There's an old saying: 'No piece of writing is ever finished, it's just abandoned.' But my own rule is: No piece of work is done until you want to kill everyone involved in the publishing process, especially yourself.
Chuck PalahniukRead
This is how it is with insomnia. Everything is so far away, a copy of a copy of a copy. The insomnia distance of everything, you can't touch anything and nothing can touch you.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Insomnia creates a sense of detachment from reality, making everything feel distant and unreal.
In this quote, Chuck Palahniuk illustrates the profound effect of insomnia on one's perception of reality. The feeling of being disconnected, as if life is merely a series of imitations, underscores how sleeplessness can distort one's emotional and sensory experiences. It portrays a sense of isolation, where one feels that they cannot truly engage with the world around them, highlighting the poignant struggle of those who suffer from this condition.
Themes
InsomniaDetachmentPerceptionRealityIsolation
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about mental health, this quote can illustrate the struggles of insomnia.
More from Chuck Palahniuk
All quotes →Griping isn't the same as creating something. Rebelling isn't rebuilding. Ridiculing isn't replacing. We've taken the world apart but we have no idea what to do with the pieces.
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If we can forgive what’s been done to us... If we can forgive what we’ve done to others... If we can leave all of our stories behind. Our being villains or victims. Only then can we maybe rescue the world.
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We're all trapped. It's always 1734. All of us, we're stuck in the same time capsule, the same as those television shows where the same people are marooned on the same desert island for thirty seasons and never age or escape. They just wear more makeup. In a creepy way, those shows are maybe too authentic.
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One thing I really envy about my friends who have kids is that as their children develop, they're able to revisit their own developmental stages and recognise themselves and undo a lot of things they decided.
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If you knew that your life was merely a phase or short, short segment of your entire existence, how would you live? Knowing nothing 'real' was at risk, what would you do? You'd live a gigantic, bold, fun, dazzling life. You know you would. That's what the ghosts want us to do - all the exciting things they no longer can.
Chuck PalahniukRead
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