--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There were two things about this…" description: "\"“There were two things about this particular book ( The Golden Book of Fairy Tales ) that made it vital to the child I was. First, it contained a remar..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7e/terri-windling-8504_books_there-were-two-things-about-this-particu_1192760.jpg" --- # There were two things about this particular book ( The… ![“There were two things about this particular book ( The Golden Book of Fairy Tales ) that made it vital to the child I was. First, it contained a remarkable number of stories about courageous, active girls; and second, it portrayed the various evils they faced in unflinching terms. Just below their…” quote by Terri Windling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7e/terri-windling-8504_books_there-were-two-things-about-this-particu_1192760.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7e/terri-windling-8504_books_there-were-two-things-about-this-particu_1192760.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7e/terri-windling-8504_books_there-were-two-things-about-this-particu_1192760.jpg) > ““There were two things about this particular book ( The Golden Book of Fairy Tales ) that made it vital to the child I was. First, it contained a remarkable number of stories about courageous, active girls; and second, it portrayed the various evils they faced in unflinching terms. Just below their diamond surface, these were stories of great brutality and anguish, many of which had never been originally intended for children at all. (Although Ponsot included tales from the Brothers Grimm and Andersen, the majority of her selections were drawn from the French contes de fées tradition — stories created as part of the vogue for fairy tales in seventeenth century Paris, recounted in literary salons and published for adult readers.) I hungered for a narrative with which to make some sense of my life, but in schoolbooks and on television all I could find was the sugar water of Dick and Jane, Leave it to Beaver and the happy, wholesome Brady Bunch. Mine was not a Brady Bunch family; it was troubled, fractured, persistently violent, and I needed the stronger meat of wolves and witches, poisons and peril. In fairy tales, I had found a mirror held up to the world I knew — where adults were dangerous creatures, and Good and Evil were not abstract concepts. (…) There were in those days no shelves full of “self–help” books for people with pasts like mine. In retrospect, I’m glad it was myth and folklore I turned to instead. Too many books portray child abuse as though it’s an illness from which one must heal, like cancer . . .or malaria . . .or perhaps a broken leg. Eventually, this kind of book promises, the leg will be strong enough to use, despite a limp betraying deeper wounds that might never mend. Through fairy tales, however, I understood my past in different terms: not as an illness or weakness, but as a hero narrative. It was a story, my story, beginning with birth and ending only with death. Difficult challenges and trials, even those that come at a tender young age, can make us wiser, stronger, and braver; they can serve to transform us, rather than sending us limping into the future.”” [Terri Windling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terri-windling/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Fairy tales provide brutal, honest narratives that let children see their own trauma as a heroic journey rather than illness. **In simple terms:** Stories help reframe trauma as a hero’s quest. Key Takeaway Use myth to reinterpret personal pain. Themes trauma heroism myth literature psychology Mood reflective empowering Type inspirational therapeutic When to use this quote - reading fairy tales - writing personal myths - discussing trauma in therapy - teaching literature - support groups Key Concepts narrative therapy identity reconstruction catharsis Questions to Reflect On - How can you turn personal pain into a heroic story? - What limits do myths have in healing trauma? A Different Perspective Myths may oversimplify complex psychological issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Brady bunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brady-bunch/) [Broken leg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/broken-leg/) [Brothers grimm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brothers-grimm/) [Child abuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/child-abuse/) [Fairy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fairy/) [Fairy tale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fairy-tale/) [Fairy tales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fairy-tales/) [Good and evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-and-evil/) [Included Tales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/included-tales-3545813/) [Stories Courageous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories-courageous-3545812/) [Storytelling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/storytelling/) [Strong enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strong-enough/) [Tales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tales/) [Tales Understood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tales-understood-3545811/) [Young age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young-age/) ## Related quotes > [“To most people today, the name Snow White evokes visions of dwarfs whistling as they work, and a wide–eyed, fluttery princess singing, "Some day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terri-windling/to-most-people-today-the-name-snow-white-evokes-visions-of-dwarfs/) [Terri Windling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terri-windling/) > [“Fairy tales for adult readers remained popular throughout Europe well into the 19th century — particularly in Germany, where the Brothers Grimm published their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terri-windling/fairy-tales-for-adult-readers-remained-popular-throughout-europe-well/) [Terri Windling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terri-windling/) > [“Creators of literary fairy tales from the 17th-century onward include writers whose works are still widely read today: Charles Perrault (17th-century France), Hans Christian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terri-windling/creators-of-literary-fairy-tales-from-the-17th-century-onward-include/) [Terri Windling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terri-windling/) > [I often visit Maria Tatar's 'The Grimm Reader' for a cold dose of courage. 