---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My brother once lit his leg on fire. And…"
description: "\"My brother once lit his leg on fire. And after, when the fire was finally out, his leg was covered in third-degree burns. And we made the decision - or..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b6/tara-westover-8275_brother_my-brother-once-lit-his-leg-on-fire-and_1787270.jpg"
---

#  My brother once lit his leg on fire. And after, when the…

![“My brother once lit his leg on fire. And after, when the fire was finally out, his leg was covered in third-degree burns. And we made the decision - or my parents did - not to take him to the hospital but to treat that at home with a salve my mother made of comfrey and lobelia.” quote by Tara Westover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b6/tara-westover-8275_brother_my-brother-once-lit-his-leg-on-fire-and_1787270.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b6/tara-westover-8275_brother_my-brother-once-lit-his-leg-on-fire-and_1787270.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b6/tara-westover-8275_brother_my-brother-once-lit-his-leg-on-fire-and_1787270.jpg)

> “My brother once lit his leg on fire. And after, when the fire was finally out, his leg was covered in third-degree burns. And we made the decision - or my parents did - not to take him to the hospital but to treat that at home with a salve my mother made of comfrey and lobelia.”

[Tara Westover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-westover/)

## About This Quote

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

A family chose home remedies over medical care for severe burns, reflecting distrust or lack of access to professional healthcare.

**In simple terms:** Family used home treatment for serious burns.

Key Takeaway

Consider professional medical help for severe injuries.

Themes

health family decisions alternative medicine risk

Mood

concerned reflective cautious

Type

health family

When to use this quote

- emergency
- home care
- risk assessment

Key Concepts

burn treatment medical access parental authority

Questions to Reflect On

- What are the risks of avoiding professional treatment?
- How can you advocate for safer health choices?

A Different Perspective

Home remedies may worsen injuries and delay proper care.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Brother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brother/) [Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/burns/) [Burns Decision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/burns-decision-1914454/) [Decision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decision/) [Degree Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/degree-burns-1914453/) [Fire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fire/) [Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home/) [Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother/) [Parents Did](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parents-did/) [Salve Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/salve-mother-1914455/)

## Related quotes

> [“His upper back, a black charred mess. “Oh no,” she whispered, her heart racing. She felt her eyes prick with tears but sucked them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlene-hartnady/his-upper-back-a-black-charred-mess-oh-no-she-whispered-her-heart/)

[Charlene Hartnady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlene-hartnady/)

> [People with BPD are like people with third degree burns over 90% of their bodies. Lacking emotional skin, they feel agony at the slightest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/people-with-bpd-are-like-people-with-third-degree-burns-over-90-of/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [My dad worked for Kodak and was made redundant when I was about 14. Despite this, my parents did everything they could to help…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-fletcher/my-dad-worked-for-kodak-and-was-made-redundant-when-i-was-about-14/)

[Tom Fletcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-fletcher/)

> [“I don't know what happened to your parents or why they did what they did. But in all the world, I could have wished…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stephens/i-don-t-know-what-happened-to-your-parents-or-why-they-did-what-they/)

[John Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stephens/)

> [Two thoughts occur to just about any parent whose child is about to enter college. The first is, 'I can't believe how quickly the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-levy/two-thoughts-occur-to-just-about-any-parent-whose-child-is-about-to/)

[Steven Levy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-levy/)

> [“I knew there would be no shortcuts for me in life-we didn't have money or access to people of power. I knew, if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megyn-kelly/i-knew-there-would-be-no-shortcuts-for-me-in-life-we-didn-t-have/)

[Megyn Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megyn-kelly/)

> [Forcing me to figure out how to provide for myself was probably one of the best things my parents ever did for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophia-amoruso/forcing-me-to-figure-out-how-to-provide-for-myself-was-probably-one/)

[Sophia Amoruso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophia-amoruso/)

> [“They predicted sixteen years ago, almost before anyone else, that girls like me - prettier, smarter, healthier - would be the world's most invaluable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-mccafferty/they-predicted-sixteen-years-ago-almost-before-anyone-else-that-girls/)

[Megan McCafferty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-mccafferty/)

> [My kids have never seen me scream at anybody. They've never seen an argument. There's never been even a cold silence. And those are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edie-falco/my-kids-have-never-seen-me-scream-at-anybody-they-ve-never-seen-an/)

[Edie Falco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edie-falco/)

> [Another part of what gave me a questioning, rabble-rousing, activist heart and soul is that when all these heavy events went down, my parents…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jello-biafra/another-part-of-what-gave-me-a-questioning-rabble-rousing-activist/)

