Normal, in our house, is like a blanket too short for a bed--sometimes it covers you just fine, and other times it leaves you cold and shaking; and worst of all, you never know which of the two it's going to be.
Jodi PicoultRead
It's like picking up an unfamiliar piece of sheet music & starting to stumble through it, only to realize it is a melody you'd once learned by heart, one you can play without even trying.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects the idea that some experiences or knowledge may be forgotten but can resurface effortlessly when revisited.
This quote by Jodi Picoult illustrates the concept of latent memory and the way we can rediscover skills, emotions, or knowledge that we thought we had lost. It compares this rediscovery to the experience of playing a familiar melody on an instrument, highlighting how our past experiences are always within us, waiting for the right moment to be awakened and expressed once again.
Themes
MemoryRediscoveryMusicLearningExperience
In practice
Example use cases
Using this quote during a motivational speech about the power of revisiting forgotten skills.
More from Jodi Picoult
All quotes →Whether it was power they sought, or revenge, or love-well, those were all just different forms of hunger. The bigger the hole inside you, the more desperate you became to fill it.
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she told me she'd be a phoenix." The image of the mythical creature rising from the ashes glitters in my mind. "They don't really exist." "She said that depends on whether or not there's someone who can see them.
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for 100,000 (dollars), you [can] flatten a house with a wrecking ball. Imagine how much less it [takes] to destroy something than it [does] to build it in the first place.
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But if you seek forgiveness, doesn't that automatically mean you cannot be a monster? By definition, doesn't that desperation make you human again?
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when you [lose someone], it feels like the hole in your gum when a tooth falls out. You can chew, you can eat, you have plenty of other teeth, but your tongue keeps going back to that empty place, where all nerves are still a little raw
Jodi PicoultRead
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