---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I heard a voice in my head. It said: I…"
description: "\"“I heard a voice in my head. It said: I would rather be alone than ever be my mother. I will leave before I am left.”\" — Tiffanie DeBartolo"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/13a/tiffanie-debartolo-1458_mother_i-heard-a-voice-in-my-head-it-said-i-wou_2803030.png"
---

#  I heard a voice in my head. It said: I would rather be…

![“I heard a voice in my head. It said: I would rather be alone than ever be my mother. I will leave before I am left.” quote by Tiffanie DeBartolo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/13a/tiffanie-debartolo-1458_mother_i-heard-a-voice-in-my-head-it-said-i-wou_2803030.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/13a/tiffanie-debartolo-1458_mother_i-heard-a-voice-in-my-head-it-said-i-wou_2803030.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/13a/tiffanie-debartolo-1458_mother_i-heard-a-voice-in-my-head-it-said-i-wou_2803030.png)

> ““I heard a voice in my head. It said: I would rather be alone than ever be my mother. I will leave before I am left.””

[Tiffanie DeBartolo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiffanie-debartolo/)

## About This Quote

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

A voice urges choosing isolation over repeating a painful maternal relationship, prompting preemptive departure.

**In simple terms:** Choosing solitude to avoid repeating family pain.

Key Takeaway

Consider why you might flee before being left.

Themes

family identity solitude escape

Mood

conflicted reflective

Type

personal psychological

When to use this quote

- family gatherings
- therapeutic counseling
- personal reflection
- relationship decisions

Key Concepts

psychology attachment self‑preservation

Questions to Reflect On

- What fears drive your desire to leave?
- How might confronting the mother figure change your path?

A Different Perspective

The quote may romanticize isolation without addressing underlying trauma.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Rather Be Alone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rather-be-alone/)

## Related quotes

> [“Don't you find it strange that your mother would leave you?' Becky said. 'I can't imagine my other leaving me.' I'd never thought of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/belinda-jeffrey/don-t-you-find-it-strange-that-your-mother-would-leave-you-becky-said/)

[Belinda Jeffrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/belinda-jeffrey/)

> [“I left a note for my mother. I always leave a note for my mother when I am on a case.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjorie-weinman-sharmat/i-left-a-note-for-my-mother-i-always-leave-a-note-for-my-mother-when/)

Marjorie Weinman Sharmat

> [Our heroine knew that the mother would always leave the window open for her children to fly back by; so they stayed away for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/our-heroine-knew-that-the-mother-would-always-leave-the-window-open/)

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

> [Oh Oh so you don't gotta wear pants cause yo dick is out? Then when the mother leave.. You got show we small but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-hart/oh-oh-so-you-don-t-gotta-wear-pants-cause-yo-dick-is-out-then-when/)

[Kevin Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-hart/)

> [my mother will never leave me. We're together. She will always stay in my heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oksana-baiul/my-mother-will-never-leave-me-we-re-together-she-will-always-stay-in/)

[Oksana Baiul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oksana-baiul/)

> [“She was my mother and she would not leave me. This I had simply accepted and expected. I had no more thanked her for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/she-was-my-mother-and-she-would-not-leave-me-this-i-had-simply/)

[Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/)

> [“She broke off, glaring at him—no doubt because he must be grinning like an idiot. “What?” she said. “What?” “On your head,” he said.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loretta-chase/she-broke-off-glaring-at-him-no-doubt-because-he-must-be-grinning/)

[Loretta Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loretta-chase/)

> [“Get moving. We need to find that stag so I don’t have to chop your head off.” “I never said you had to chop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-bardugo/get-moving-we-need-to-find-that-stag-so-i-don-t-have-to-chop-your/)

[Leigh Bardugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-bardugo/)

> [“Are you alright?" "No, I bumped my head." Rubbing the spot, I looked dazedly around the bare hallway. "What did I bang it on?"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-gabaldon/are-you-alright-no-i-bumped-my-head-rubbing-the-spot-i-looked-dazedly/)

[Diana Gabaldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-gabaldon/)

> [“Intellectually, he knew he wouldn’t hesitate to sacrifice himself or his happiness to save everyone else. But that didn’t stop the tiny voice at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-s-a-corey/intellectually-he-knew-he-wouldn-t-hesitate-to-sacrifice-himself-or/)

[James S.A. Corey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-s-a-corey/)

> [You disappear so completely into your head sometimes," he said. "I wish I could follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/you-disappear-so-completely-into-your-head-sometimes-he-said-i-wish-i/)

[Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/)

> [“Well, are you not going to give the man a round of applause?" he asked. "I mean, that was fucking amazing, didn't you think?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-brookmyre/well-are-you-not-going-to-give-the-man-a-round-of-applause-he-asked-i/)

[Christopher Brookmyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-brookmyre/)