[Jello Biafra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jello-biafra/)

> [I have so much respect for when my parents did. They did not raise me talking about money and I would have disappointed them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dries-mertens/i-have-so-much-respect-for-when-my-parents-did-they-did-not-raise-me/)

[Dries Mertens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dries-mertens/)

> [My father said it himself in an interview many years ago: 'Husband and wife failed, but mother and father didn't.' I've got a life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jakob-dylan/my-father-said-it-himself-in-an-interview-many-years-ago-husband-and/)

[Jakob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jakob-dylan/)

> [As the middle class is predated upon with an ever greater malicious intensity, their children stand to lose more and harder than their parents…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-rollins/as-the-middle-class-is-predated-upon-with-an-ever-greater-malicious/)

[Henry Rollins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-rollins/)

> [My parents did not encourage romances.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-robards/my-parents-did-not-encourage-romances/)

[Karen Robards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-robards/)

> [When there's so much freedom - financially and otherwise - smart kids get themselves into trouble. My parents did a good job of sheltering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethan-peck/when-there-s-so-much-freedom-financially-and-otherwise-smart-kids-get/)

[Ethan Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethan-peck/)

## More by Tara Westover

> [I have a theory that all abuse, no matter what kind of abuse it is, is foremost an assault on the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-westover/i-have-a-theory-that-all-abuse-no-matter-what-kind-of-abuse-it-is-is/)

[Tara Westover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-westover/)

> [I get up when I feel like getting up. That's the deal I've made with myself: I can stay in bed as long as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-westover/i-get-up-when-i-feel-like-getting-up-that-s-the-deal-i-ve-made-with/)

[Tara Westover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-westover/)

> [Anger can be a good thing. It's a mechanism that your brain uses to get you out of situations that are bad for you.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-westover/anger-can-be-a-good-thing-it-s-a-mechanism-that-your-brain-uses-to/)

[Tara Westover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-westover/)

> [I felt like I needed to come to terms with the decision I'd made to let go of my family. What do you do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-westover/i-felt-like-i-needed-to-come-to-terms-with-the-decision-i-d-made-to/)

[Tara Westover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-westover/)

> [Learning in our family was entirely self-directed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-westover/learning-in-our-family-was-entirely-self-directed/)

[Tara Westover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-westover/)

> [I think you can change your belief, but sometimes your behavior takes a lot longer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-westover/i-think-you-can-change-your-belief-but-sometimes-your-behavior-takes/)

[Tara Westover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-westover/)

> [I'm no longer religious, but the Bible fascinates me. Hardly anyone reads it anymore, but it's got everything: it's a book of poetry, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-westover/i-m-no-longer-religious-but-the-bible-fascinates-me-hardly-anyone/)

[Tara Westover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-westover/)

> [I didn't even have a birth certificate until I was 9 years old, which meant that, according to the state of Idaho and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-westover/i-didn-t-even-have-a-birth-certificate-until-i-was-9-years-old-which/)

[Tara Westover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-westover/)

> [There's a sense of sovereignty that comes from life on a mountain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-westover/there-s-a-sense-of-sovereignty-that-comes-from-life-on-a-mountain/)

[Tara Westover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-westover/)

> [“You can’t be a person without a birthday, they seemed to say.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-westover/you-can-t-be-a-person-without-a-birthday-they-seemed-to-say/)

[Tara Westover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-westover/)

> [I had to be - I was in school for probably three or four years before I began taking courses in history and political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-westover/i-had-to-be-i-was-in-school-for-probably-three-or-four-years-before-i/)

[Tara Westover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-westover/)

> [BYU was a really positive place for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-westover/byu-was-a-really-positive-place-for-me/)

[Tara Westover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-westover/)

> [For a long time, I didn't think I had the right to walk away from my family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-westover/for-a-long-time-i-didn-t-think-i-had-the-right-to-walk-away-from-my/)

[Tara Westover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-westover/)

> [“This moment would define my memory of that night, and of the many nights like it, for a decade. In it I saw myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-westover/this-moment-would-define-my-memory-of-that-night-and-of-the-many/)

[Tara Westover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-westover/)

> [We think about education as a stepping stone into a higher socio-economic class, into a better job. And it does do those things. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-westover/we-think-about-education-as-a-stepping-stone-into-a-higher-socio/)

[Tara Westover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-westover/)

