--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All the dead bolts, pulled shades and…" description: "\"All the dead bolts, pulled shades and hidden knives in the world couldn't protect you from the truth.\" — Wally Lamb" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/542/wally-lamb-1817_knives_all-the-dead-bolts-pulled-shades-and-hid_1795392.jpg" --- # All the dead bolts, pulled shades and hidden knives in the… ![“All the dead bolts, pulled shades and hidden knives in the world couldn't protect you from the truth.” quote by Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/542/wally-lamb-1817_knives_all-the-dead-bolts-pulled-shades-and-hid_1795392.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/542/wally-lamb-1817_knives_all-the-dead-bolts-pulled-shades-and-hid_1795392.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/542/wally-lamb-1817_knives_all-the-dead-bolts-pulled-shades-and-hid_1795392.jpg) > “All the dead bolts, pulled shades and hidden knives in the world couldn't protect you from the truth.” [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Even the most thorough defenses cannot shield a person from harsh reality. **In simple terms:** No defense stops truth. Key Takeaway Accept truth despite protection attempts. Themes vulnerability truth defense Mood reflective somber Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - personal crisis - relationship conflict - self‑deception - denial Key Concepts existentialism psychology Questions to Reflect On - How do you react when truth shatters your safety? - What defenses do you rely on? A Different Perspective Truth may be painful and destabilizing. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Shade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shade/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [In the end, being Mrs Imran Khan couldn't protect me. Even the divorce announcement couldn't stop the hate campaign waged in the press to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reham-khan/in-the-end-being-mrs-imran-khan-couldn-t-protect-me-even-the-divorce/) [Reham Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reham-khan/) > [“A bulletproof vest under everything else. I couldn’t do anything to protect my head, but at least my hair looked good. I”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karina-halle/a-bulletproof-vest-under-everything-else-i-couldn-t-do-anything-to/) [Karina Halle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karina-halle/) > [“It’s a very private moment when your heart breaks. I was thankful we were alone. I knew I couldn’t keep her, but I would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-g-holster/it-s-a-very-private-moment-when-your-heart-breaks-i-was-thankful-we/) [S.G. Holster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-g-holster/) > [“Maybe that's why he watched over all of us--because of the ones he couldn't protect, he took care of the ones he could.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-cupala/maybe-that-s-why-he-watched-over-all-of-us-because-of-the-ones-he/) [Holly Cupala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-cupala/) > [“I couldn't save you before. I couldn't protect you from them. And when you said that, about... about me drowning you... Am I any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-maas/i-couldn-t-save-you-before-i-couldn-t-protect-you-from-them-and-when/) [Sarah J. Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/) > [She had to face the fact that she couldn't protect everyone she loved. She couldn't solve every problem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/she-had-to-face-the-fact-that-she-couldn-t-protect-everyone-she-loved/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [Sometimes I remember that I can't always protect those I love." Under his fingers, her hair was soft and silky. She didn't try to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nalini-singh/sometimes-i-remember-that-i-can-t-always-protect-those-i-love-under/) [Nalini Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nalini-singh/) > [“I would lie of course. I lied a lot and with good reason: to protect the truth—safeguard it like wearing fake gems to keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/i-would-lie-of-course-i-lied-a-lot-and-with-good-reason-to-protect/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [“Loving someone means being prepared to do anything to protect them. Even if the only thing you can protect them from is the truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-greene/loving-someone-means-being-prepared-to-do-anything-to-protect-them/) [Matt Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-greene/) > [“Who will protect your rights better? A king, president or you? Who will protect the truth? A reporter, a labor union or you? Who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-beck/who-will-protect-your-rights-better-a-king-president-or-you-who-will/) [Glenn Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-beck/) > [Just like skin is needed to protect the flesh and blood¦ a lie was needed to protect the truth..