--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Motherhood didn't make you stronger; it…" description: "\"Motherhood didn't make you stronger; it made you vulnerable and afraid of what death could steal from you.\" — Tess Gerritsen" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/970/tess-gerritsen-3102_death_motherhood-didn-t-make-you-stronger-it-m_1662657.png" --- # Motherhood didn't make you stronger; it made you… ![“Motherhood didn't make you stronger; it made you vulnerable and afraid of what death could steal from you.” quote by Tess Gerritsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/970/tess-gerritsen-3102_death_motherhood-didn-t-make-you-stronger-it-m_1662657.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/970/tess-gerritsen-3102_death_motherhood-didn-t-make-you-stronger-it-m_1662657.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/970/tess-gerritsen-3102_death_motherhood-didn-t-make-you-stronger-it-m_1662657.png) > “Motherhood didn't make you stronger; it made you vulnerable and afraid of what death could steal from you.” [Tess Gerritsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tess-gerritsen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Motherhood brings vulnerability and fear of loss, not just strength. **In simple terms:** Motherhood creates new fears. Key Takeaway Acknowledge emotional complexity. Themes family psychology vulnerability Mood empathetic introspective Type narrative emotional When to use this quote - parenting - counseling - support groups Key Concepts maternal identity fear of mortality strength paradox Questions to Reflect On - What fears does motherhood reveal? - How can vulnerability be embraced? A Different Perspective May overlook resilience. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother/) [Motherhood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motherhood/) ## Related quotes > [I would say that's at the center of masculinity in the 21st century: How do you become comfortable enough that you can feel stronger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rege-jean-page/i-would-say-that-s-at-the-center-of-masculinity-in-the-21st-century/) [Rege-Jean Page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rege-jean-page/) > [Yes, I am imperfect and vulnerable and sometimes afraid, but that doesn't change the truth that I am also brave and worthy of love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/yes-i-am-imperfect-and-vulnerable-and-sometimes-afraid-but-that-doesn/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) > [Why can't women get along? Because we're afraid. We're afraid to be vulnerable. We're afraid to be soft. 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What he failed to stress is that it ALMOST kills you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conan-o-brien/nietzsche-famously-said-whatever-doesn-t-kill-you-makes-you-stronger/) [Conan O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conan-o-brien/) > [These fiery trials are designed to make you stronger, but they have the potential to diminish or even destroy your trust in the Son…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-l-andersen/these-fiery-trials-are-designed-to-make-you-stronger-but-they-have/) [Neil L. Andersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-l-andersen/) > [Intensity makes you stronger. 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The answer is that I'm very curious, and I get inspiration from everywhere.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tess-gerritsen/fans-are-always-asking-me-where-i-get-my-ideas-from-the-answer-is/) [Tess Gerritsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tess-gerritsen/) > [After twelve years of living in Hawaii, I'd gotten a serious case of 'rock fever.' I just couldn't live on an island any longer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tess-gerritsen/after-twelve-years-of-living-in-hawaii-i-d-gotten-a-serious-case-of/) [Tess Gerritsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tess-gerritsen/) > [The best heroes in the world are the reluctant ones. Courage isn't fearlessness - it's acting in the face of fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tess-gerritsen/the-best-heroes-in-the-world-are-the-reluctant-ones-courage-isn-t/) [Tess Gerritsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tess-gerritsen/) > [“If you don't love him, if you don't even care about him, then seeing him now shouldn't be all that painful. Should it?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tess-gerritsen/if-you-don-t-love-him-if-you-don-t-even-care-about-him-then-seeing/) [Tess Gerritsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tess-gerritsen/) > [“My name is Mila, and this is my journey. There are so many places where I could begin the story. I could start in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tess-gerritsen/my-name-is-mila-and-this-is-my-journey-there-are-so-many-places-where/) [Tess Gerritsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tess-gerritsen/) > [“Now we sit and wait,” the woman said, and she settled into a chair, the gun on her lap. “What are we waiting for?”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tess-gerritsen/now-we-sit-and-wait-the-woman-said-and-she-settled-into-a-chair-the/) [Tess Gerritsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tess-gerritsen/) > [The Christmas tree, twinkling with lights, had a mountain of gifts piled up beneath it, like offerings to the great god of excess.