[Explore all 82 Tara Westover quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-westover/)

## More Brother quotes

> [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/)

[Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/)

> [Whatever meaning 'Annie's Song' had for me on a personal level, there was also a larger context. It could just as easily have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-denver/whatever-meaning-annie-s-song-had-for-me-on-a-personal-level-there/)

[John Denver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-denver/)

> [Luckily, the bullet that hit my chest never got to me. It was stopped by a silver case I got for my brother's wedding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-doohan/luckily-the-bullet-that-hit-my-chest-never-got-to-me-it-was-stopped/)

[James Doohan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-doohan/)

> [“Yeah. You treat him like a son or a soldier, instead of like a brother. He wants you to like him and admire him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faith-hunter/yeah-you-treat-him-like-a-son-or-a-soldier-instead-of-like-a-brother/)

[Faith Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/faith-hunter/)

> [“Your relationship with your brother will be, in many ways, the most complex and bewildering of all the interpersonal connections you will form. An…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-currie-jr/your-relationship-with-your-brother-will-be-in-many-ways-the-most/)

[Ron Currie Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-currie-jr/)

> [If I had my brothers I think with just a little bit of the correct marketing, I'd like to be almost exclusively in small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-bozzio/if-i-had-my-brothers-i-think-with-just-a-little-bit-of-the-correct/)

[Terry Bozzio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-bozzio/)

> [There's no publicist, no advertisements, and no one's pushing us. If people are buying our records, it's because big brothers and sisters or friends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-moody/there-s-no-publicist-no-advertisements-and-no-one-s-pushing-us-if/)

[Spencer Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-moody/)

> [The only way to make sure that the Hand didn't get to you would have been to kill your brother. I could've done it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilona-andrews/the-only-way-to-make-sure-that-the-hand-didn-t-get-to-you-would-have/)

[Ilona Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilona-andrews/)

> [“Your favorite son and brother, Shade. Like”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-aveyard/your-favorite-son-and-brother-shade-like/)

[Victoria Aveyard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-aveyard/)

> [Sister + brother = a lovely family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sister-brother-a-lovely-family/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [There ain't no such thing as black Muslims. That's how they tried to cut off all my brothers in the rest of the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-ali/there-ain-t-no-such-thing-as-black-muslims-that-s-how-they-tried-to/)

[Muhammad Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-ali/)

> [Brothers and Sisters, I bid you beware Of giving your heart to a dog to tear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/brothers-and-sisters-i-bid-you-beware-of-giving-your-heart-to-a-dog/)

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

> [Like a child exploring the attic of an old house on a rainy day, discovering a trunk full of treasure and then calling all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-h-peterson/like-a-child-exploring-the-attic-of-an-old-house-on-a-rainy-day/)

[Eugene H. Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-h-peterson/)

> [Stephanie could see the greed seep into the watery eyes of her father’s other brother, a horrible little man called Fergus, as he nodded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-landy/stephanie-could-see-the-greed-seep-into-the-watery-eyes-of-her-father/)

[Derek Landy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-landy/)

> [I worked in a barbershop. I used to make the waves in the brother's hair, you know? Like, Nat King Cole, Sugar Ray Robinson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-clinton/i-worked-in-a-barbershop-i-used-to-make-the-waves-in-the-brother-s/)

[George Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-clinton/)

[Browse all 7,453 Brother quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brother/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "My brother once lit his leg on fire. And after, when the fire was finally out, his leg was covered in third-degree burns. And we made the decision - or my parents did - not to take him to the hospital but to treat that at home with a salve my mother made of comfrey and lobelia.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Tara Westover"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-westover/my-brother-once-lit-his-leg-on-fire-and-after-when-the-fire-was/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Brother"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-westover/my-brother-once-lit-his-leg-on-fire-and-after-when-the-fire-was/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b6/tara-westover-8275_brother_my-brother-once-lit-his-leg-on-fire-and_1787270.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b6/tara-westover-8275_brother_my-brother-once-lit-his-leg-on-fire-and_1787270.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b6/tara-westover-8275_brother_my-brother-once-lit-his-leg-on-fire-and_1787270.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“My brother once lit his leg on fire. And after, when the fire was finally out, his leg was covered in…” — Tara Westover",
                "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": "Tara Westover",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-westover/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "My brother once lit his leg...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-westover/my-brother-once-lit-his-leg-on-fire-and-after-when-the-fire-was/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-westover/my-brother-once-lit-his-leg-on-fire-and-after-when-the-fire-was/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