> [“You disappear so completely into your head sometimes," he said. "I wish I could follow you." You do, she wanted to say. You live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/you-disappear-so-completely-into-your-head-sometimes-he-said-i-wish-i-2/)

[Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/)

> [“head and said, “Well, Bo, this is going to be your home for a little while.  At least, until some nice family decides to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billi-tiner/head-and-said-well-bo-this-is-going-to-be-your-home-for-a-little/)

[Billi Tiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billi-tiner/)

> [ \[Jenks\]"I think you're all screwy in the head," he said when Bis nodded his encouragement. "But go ahead. I've got Quen's number in my… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-harrison/jenks-i-think-you-re-all-screwy-in-the-head-he-said-when-bis-nodded/)

[Kim Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-harrison/)

## More by Tiffanie DeBartolo

> [“Happiness is elusive, for sure.But lime love, and music, I believe in it because I can feel it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiffanie-debartolo/happiness-is-elusive-for-sure-but-lime-love-and-music-i-believe-in-it/)

[Tiffanie DeBartolo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiffanie-debartolo/)

> [Forget the noose. Forget the Iron Maiden. Forget the electric chair or the guillotine. The mind was mankind's most painful torture chamber, the blessed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiffanie-debartolo/forget-the-noose-forget-the-iron-maiden-forget-the-electric-chair-or/)

[Tiffanie DeBartolo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiffanie-debartolo/)

> [You know what I was thinking about on my way home? How different my life would be if you’d made that gash a little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiffanie-debartolo/you-know-what-i-was-thinking-about-on-my-way-home-how-different-my/)

[Tiffanie DeBartolo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiffanie-debartolo/)

> [Talent? That's not talent. Talent is Liza Minnelli tap dancing and singing at the same time. What I just saw was devastation. Dying man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiffanie-debartolo/talent-that-s-not-talent-talent-is-liza-minnelli-tap-dancing-and/)

[Tiffanie DeBartolo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiffanie-debartolo/)

> [...we grew apart. The thing is, we loved each other, and on some level we always will, but when you’re twenty-three and you fall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiffanie-debartolo/we-grew-apart-the-thing-is-we-loved-each-other-and-on-some-level-we/)

[Tiffanie DeBartolo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiffanie-debartolo/)

> [We had pathetically simple dreams: to do meaningful work that we could be proud of, to be together, and to be happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiffanie-debartolo/we-had-pathetically-simple-dreams-to-do-meaningful-work-that-we-could/)

[Tiffanie DeBartolo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiffanie-debartolo/)

> [“Two at a time, Vera ate her peanut M&amp;Ms. Except for the red ones. These, she alleged, were made from the guts of dead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiffanie-debartolo/two-at-a-time-vera-ate-her-peanut-m-ms-except-for-the-red-ones-these/)

[Tiffanie DeBartolo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiffanie-debartolo/)

> [“I give off good vibes, kids, dogs, and middle-aged divorcées like me”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiffanie-debartolo/i-give-off-good-vibes-kids-dogs-and-middle-aged-divorc-es-like-me/)

[Tiffanie DeBartolo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiffanie-debartolo/)

> [When dreams come true in reality they never feel the same as when you imagine them, and you know what that means? It means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiffanie-debartolo/when-dreams-come-true-in-reality-they-never-feel-the-same-as-when-you/)

[Tiffanie DeBartolo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiffanie-debartolo/)

> [“He believed that any work an artist puts forth which contains the truth as he or she sees it is worthy of consideration,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiffanie-debartolo/he-believed-that-any-work-an-artist-puts-forth-which-contains-the/)

[Tiffanie DeBartolo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiffanie-debartolo/)

> [“People always ask if Burke and Caelum are brothers because they're both so tall, and neither Michael seems bothered by the question, but it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiffanie-debartolo/people-always-ask-if-burke-and-caelum-are-brothers-because-they-re/)

[Tiffanie DeBartolo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiffanie-debartolo/)

> [“All my life I waited for someone who would say things like that to me. And for someone I didn’t feel alone in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiffanie-debartolo/all-my-life-i-waited-for-someone-who-would-say-things-like-that-to-me/)

[Tiffanie DeBartolo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiffanie-debartolo/)

> [Committing suicide so as not to be murdered is the worst reason I've ever heard of to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiffanie-debartolo/committing-suicide-so-as-not-to-be-murdered-is-the-worst-reason-i-ve/)

[Tiffanie DeBartolo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiffanie-debartolo/)

> [“I hoped his last sensation was the euphoria. The peace. The love. I had to believe it was the love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiffanie-debartolo/i-hoped-his-last-sensation-was-the-euphoria-the-peace-the-love-i-had/)

[Tiffanie DeBartolo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiffanie-debartolo/)

> [“Tell me what you listen to, and I'll tell you who you are.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiffanie-debartolo/tell-me-what-you-listen-to-and-i-ll-tell-you-who-you-are/)