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I've always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-kagawa/i-love-the-stories-of-changelings-and-the-thought-that-the-fey-were/) [Julie Kagawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-kagawa/) > [“Still, she stood looking fabulous like a princess should, licking her blood red lips the moment she laid her eyes on the beautiful prince.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cameron-jace/still-she-stood-looking-fabulous-like-a-princess-should-licking-her/) [Cameron Jace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cameron-jace/) > [Girls, I need to tell you some things about our family," Sabrina said. 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I like all that old school, bloody, 'Brothers Grimm' sort…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/i-love-that-very-traditional-fairy-tale-where-it-s-not-all-happily/) [Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/) > [My writing has to excite people and depict or include their experiences. That's part of my process - to go out and interact with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/my-writing-has-to-excite-people-and-depict-or-include-their/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“...but there were no faerie godmothers. There were only mothers and grandmothers, and there was no magic wand to wave over a person's heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/but-there-were-no-faerie-godmothers-there-were-only-mothers-and/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [Those Grimm brothers," she said with a sigh, "they'll never amount to anything." And she was right because all they ever became was writers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivian-vande-velde/those-grimm-brothers-she-said-with-a-sigh-they-ll-never-amount-to/) [Vivian Vande Velde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivian-vande-velde/) > [Imagine an American Hans Christian Andersen, conceive of the Brothers Grimm living in Missouri, and you will approximate Howard Schwartz, a fable-maker and fable-gatherer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-ozick/imagine-an-american-hans-christian-andersen-conceive-of-the-brothers/) [Cynthia Ozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-ozick/) ## More by Terri Windling > [“I've been very influenced by folklore, fairy tales, and folk ballads, so I love all the classic works based on these things -- like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terri-windling/i-ve-been-very-influenced-by-folklore-fairy-tales-and-folk-ballads-so/) [Terri Windling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terri-windling/) > [“Don’t be afraid to be weird, don’t be afraid to be different, don’t worry too much about what other people think. Whatever it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terri-windling/don-t-be-afraid-to-be-weird-don-t-be-afraid-to-be-different-don-t/) [Terri Windling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terri-windling/) > [“In England in the 19th century, advances in printing methods, combined with the rise of a prosperous middle class, engendered a booming new industry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terri-windling/in-england-in-the-19th-century-advances-in-printing-methods-combined/) [Terri Windling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terri-windling/) > [What I find interesting about folklore is the dialogue it gives us with storytellers from centuries past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terri-windling/what-i-find-interesting-about-folklore-is-the-dialogue-it-gives-us/) [Terri Windling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terri-windling/) > [“Lately, because computer technology has made self-publishing an easier and less expensive venture, I'm getting a lot of review copies of amateur books by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terri-windling/lately-because-computer-technology-has-made-self-publishing-an-easier/) [Terri Windling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terri-windling/) > [“I am awfully greedy; I want everything from life," said Simone de Beauvoir. "I want to be a woman and to be a man,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terri-windling/i-am-awfully-greedy-i-want-everything-from-life-said-simone-de/) [Terri Windling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terri-windling/) > [“I wish I could have known Barbara Bodichon -- and her whole vibrant circle of smart, fearless women friends. I'd like to gather them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terri-windling/i-wish-i-could-have-known-barbara-bodichon-and-her-whole-vibrant/) [Terri Windling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terri-windling/) > [“Twelve years ago I left Boston and New York, and moved east and west at the same time. East, to a little village in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terri-windling/twelve-years-ago-i-left-boston-and-new-york-and-moved-east-and-west/) [Terri Windling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terri-windling/) > [“I lived in New York City back in the 1980s, which is when the Bordertown series was created. New York was a different place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terri-windling/i-lived-in-new-york-city-back-in-the-1980s-which-is-when-the/) [Terri Windling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terri-windling/) > [“Border crossing' is