--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Together we understood what terror was…" description: "\"Together we understood what terror was: you're not human anymore. You're a shadow. You slip out of your own skin, like molting, shedding your own histo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d55/tim-o-brien-1818_behinds_together-we-understood-what-terror-was-y_2294361.jpg" --- # Together we understood what terror was: you're not human… ![“Together we understood what terror was: you're not human anymore. You're a shadow. You slip out of your own skin, like molting, shedding your own history and your own future, leaving behind everything you ever were or wanted to believed in. You know you're about to die. And it's not a movie and…” quote by Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d55/tim-o-brien-1818_behinds_together-we-understood-what-terror-was-y_2294361.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d55/tim-o-brien-1818_behinds_together-we-understood-what-terror-was-y_2294361.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d55/tim-o-brien-1818_behinds_together-we-understood-what-terror-was-y_2294361.jpg) > “Together we understood what terror was: you're not human anymore. You're a shadow. You slip out of your own skin, like molting, shedding your own history and your own future, leaving behind everything you ever were or wanted to believed in. You know you're about to die. And it's not a movie and you aren't a hero and all you can do is whimper and wait.” [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote describes the dehumanizing loss of identity and hope that terror can cause, reducing a person to a hollow, fearful existence. **In simple terms:** Terror strips away humanity and leaves one feeling empty. Key Takeaway Recognize and resist dehumanization. Themes terror identity despair humanity psychology Mood fearful despair introspective Type literary psychological philosophical When to use this quote - combat - psychological trauma - refugee crisis - terminal illness - personal crisis Key Concepts existential dread loss of self mortality Questions to Reflect On - How does terror change your sense of self? - What can restore humanity after trauma? A Different Perspective Even in terror, agency may persist; the quote may overstate helplessness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Hero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hero/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Shadow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shadow/) ## Related quotes > [“We burned down rooms. We knew what everything meant. We understood terror and fury as no one else had. It hurt to be together…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ellroy/we-burned-down-rooms-we-knew-what-everything-meant-we-understood/) [James Ellroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ellroy/) > [That's the beauty and the terror of being human beings: We just have these symbolic languages, these dreams, and that's all it ever is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edgar-wideman/that-s-the-beauty-and-the-terror-of-being-human-beings-we-just-have/) [John Edgar Wideman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edgar-wideman/) > [“You're a shadow. You slip out of your own skin, like molting, shedding your own history and your own future, leaving behind everything you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/you-re-a-shadow-you-slip-out-of-your-own-skin-like-molting-shedding/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [They carried all the emotional baggage of men who might die. Grief, terror, love, longing--these were intangibles, but the intangibles had their own mass…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/they-carried-all-the-emotional-baggage-of-men-who-might-die-grief/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [“Behind every stressful thought is the desire for things to be other than they are.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-bernhard/behind-every-stressful-thought-is-the-desire-for-things-to-be-other/) [Toni Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-bernhard/) > [“Humans, as a species, are constantly, and in every way, comparing themselves to one another, which, given the brief nature of their existence, seems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/humans-as-a-species-are-constantly-and-in-every-way-comparing/) [Donald Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-miller/) > [Behind every great fortune, there lies a great crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-mezrich/behind-every-great-fortune-there-lies-a-great-crime/) [Ben Mezrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-mezrich/) > [“Behind every preventable threat to the future of the human race lurks a boy in a man's body with both hands buried deep in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-prokop/behind-every-preventable-threat-to-the-future-of-the-human-race-lurks/) [Daniel Prokop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-prokop/) > [Behind every woman, is a man who treated her wrong and who deserves the best. They're gods greatest creations. Recognize that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/behind-every-woman-is-a-man-who-treated-her-wrong-and-who-deserves/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Behind every great Fortune, there is a crime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/behind-every-great-fortune-there-is-a-crime/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Behind every piece of bad content is an executive who asked for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-brenner/behind-every-piece-of-bad-content-is-an-executive-who-asked-for-it/) [Michael Brenner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-brenner/) > [“I’m not sure how the ponies happened, though I have an inkling: “Can I get you anything?” I’ll say, getting up from a dinner…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sloane-crosley/i-m-not-sure-how-the-ponies-happened-though-i-have-an-inkling-can-i/) [Sloane Crosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sloane-crosley/) > [Behind every word flows energy. If you use your words to gossip or babble about what you are going to do before you do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-choquette/behind-every-word-flows-energy-if-you-use-your-words-to-gossip-or/) [Sonia Choquette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonia-choquette/) > [Single Truth Behind EveryHEART-ACHELOVE Hurts WhenGOD Knows¦You Deserves SomeoneElse ¦.