss - war injury - medical emergencies - mental health crises Key Concepts trauma emotional breakdown human fragility Questions to Reflect On - What coping mechanisms help in such moments? - How does vulnerability affect relationships? A Different Perspective Suppressing emotions can lead to further distress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bruised](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bruised/) [Face Smeared](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/face-smeared-2207031/) [Heaving Sobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heaving-sobs-1059560/) [Sobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sobs/) [Sobs Small](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sobs-small-5079145/) ## Related quotes > [“She’d never seen him cry before – not really cry, with snot and noise and heaving sobs – and as she looked down into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-michelle-lynch/she-d-never-seen-him-cry-before-not-really-cry-with-snot-and-noise/) [Sarah Michelle Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-michelle-lynch/) > [“I love you, Mary," he says, and that is when I let the tears come. The great heaving sobs of terror and pain that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-ryan/i-love-you-mary-he-says-and-that-is-when-i-let-the-tears-come-the/) [Carrie Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-ryan/) > [“Her face was smeared with mud and blood and ash. Just another bit of debris in the wreckage of war.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-bacigalupi/her-face-was-smeared-with-mud-and-blood-and-ash-just-another-bit-of/) [Paolo Bacigalupi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-bacigalupi/) > [“much time. \* \* \* Racing around the outside of the square in his Afghan robes, face smeared with dirt and blood, he looked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-meyer/much-time-racing-around-the-outside-of-the-square-in-his-afghan-robes/) [Eric Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-meyer/) > [If life is a birthday cake let my face be smeared with its icing of cognac and kindness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aberjhani/if-life-is-a-birthday-cake-let-my-face-be-smeared-with-its-icing-of/) [Aberjhani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aberjhani/) > [“You are the best, most loving, supportive family anyone could ever have," I said through my sobs. "I'm so sorry if I'm a burden."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-fforde/you-are-the-best-most-loving-supportive-family-anyone-could-ever-have/) [Jasper Fforde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-fforde/) > [“The sobs tearing through her were catharsis. Painful and messy, shredding her heart—and leaving a blissful sort of peace in their wake. But not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kit-rocha/the-sobs-tearing-through-her-were-catharsis-painful-and-messy/) [Kit Rocha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kit-rocha/) > [“i love good cries, loud sobs that soak your pillow that kind that come at the end of a perfect book you're gasping for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madisen-kuhn/i-love-good-cries-loud-sobs-that-soak-your-pillow-that-kind-that-come/) [Madisen Kuhn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madisen-kuhn/) > [“When she had the strength, she began to fold the tiny clothes and blankets and cloth diapers and put them into plain brown boxes.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eowyn-ivey/when-she-had-the-strength-she-began-to-fold-the-tiny-clothes-and/) [Eowyn Ivey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eowyn-ivey/) > [“There were strange noises in the room, great bellowing sobs that did not sound like anything human. They bounced off the wals, echoing in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-williams/there-were-strange-noises-in-the-room-great-bellowing-sobs-that-did/) [Kate Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-williams/) > [“Sobs force their way out of my throat. I feel like I’m trapped in a disaster movie where everything is shriveling into darkness and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-stokes/sobs-force-their-way-out-of-my-throat-i-feel-like-i-m-trapped-in-a/) [Paula Stokes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-stokes/) > [“A child's cry touches a father's heart, and our King is the Father of his people. If we can do no more than cry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-h-spurgeon/a-child-s-cry-touches-a-father-s-heart-and-our-king-is-the-father-of/) [Charles H. Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-h-spurgeon/) > [“I grab the pillows off the bed and chuck them at the reflection in the mirror of the girl I no longer know. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-hoover/i-grab-the-pillows-off-the-bed-and-chuck-them-at-the-reflection-in/) [Colleen Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-hoover/) > [I don't have any warm personal enemies. All the SOBs have died.