a recurrent theme in all aspects of my work -- editing, writing, and painting. I'm interested in the various ways artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terri-windling/border-crossing-is-a-recurrent-theme-in-all-aspects-of-my-work/) [Terri Windling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terri-windling/) > [A good novel editor is invisible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terri-windling/a-good-novel-editor-is-invisible/) [Terri Windling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terri-windling/) > [My book collection is primarily in America, since that's where I've lived most of my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terri-windling/my-book-collection-is-primarily-in-america-since-that-s-where-i-ve/) [Terri Windling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terri-windling/) > [“Trickster foxes appear in old stories gathered from countries and cultures all over the world -- including Aesop's Fables from ancient Greece, the "Reynard"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terri-windling/trickster-foxes-appear-in-old-stories-gathered-from-countries-and/) [Terri Windling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terri-windling/) > [“Creators of literary fairy tales from the 17th-century onward include writers whose works are still widely read today: Charles Perrault (17th-century France), Hans Christian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terri-windling/creators-of-literary-fairy-tales-from-the-17th-century-onward-include/) [Terri Windling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terri-windling/) > [“Oh, don't get me started! I love fantasy, I read it for pleasure, even after all these years. Pat McKillip, Ursula Le Guin and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terri-windling/oh-don-t-get-me-started-i-love-fantasy-i-read-it-for-pleasure-even/) [Terri Windling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terri-windling/) [Explore all 80 Terri Windling quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terri-windling/) ## 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! 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Krebs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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. 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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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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": "“There were two things about this particular book ( The Golden Book of Fairy Tales ) that made it vital to the child I was. First, it contained a remarkable number of stories about courageous, active girls; and second, it portrayed the various evils they faced in unflinching terms. Just below their diamond surface, these were stories of great brutality and anguish, many of which had never been originally intended for children at all. (Although Ponsot included tales from the Brothers Grimm and Andersen, the majority of her selections were drawn from the French contes de fées tradition — stories created as part of the vogue for fairy tales in seventeenth century Paris, recounted in literary salons and published for adult readers.) I hungered for a narrative with which to make some sense of my life, but in schoolbooks and on television all I could find was the sugar water of Dick and Jane, Leave it to Beaver and the happy, wholesome Brady Bunch. Mine was not a Brady Bunch family; it was troubled, fractured, persistently violent, and I needed the stronger meat of wolves and witches, poisons and peril. In fairy tales, I had found a mirror held up to the world I knew — where adults were dangerous creatures, and Good and Evil were not abstract concepts. (…) There were in those days no shelves full of “self–help” books for people with pasts like mine. In retrospect, I’m glad it was myth and folklore I turned to instead. Too many books portray child abuse as though it’s an illness from which one must heal, like cancer . . .or malaria . . .or perhaps a broken leg. Eventually, this kind of book promises, the leg will be strong enough to use, despite a limp betraying deeper wounds that might never mend. Through fairy tales, however, I understood my past in different terms: not as an illness or weakness, but as a hero narrative. It was a story, my story, beginning with birth and ending only with death. Difficult challenges and trials, even those that come at a tender young age, can make us wiser, stronger, and braver; they can serve to transform us, rather than sending us limping into the future.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Terri Windling" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terri-windling/there-were-two-things-about-this-particular-book-the-golden-book-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terri-windling/there-were-two-things-about-this-particular-book-the-golden-book-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7e/terri-windling-8504_books_there-were-two-things-about-this-particu_1192760.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7e/terri-windling-8504_books_there-were-two-things-about-this-particu_1192760.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7e/terri-windling-8504_books_there-were-two-things-about-this-particu_1192760.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There were two things about this particular book ( The Golden Book of Fairy Tales ) that made it vital to…” — Terri Windling", "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": "Terri Windling", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terri-windling/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“There were two things about this...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terri-windling/there-were-two-things-about-this-particular-book-the-golden-book-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terri-windling/there-were-two-things-about-this-particular-book-the-golden-book-of/#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 } } ] } ```