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tinku-razoria/single-truth-behind-everyheart-achelove-hurts-whengod-knows-you/) [Tinku Razoria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tinku-razoria/) > [Behind every successful child is an adult who believed in him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/behind-every-successful-child-is-an-adult-who-believed-in-him/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) ## More by Tim O'Brien > [“Yes, the issue was courage. It always had been, even as a kid. Things scared him. He couldn't help it. Noise scared him, dark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/yes-the-issue-was-courage-it-always-had-been-even-as-a-kid-things/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [It's very hard to articulate the things that are important about writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/it-s-very-hard-to-articulate-the-things-that-are-important-about/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [The thing about a story is that you dream it as you tell it, hoping that others might then dream along with you, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/the-thing-about-a-story-is-that-you-dream-it-as-you-tell-it-hoping/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [Fiction, maybe art in general, is a tentative, uncertain enterprise; it's not science, it's an exploration, but you never find much in the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/fiction-maybe-art-in-general-is-a-tentative-uncertain-enterprise-it-s/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [“I learned that words make a difference. It's easier to cope with a kicked bucked than a corpse; if it isn't human, it doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/i-learned-that-words-make-a-difference-it-s-easier-to-cope-with-a/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [“Stories are for eternity, when memory is erased, when there is nothing to remember except the story.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/stories-are-for-eternity-when-memory-is-erased-when-there-is-nothing/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [“The story' Sanders would say "the whole tone, man, you're wrecking it." Tone?' The sound. You need to get a consitent sound, like slow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/the-story-sanders-would-say-the-whole-tone-man-you-re-wrecking-it/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [“On occasions the war was like a Ping-Pong ball. You could put fancy spin on it, you could make it dance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/on-occasions-the-war-was-like-a-ping-pong-ball-you-could-put-fancy/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [“They were afraid of dying, but they were even more afraid to show it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/they-were-afraid-of-dying-but-they-were-even-more-afraid-to-show-it/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [“Forty-three years old, and the war occurred half a lifetime ago, and yet the remembering makes it now. And sometimes remembering will lead to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/forty-three-years-old-and-the-war-occurred-half-a-lifetime-ago-and/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [“He thought about the difference between good times and bad times, and how funny it was that he could not state the difference, only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/he-thought-about-the-difference-between-good-times-and-bad-times-and/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [A lie, sometimes, can be truer than the truth, which is why fiction gets written.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/a-lie-sometimes-can-be-truer-than-the-truth-which-is-why-fiction-gets/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [My life is storytelling. I believe in stories, in their incredible power to keep people alive, to keep the living alive, and the dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/my-life-is-storytelling-i-believe-in-stories-in-their-incredible/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [With a hangover and with fear, it is difficult to put a helmet on your head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/with-a-hangover-and-with-fear-it-is-difficult-to-put-a-helmet-on-your/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [“Peace never bragged. If you didn't look for it, it wasn't there.