Post-Reading: Tell The Wolves I'm Home

3. "Once you know something, you can't ever unknow it."

To me this quote means that once you know something, no matter how much you want to, you can’t just unknow it. So many people can relate to this quote. So many people go through things they wish they hadn’t and want to forget, but they know they can’t. Like finding out a family secret. And no matter how hard you try you can’t forget about it. Sometimes you do things to keep your mind off of it, but eventually someone does something to remind you.

When you first find out something you want to forget you are shocked, too shocked to move. You feel like your world is collapsing and there is nothing you can do about it. You try to forget it, but you can’t. Sometimes the thing you learned is so bad you just want to forget it and go back to what it was like before you knew. But it’s better to let it out, to tell your friends or someone you trust, because if you keep it all inside one day everything will come out, and there is no stopping it.

In Tell The Wolves I’m Home June finds out about her uncle Finn’s “special friend,” Toby’s past, the secret room he hid in. She tries to push them out of her mind, but she can’t. Just like she tries to forget and ignore the fact that Toby was the one who gave Finn AIDS. She didn’t forget any of it, but she did forgive Toby and she became his friend. I think this was the right thing to do. Unlike her parents and sister who hated Toby, she forgave him and they became friends.

June wanted to completely forget everything that she had learned since Finn’s death. Toby, the hidden room in the basement of Finn’s apartment, her mom’s secrets and Greta’s. She wanted to forget all these things and go back to the things were before Finn died. But by the end of the book she accepted them and she felt like nothing could get to her.

In conclusion I agree with the quote. No matter how much you want to you can’t ever unknow something. You can’t forget because it changes you. Whether that be the way you see or the way you act, knowing something important (like June finding out Toby gave Finn AIDS) changes how you see someone. And a lot of the time these secrets you learn make you stronger they make you feel like nothing can get to you because you have already been through so much.