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/just-like-skin-is-needed-to-protect-the-flesh-and-blood-a-lie-was/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You will never find the real truth among people that are insecure or have egos to protect. Truth over time becomes either guarded or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/you-will-never-find-the-real-truth-among-people-that-are-insecure-or/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [Build an inner place to protect your truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bach/build-an-inner-place-to-protect-your-truth/) [Richard Bach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bach/) > [The number one job of a leader is to protect the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-spence/the-number-one-job-of-a-leader-is-to-protect-the-truth/) Roy Spence > [“There are always rumors, and there are always secrets. And secrets within secrets. They protect us. The truth can be manipulated. But we live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianna-baggott/there-are-always-rumors-and-there-are-always-secrets-and-secrets/) [Julianna Baggott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianna-baggott/) ## More by Wally Lamb > [“Sometimes we want something to be true so badly that we convince ourselves that it is true.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/sometimes-we-want-something-to-be-true-so-badly-that-we-convince/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) > [I like to write first-person because I like to become the character I'm writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/i-like-to-write-first-person-because-i-like-to-become-the-character-i/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) > [But I think this: that whatever prices I've paid, whatever sorrows I shoulder, well, I have blessings, too. Not just my family now, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/but-i-think-this-that-whatever-prices-i-ve-paid-whatever-sorrows-i/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) > [“why would white dudes want to change things when they held all the cards?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/why-would-white-dudes-want-to-change-things-when-they-held-all-the/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) > [“And in taking on the subject of themselves-making themselves vulnerable to the unseen reader-they have exchanged powerlessness for for the power that comes with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/and-in-taking-on-the-subject-of-themselves-making-themselves/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) > [“People had always amazed him, he began. But they amazed him more since the sickness. For as long as the two of them had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/people-had-always-amazed-him-he-began-but-they-amazed-him-more-since/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) > [“So I got my stuff and the girl at the register puts these other things in my bag, too. Little free samples: gum and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/so-i-got-my-stuff-and-the-girl-at-the-register-puts-these-other/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) > [What if I don’t like adventure? Then cultivate a taste for it. Take a chance. That’s how you grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/what-if-i-don-t-like-adventure-then-cultivate-a-taste-for-it-take-a/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) > [“Guess what?' I said. 'I have a psychic.' His head tilted questioningly, birdlike. A sidekick?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/guess-what-i-said-i-have-a-psychic-his-head-tilted-questioningly/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) > [The evidence of God exists in the roundness of things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/the-evidence-of-god-exists-in-the-roundness-of-things/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) > [Life is a whoopee cushion, a chair pulled away just as you were taking a seat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/life-is-a-whoopee-cushion-a-chair-pulled-away-just-as-you-were-taking/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) > [“What I remembered about those seesaw rides was the way Thomas would get mad at me, midride, and evacuate. Send me crashing back down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/what-i-remembered-about-those-seesaw-rides-was-the-way-thomas-would/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) > [“I didn't respond to him. Couldn't speak at all. Couldn't look at his self-mutilation--not even the clean, bandaged version of it. Instead, I looked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/i-didn-t-respond-to-him-couldn-t-speak-at-all-couldn-t-look-at-his/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) > [I write to find out what the story means to me, that is what I try to do especially with the first draft.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/i-write-to-find-out-what-the-story-means-to-me-that-is-what-i-try-to/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) > [“As anxious and limited as that love might have been, it had been love nonetheless.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/as-anxious-and-limited-as-that-love-might-have-been-it-had-been-love/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) [Explore all 204 Wally Lamb quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) ## More Knives quotes > [A man has a right to use a saw, an axe, a plane, separately; may he not combine their uses on the same piece…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/a-man-has-a-right-to-use-a-saw-an-axe-a-plane-separately-may-he-not/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [It must be that I am dreaming, and that I shall awaken in a moment to see that awful knife descending toward my heart-…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-rice-burroughs/it-must-be-that-i-am-dreaming-and-that-i-shall-awaken-in-a-moment-to/) [Edgar Rice Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-rice-burroughs/) > [The supposedly immaterial soul, we now know, can be bisected with