Lucy says, "We do not know anybody, not even ourselves. Except a little tiny, tiny bit we do." What do you make of this statement?

At the close of the book, Lucy says, "We do not know anybody, not even ourselves. Except a little tiny, tiny bit we do." What do you make of this statement? Have you found it to be true in your life?

We may think we know ourselves, but the experiences of our lives change us and our perceptions. This is also true of knowing others in our lives. No one stays the same. When one is as insecure as Lucy, how can she truly know who she is?

I think she means our perception of ourselves is always so different than how others see us. We often do not see our own strengths as well as our own shortcomings

Jos makes a good point—others don’t see us as we see ourselves. We also don’t really understand how we’re affected by our environment, the love we receive or not, and the experiences that make us who we are. Lucy was lucky enough to discover much about herself through people who cared for her and those for whom she cared.

Lucy is correct - most people are not self aware - what is the old saying - we are 3 people - the person we think we are - the person others think we are -the person we really are

How can we truly be self aware unless we work a lot on learning what creates the trouble spots in our lives that repeat in different ways and do something to change/improve them? I think that Lucy became more self aware about her relationship with William, her own upbringing and how it all had shaped her own life during the the trip that they took together.

I think Lucy is right. We never really, completely know how we will react in a given circumstance. I am sure, if asked, "would you go away on vacation with William?", the week before, Lucy would have said "no." What happened or inspired her to take him up on the offer? Even Lucy probably couldn't answer. We see ourselves one way, and yet every thing we experience changes us in some way.

How right these words are!

I don't know that I agree with the posters above. I kind of think I really DO know myself, including how others view me. Now, as far as knowing others, I definitely don't think I know anyone, not even my husband. I can predict how he'll react to things, but generally whatever's going on in his head is a mystery to me.