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tess-gerritsen/the-christmas-tree-twinkling-with-lights-had-a-mountain-of-gifts/) [Tess Gerritsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tess-gerritsen/) > [Because I never plan anything out ahead of time, I'm always in the process of learning about my characters. Without a biographical sketch to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tess-gerritsen/because-i-never-plan-anything-out-ahead-of-time-i-m-always-in-the/) [Tess Gerritsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tess-gerritsen/) > [When you're a fifty-year-old woman, no one really bothers to look at you anymore, much less value your opinion. It's hard on the old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tess-gerritsen/when-you-re-a-fifty-year-old-woman-no-one-really-bothers-to-look-at/) [Tess Gerritsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tess-gerritsen/) > [Mom and I often talked about the trip we'd someday take together to the 'city of eternal spring' where she was born. In Kunming,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tess-gerritsen/mom-and-i-often-talked-about-the-trip-we-d-someday-take-together-to/) [Tess Gerritsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tess-gerritsen/) > [“But human anatomy and human endurance are variable. While the much younger nun had succumbed to her injuries, Ursula's heart kept beating, her body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tess-gerritsen/but-human-anatomy-and-human-endurance-are-variable-while-the-much/) [Tess Gerritsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tess-gerritsen/) > [Where we go depends on what we know, and what we know depends on where we go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tess-gerritsen/where-we-go-depends-on-what-we-know-and-what-we-know-depends-on-where/) [Tess Gerritsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tess-gerritsen/) > [“Some people make choices hoping for the best; Korsak had made a choice simply to avoid the worst.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tess-gerritsen/some-people-make-choices-hoping-for-the-best-korsak-had-made-a-choice/) [Tess Gerritsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tess-gerritsen/) [Explore all 134 Tess Gerritsen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tess-gerritsen/) ## More Death quotes > [“He wondered how it was fair that your dying should depend so much on when you were born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/he-wondered-how-it-was-fair-that-your-dying-should-depend-so-much-on/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. 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Then his eyes turned to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-anthony-torino/what-did-you-see-she-asked-gently-his-brow-furrowed-as-if-he-could/) J. Anthony Torino > [Those whose life is long still strive for gain, and for all mortals all things take second place to money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/those-whose-life-is-long-still-strive-for-gain-and-for-all-mortals/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [“I practice Dying--every night-- But have not learned to, still-- Though Talented--by Mortal bones-- For such a common Skill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-powers/i-practice-dying-every-night-but-have-not-learned-to-still-though/) Alan W. Powers > [“You must understand the pain and grief of losing someone is nothing more than a function of survival.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-cooper/you-must-understand-the-pain-and-grief-of-losing-someone-is-nothing/) [Steven Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-cooper/) > [I am not a depressive person at all, but I reflect a lot on my life, and life in general, from the perspective of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/i-am-not-a-depressive-person-at-all-but-i-reflect-a-lot-on-my-life/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [“Death is a reality that calls the rest of life and all of our assorted strivings into sharp relief.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/death-is-a-reality-that-calls-the-rest-of-life-and-all-of-our/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [I love life. I love life to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuelle-riva/i-love-life-i-love-life-to-death/) [Emmanuelle Riva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuelle-riva/) > [I think when you’re dying you start looking for important things in the corners. You can’t let anything that seems even semi-important pass, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-crutcher/i-think-when-you-re-dying-you-start-looking-for-important-things-in/) [Chris Crutcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-crutcher/) [Browse all 39,127 Death quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Motherhood didn't make you stronger; it made you vulnerable and afraid of what death could steal from you.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tess Gerritsen" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tess-gerritsen/motherhood-didn-t-make-you-stronger-it-made-you-vulnerable-and-afraid/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Death" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tess-gerritsen/motherhood-didn-t-make-you-stronger-it-made-you-vulnerable-and-afraid/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/970/tess-gerritsen-3102_death_motherhood-didn-t-make-you-stronger-it-m_1662657.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/970/tess-gerritsen-3102_death_motherhood-didn-t-make-you-stronger-it-m_1662657.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/970/tess-gerritsen-3102_death_motherhood-didn-t-make-you-stronger-it-m_1662657.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Motherhood didn't make you stronger; it made you vulnerable and afraid of what death could steal from you.” — Tess Gerritsen", "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": "Tess Gerritsen", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tess-gerritsen/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Motherhood didn't make you stronger; it...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tess-gerritsen/motherhood-didn-t-make-you-stronger-it-made-you-vulnerable-and-afraid/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tess-gerritsen/motherhood-didn-t-make-you-stronger-it-made-you-vulnerable-and-afraid/#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 } } ] } ```