--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: By God, I shall spend the rest of my life…" description: "\"By God, I shall spend the rest of my life getting my heart back, healing and forgetting every scar you put upon me when I was a child. The first move I..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe8/thomas-wolfe-4237_children_by-god-i-shall-spend-the-rest-of-my-life_1082735.png" --- # By God, I shall spend the rest of my life getting my heart… ![“By God, I shall spend the rest of my life getting my heart back, healing and forgetting every scar you put upon me when I was a child. The first move I ever made, after the cradle, was to crawl for the door, and every move I have made since has been an effort to escape.” quote by Thomas Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe8/thomas-wolfe-4237_children_by-god-i-shall-spend-the-rest-of-my-life_1082735.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe8/thomas-wolfe-4237_children_by-god-i-shall-spend-the-rest-of-my-life_1082735.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe8/thomas-wolfe-4237_children_by-god-i-shall-spend-the-rest-of-my-life_1082735.png) > “By God, I shall spend the rest of my life getting my heart back, healing and forgetting every scar you put upon me when I was a child. The first move I ever made, after the cradle, was to crawl for the door, and every move I have made since has been an effort to escape.” [Thomas Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-wolfe/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator sees life as a continual escape from childhood trauma, seeking healing and wholeness. **In simple terms:** Life is an escape from past pain. Key Takeaway Seek healing, not avoidance. Themes trauma healing escape growth self‑discovery Mood hopeful introspective Type literary motivational When to use this quote - therapy - writing - self‑help Key Concepts psychology of trauma resilience personal narrative Questions to Reflect On - What does escaping teach us about resilience? - How can we transform pain into growth? A Different Perspective Healing may require confronting, not fleeing. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Cradle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cradle/) [Cradle Crawl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cradle-crawl-2758101/) [Crawl Door](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crawl-door-2758102/) [Doors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doors/) [Effort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effort/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Forget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forget/) [Forgetting Scar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forgetting-scar-1526341/) [Healing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/healing/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Heart Healing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart-healing-2017024/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made/) [Moving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moving/) [My heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/my-heart/) [Scar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scar/) ## Related quotes > [“That's the blessing and the curse of loss: You don't get to choose what falls within the inevitable dissolution of recollection or what lingers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-buxbaum/that-s-the-blessing-and-the-curse-of-loss-you-don-t-get-to-choose/) [Julie Buxbaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-buxbaum/) > [“Go,” Chase said. “Crawl under the door. 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