[Tiffanie DeBartolo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiffanie-debartolo/)

[Explore all 239 Tiffanie DeBartolo quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiffanie-debartolo/)

## More Mother quotes

> [My mother says I didn't open my eyes for eight days after I was born, but when I did, the first thing I saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-taylor/my-mother-says-i-didn-t-open-my-eyes-for-eight-days-after-i-was-born/)

[Elizabeth Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-taylor/)

> [Laughing, laughing, laughing, laughing! It is the jester! A voice from the Void, to cheer poor Cicero! I accept your gift, dearest Night Mother.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/laughing-laughing-laughing-laughing-it-is-the-jester-a-voice-from-the/)

[Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/)

> [(knitting while on a motorcycle) "For several years she knitted in secret (my father would not approve; she was to concentrate on motorcycling and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-zimmermann/knitting-while-on-a-motorcycle-for-several-years-she-knitted-in/)

[Elizabeth Zimmermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-zimmermann/)

> [The biggest change for me as a mom was realizing I needed to put someone else before me. Now the hardest part about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-alexis/the-biggest-change-for-me-as-a-mom-was-realizing-i-needed-to-put/)

[Kim Alexis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-alexis/)

> [My mother was strong-willed, demanding, and very supportive all at the same time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-spence/my-mother-was-strong-willed-demanding-and-very-supportive-all-at-the/)

[Michael Spence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-spence/)

> [Everything comes home, my mother used to say; every word spoken, every shadow cast, every footprint in the sand. It can't be helped; it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-harris/everything-comes-home-my-mother-used-to-say-every-word-spoken-every/)

[Joanne Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-harris/)

> [I would give anything to be able to kick a ball with my son or read the kids a bedtime story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-burrow/i-would-give-anything-to-be-able-to-kick-a-ball-with-my-son-or-read/)

[Rob Burrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-burrow/)

> [Being a new mother is a blessing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phaedra-parks/being-a-new-mother-is-a-blessing/)

[Phaedra Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phaedra-parks/)

> [Named after my mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-raitt/named-after-my-mother/)

[Bonnie Raitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-raitt/)

> [One of the ways that I discovered my confidence and my ability to overpower is becoming a mother. Suddenly, my world wasn't about myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lights/one-of-the-ways-that-i-discovered-my-confidence-and-my-ability-to/)

[Lights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lights/)

> [When will society, like a mother, take care of all her children?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/when-will-society-like-a-mother-take-care-of-all-her-children/)

[Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/)

> [Surely, if Mother Nature had been consulted, she would never have consented to building a city in New Orleans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mortimer-zuckerman/surely-if-mother-nature-had-been-consulted-she-would-never-have/)

[Mortimer Zuckerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mortimer-zuckerman/)

> [Peace is the first thing the angels sang. Peace is the mark of the children of God. Peace is the nurse of love. Peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-leo-i/peace-is-the-first-thing-the-angels-sang-peace-is-the-mark-of-the/)

[Pope Leo I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-leo-i/)

> [I'm a strange mixture of my mother's curiosity; my father, who grew up the son of the manse in a Presbyterian family, who had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-murdoch/i-m-a-strange-mixture-of-my-mother-s-curiosity-my-father-who-grew-up/)

[Rupert Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-murdoch/)

> [Guns have little or nothing to do with juvenile violence. The causes of youth violence are working parents who put their kids into daycare,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-delay/guns-have-little-or-nothing-to-do-with-juvenile-violence-the-causes/)

[Tom DeLay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-delay/)

[Browse all 24,507 Mother quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“I heard a voice in my head. It said: I would rather be alone than ever be my mother. I will leave before I am left.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Tiffanie DeBartolo"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiffanie-debartolo/i-heard-a-voice-in-my-head-it-said-i-would-rather-be-alone-than-ever/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Mother"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiffanie-debartolo/i-heard-a-voice-in-my-head-it-said-i-would-rather-be-alone-than-ever/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/13a/tiffanie-debartolo-1458_mother_i-heard-a-voice-in-my-head-it-said-i-wou_2803030.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/13a/tiffanie-debartolo-1458_mother_i-heard-a-voice-in-my-head-it-said-i-wou_2803030.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/13a/tiffanie-debartolo-1458_mother_i-heard-a-voice-in-my-head-it-said-i-wou_2803030.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I heard a voice in my head. It said: I would rather be alone than ever be my mother. I will leave before I…” — Tiffanie DeBartolo",
                "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": "Tiffanie DeBartolo",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiffanie-debartolo/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“I heard a voice in my...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiffanie-debartolo/i-heard-a-voice-in-my-head-it-said-i-would-rather-be-alone-than-ever/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiffanie-debartolo/i-heard-a-voice-in-my-head-it-said-i-would-rather-be-alone-than-ever/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