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clare-boothe-luce/i-don-t-have-any-warm-personal-enemies-all-the-sobs-have-died/) [Clare Boothe Luce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clare-boothe-luce/) > [“I start to cry. Tears begin running down my face and quiet sobs escape me. I don't know what I'm doing and I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-frey/i-start-to-cry-tears-begin-running-down-my-face-and-quiet-sobs-escape/) [James Frey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-frey/) ## More by Tahereh Mafi > [His hands are holding my cheeks, and he pulls back just to look me in the eye and his chest is heaving and he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahereh-mafi/his-hands-are-holding-my-cheeks-and-he-pulls-back-just-to-look-me-in/) [Tahereh Mafi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahereh-mafi/) > [“think Adam is looking to break Kenji’s neck at this point.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahereh-mafi/think-adam-is-looking-to-break-kenji-s-neck-at-this-point/) [Tahereh Mafi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahereh-mafi/) > [“I didn't want the clothes or the perfect shoes or the expensive anything. I didn't want to be draped in silk. All I ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahereh-mafi/i-didn-t-want-the-clothes-or-the-perfect-shoes-or-the-expensive/) [Tahereh Mafi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahereh-mafi/) > [“infinite points of feeling for every nerve ending in my body”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahereh-mafi/infinite-points-of-feeling-for-every-nerve-ending-in-my-body/) [Tahereh Mafi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahereh-mafi/) > [“He's too much. Everything about him is too much. His emotions, his actions, his anger, his aggression. His love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahereh-mafi/he-s-too-much-everything-about-him-is-too-much-his-emotions-his/) [Tahereh Mafi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahereh-mafi/) > [“Right now I can't even control my own imagination as it grips my hair and drags me into the dark”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahereh-mafi/right-now-i-can-t-even-control-my-own-imagination-as-it-grips-my-hair/) [Tahereh Mafi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahereh-mafi/) > [“I want you, I want all of you. I want you inside and out and catching your breath and aching for me like I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahereh-mafi/i-want-you-i-want-all-of-you-i-want-you-inside-and-out-and-catching/) [Tahereh Mafi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahereh-mafi/) > [“I will give no one the satisfaction of my death.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahereh-mafi/i-will-give-no-one-the-satisfaction-of-my-death/) [Tahereh Mafi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahereh-mafi/) > [“I almost forget that she still hates me, despite how hard I’ve fallen for her. And I’ve fallen. So hard. I’ve hit the ground.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahereh-mafi/i-almost-forget-that-she-still-hates-me-despite-how-hard-i-ve-fallen/) [Tahereh Mafi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahereh-mafi/) > [All I ever wanted was to reach out and touch another human being not just with my hands but with my heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahereh-mafi/all-i-ever-wanted-was-to-reach-out-and-touch-another-human-being-not/) [Tahereh Mafi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahereh-mafi/) > [“It's the kind of kiss that makes you realize oxygen is overrated.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahereh-mafi/it-s-the-kind-of-kiss-that-makes-you-realize-oxygen-is-overrated/) [Tahereh Mafi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahereh-mafi/) > [“That’s when I understand. Of course she’s not okay. Of course she didn’t get any sleep last night. Last night she almost killed one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahereh-mafi/that-s-when-i-understand-of-course-she-s-not-okay-of-course-she-didn/) [Tahereh Mafi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahereh-mafi/) > [“I used to have a family. He”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahereh-mafi/i-used-to-have-a-family-he/) [Tahereh Mafi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahereh-mafi/) > [“I've never been able to follow through.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahereh-mafi/i-ve-never-been-able-to-follow-through/) [Tahereh Mafi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahereh-mafi/) > [“ground where it smells like ice and metal and dirt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahereh-mafi/ground-where-it-smells-like-ice-and-metal-and-dirt/) [Tahereh Mafi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahereh-mafi/) [Explore all 821 Tahereh Mafi quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahereh-mafi/) ## More Bruised quotes > [I know I have I have sliced , burned ,bruised wriped at](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slowly-fading/i-know-i-have-i-have-sliced-burned-bruised-wriped-at/) [Slowly\_fading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slowly-fading/) > [“Rather than being incensed by the nature of the bruise, maybe we should be inspired by the possibilities in the bruise.