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/peace-never-bragged-if-you-didn-t-look-for-it-it-wasn-t-there/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) [Explore all 201 Tim O'Brien quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) ## More Behinds quotes > [Resist discouragement by speaking His Word over your future. Keep standing. Keep hoping; keep believing because He is working behind the scenes. He's going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/resist-discouragement-by-speaking-his-word-over-your-future-keep/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [Behind every successful child is an adult who believed in him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/behind-every-successful-child-is-an-adult-who-believed-in-him/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [Elections belong to the people. It's their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/elections-belong-to-the-people-it-s-their-decision-if-they-decide-to/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Time is painted with a lock before, and bald behind, signifying thereby that we must take time by the forelock; for, when it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/time-is-painted-with-a-lock-before-and-bald-behind-signifying-thereby/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [God hides Himself behind causes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-rollin/god-hides-himself-behind-causes/) [Charles Rollin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-rollin/) > [Home is behind, the world ahead, And there are many paths to tread Through shadows to the edge of night, Until the stars are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/home-is-behind-the-world-ahead-and-there-are-many-paths-to-tread/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Behind every word flows energy. If you use your words to gossip or babble about what you are going to do before you do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-choquette/behind-every-word-flows-energy-if-you-use-your-words-to-gossip-or/) [Sonia Choquette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonia-choquette/) > [With the realization of God comes all power. If the little wave knew that behind it is the great ocean, it could say, "I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paramahansa-yogananda/with-the-realization-of-god-comes-all-power-if-the-little-wave-knew/) [Paramahansa Yogananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paramahansa-yogananda/) > [Conservatism is not about leaving people behind. Conservatism is about empowering people to catch up, to give them the tools at their disposable that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/conservatism-is-not-about-leaving-people-behind-conservatism-is-about/) [Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/) > [And the seasons they go 'round and 'round And the painted ponies go up and down We're captive on the carousel of time We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/and-the-seasons-they-go-round-and-round-and-the-painted-ponies-go-up/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [It is worthwhile for anyone to have behind him a few generations of honest, hard-working ancestry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-worthwhile-for-anyone-to-have-behind-him-a-few-generations-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm really thankful to God, man. Like now, I'm really making a real comeback with my group. With or without a record, with or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ike-turner/i-m-really-thankful-to-god-man-like-now-i-m-really-making-a-real/) [Ike Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ike-turner/) > [Empires fall, ids explode, great symphonies are written, and behind all of it is a single instinct that demands satisfaction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwin-b-nuland/empires-fall-ids-explode-great-symphonies-are-written-and-behind-all/) [Sherwin B. Nuland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwin-b-nuland/) > [ Just between you and me, shouldn’t the World Bank be encouraging MORE migration of the dirty industries to the LDCs \[Less Developed Countries\]?... I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-summers/just-between-you-and-me-shouldn-t-the-world-bank-be-encouraging-more/) [Lawrence Summers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-summers/) > [After a few mouthfuls of moon-flavored air, even the stubbornly drowsy can find themselves wide-eyed.. All the normal noises of life were gone, leaving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-d-wilson/after-a-few-mouthfuls-of-moon-flavored-air-even-the-stubbornly-drowsy/) [N.D. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-d-wilson/) Browse all 6,789 Behinds quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Together we understood what terror was: you're not human anymore. You're a shadow. You slip out of your own skin, like molting, shedding your own history and your own future, leaving behind everything you ever were or wanted to believed in. You know you're about to die. And it's not a movie and you aren't a hero and all you can do is whimper and wait.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tim O'Brien" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/together-we-understood-what-terror-was-you-re-not-human-anymore-you/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Behinds" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/together-we-understood-what-terror-was-you-re-not-human-anymore-you/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d55/tim-o-brien-1818_behinds_together-we-understood-what-terror-was-y_2294361.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d55/tim-o-brien-1818_behinds_together-we-understood-what-terror-was-y_2294361.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d55/tim-o-brien-1818_behinds_together-we-understood-what-terror-was-y_2294361.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Together we understood what terror was: you're not human anymore. You're a shadow. You slip out of your own…” — Tim O'Brien", "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": "Tim O'Brien", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Together we understood what terror was:...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/together-we-understood-what-terror-was-you-re-not-human-anymore-you/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/together-we-understood-what-terror-was-you-re-not-human-anymore-you/#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 } } ] } ```