a knife, altered by chemicals, started or stopped by electricity, and extinguished by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/the-supposedly-immaterial-soul-we-now-know-can-be-bisected-with-a/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [If you see someone lying out knives and forks consistently, but then one day those knives and forks become weapons you're not sure if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-fuqua/if-you-see-someone-lying-out-knives-and-forks-consistently-but-then/) [Antoine Fuqua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-fuqua/) > [In golf, driving is a game of free-swinging muscle control, while putting is something like performing eye surgery and using a bread knife for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-bolt/in-golf-driving-is-a-game-of-free-swinging-muscle-control-while/) [Tommy Bolt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-bolt/) > [I gotta friend who spends his life, stabbing my picture with a bowie knife. Dreams of strangling me with a scarf, when my name…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/i-gotta-friend-who-spends-his-life-stabbing-my-picture-with-a-bowie/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [There were different kinds of strength. I knew that now. It didn't always come from a knife or a willingness to fight. Sometimes it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-aguirre/there-were-different-kinds-of-strength-i-knew-that-now-it-didn-t/) [Ann Aguirre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-aguirre/) > [This is really good,” Donovan Caine said, attacking his third strawberry pancake. “You sound surprised,” I said. He shrugged. “I just didn’t think an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-estep/this-is-really-good-donovan-caine-said-attacking-his-third-strawberry/) [Jennifer Estep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-estep/) > [Before I could lose my courage, I said, "Don't I get a kiss for luck? It's kind of a tradition, right?" I figured she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/before-i-could-lose-my-courage-i-said-don-t-i-get-a-kiss-for-luck-it/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [If the people of Sheffield could only receive a tenth part of what their knives sell for by retail in America, Sheffield might pave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-cobbett/if-the-people-of-sheffield-could-only-receive-a-tenth-part-of-what/) [William Cobbett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-cobbett/) > [Way out in the country tonight he could smell the pumpkins ripening toward the knife and the triangle eye and the singeing candle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/way-out-in-the-country-tonight-he-could-smell-the-pumpkins-ripening/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [What is that in his hand?" "A cleaver. As in-" "Butcher's knife." "You got it." "I hope not." "He does not look happy." "Are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ridley-pearson/what-is-that-in-his-hand-a-cleaver-as-in-butcher-s-knife-you-got-it-i/) [Ridley Pearson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ridley-pearson/) > [If you want to understand what a watermelon is, you take a watermelon, get a knife, and cut the watermelon. Then you put a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seungsahn/if-you-want-to-understand-what-a-watermelon-is-you-take-a-watermelon/) [Seungsahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seungsahn/) > [... the running shoe ... could be called the Swiss Army knife of footwear ... What appeal is there to a shoe whose only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mimi-pond/the-running-shoe-could-be-called-the-swiss-army-knife-of-footwear/) [Mimi Pond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mimi-pond/) > [The value of a dollar is to buy just things; a dollar goes on increasing in value with all the genius and all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-value-of-a-dollar-is-to-buy-just-things-a-dollar-goes-on/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) Browse all 903 Knives quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "All the dead bolts, pulled shades and hidden knives in the world couldn't protect you from the truth.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Wally Lamb" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/all-the-dead-bolts-pulled-shades-and-hidden-knives-in-the-world/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Knives" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/all-the-dead-bolts-pulled-shades-and-hidden-knives-in-the-world/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/542/wally-lamb-1817_knives_all-the-dead-bolts-pulled-shades-and-hid_1795392.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/542/wally-lamb-1817_knives_all-the-dead-bolts-pulled-shades-and-hid_1795392.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/542/wally-lamb-1817_knives_all-the-dead-bolts-pulled-shades-and-hid_1795392.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“All the dead bolts, pulled shades and hidden knives in the world couldn't protect you from the truth.” — Wally Lamb", "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": "Wally Lamb", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "All the dead bolts, pulled shades...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/all-the-dead-bolts-pulled-shades-and-hidden-knives-in-the-world/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/all-the-dead-bolts-pulled-shades-and-hidden-knives-in-the-world/#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 } } ] } ```