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/rather-than-being-incensed-by-the-nature-of-the-bruise-maybe-we/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [“I felt my heart skip a beat, just one, but it was enough that I took notice. It was nice to know that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-m-stunich/i-felt-my-heart-skip-a-beat-just-one-but-it-was-enough-that-i-took/) [C.M. Stunich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-m-stunich/) > [As if goaded by a kind of frantic despair, I sketched these dirty, ragged little victims of the war with their bruised, lacerated minds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-keane/as-if-goaded-by-a-kind-of-frantic-despair-i-sketched-these-dirty/) [Walter Keane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-keane/) > [“Before Annie could answer, he was there, hugging her until her ribs ached and kissing her so hard that her lips felt bruised.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-d-baker/before-annie-could-answer-he-was-there-hugging-her-until-her-ribs/) [E.D. Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-d-baker/) > [It is better to go bruised to heaven than sound to hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-sibbes/it-is-better-to-go-bruised-to-heaven-than-sound-to-hell/) [Richard Sibbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-sibbes/) > [Sometimes I wish I was a little girl again because bruised knees heels faster then broken hearts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/babloo/sometimes-i-wish-i-was-a-little-girl-again-because-bruised-knees/) [Babloo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/babloo/) > [“Have an apple. It’s bruised. I beat the hell out of it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/have-an-apple-it-s-bruised-i-beat-the-hell-out-of-it/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [I had a snowboarding accident. I fell off a horse. I've had a concussion, a fractured rib... I walk into walls. I'm always bruised…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mila-kunis/i-had-a-snowboarding-accident-i-fell-off-a-horse-i-ve-had-a/) [Mila Kunis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mila-kunis/) > [“manhood into smithereens. My ego was bruised. Battered. Mutilated beyond recognition. My pride was hurt. Crushed. Decimated beyond recovery. But by nothing short of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-arcane/manhood-into-smithereens-my-ego-was-bruised-battered-mutilated-beyond/) [Annie Arcane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-arcane/) > [And loneliness. I should say something of loneliness. The panic, the sweeping hysteria that comes not when you are without others, but when you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-thayer-hamann/and-loneliness-i-should-say-something-of-loneliness-the-panic-the/) [Hilary Thayer Hamann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-thayer-hamann/) > [Labor is blossoming or dancing where The body is not bruised to pleasure soul, Nor beauty born out of its own despair, Nor blear-eyed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/labor-is-blossoming-or-dancing-where-the-body-is-not-bruised-to/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [I grew up in a little town in Minnesota, 500 people. I went out to Princeton, and I wasn't very well-accepted out there by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kirn/i-grew-up-in-a-little-town-in-minnesota-500-people-i-went-out-to/) [Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kirn/) > [The spirit is willing but the flesh is spongy and bruised.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zapp-brannigan/the-spirit-is-willing-but-the-flesh-is-spongy-and-bruised/) [Zapp Brannigan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zapp-brannigan/) > [The mind of the scholar, if you would have it large and liberal, should come in contact with other minds. It is better that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/the-mind-of-the-scholar-if-you-would-have-it-large-and-liberal-should/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) [Browse all 218 Bruised quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bruised/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“his body break into heaving sobs, his small face smeared into the dirt, his arms clutching at his bruised abdomen. I couldn’t look”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tahereh Mafi" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahereh-mafi/his-body-break-into-heaving-sobs-his-small-face-smeared-into-the-dirt/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bruised" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahereh-mafi/his-body-break-into-heaving-sobs-his-small-face-smeared-into-the-dirt/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/449/tahereh-mafi-229_bruised_his-body-break-into-heaving-sobs-his-sma_2240751.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/449/tahereh-mafi-229_bruised_his-body-break-into-heaving-sobs-his-sma_2240751.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/449/tahereh-mafi-229_bruised_his-body-break-into-heaving-sobs-his-sma_2240751.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“his body break into heaving sobs, his small face smeared into the dirt, his arms clutching at his bruised…” — Tahereh Mafi", "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": "Tahereh Mafi", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahereh-mafi/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“his body break into heaving sobs,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahereh-mafi/his-body-break-into-heaving-sobs-his-small-face-smeared-into-the-dirt/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahereh-mafi/his-body-break-into-heaving-sobs-his-small-face-smeared-into-the-dirt/#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 } } ] } ```