Life with most teenagers was like having a low-grade bladder infection. It hurts, but you had to tough it out.
Anne LamottRead
You will lose someone you can’t live without,and your heart will be badly broken, and the bad news is that you never completely get over the loss of your beloved. But this is also the good news. They live forever in your broken heart that doesn’t seal back up. And you come through. It’s like having a broken leg that never heals perfectly—that still hurts when the weather gets cold, but you learn to dance with the limp.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Loss is painful, but it also holds a lasting connection to those we love.
The quote reflects on the deep pain of losing someone truly important in our lives. It acknowledges that while the grief may never completely subside, it also preserves the memory and love for that person within us. Like an injury that never fully heals, we learn to adapt and find joy despite the hurt, which can even enrich our lives and shape our experiences moving forward.
Themes
LossGriefLoveMemoryHealingHeartbreak
In practice
Example use cases
Sharing this quote at a memorial service to honor a loved one.
More from Anne Lamott
All quotes →Or you might shout at the top of your lungs or whisper into your sleeve, "I hate you, God." That is a prayer too, because it is real, it is truth, and maybe it is the first sincere thought you've had in months.
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Your problem is how you are going to spend this one odd and precious life you have been issued. Whether you're going to spend it trying to look good and creating the illusion that you have power over people and circumstances, or whether you are going to taste it, enjoy it and find out the truth about who you are.
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It is hard to remember that you are a cherished spiritual being when you're burping up apple fritters and Cheetos.
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Gorgeous, amazing things come into our lives when we are paying attention: mangoes, grandnieces, Bach, ponds. This happens more often when we have as little expectation as possible. If you say, "Well, that's pretty much what I thought I'd see," you are in trouble. At that point you have to ask yourself why you are even here. [...] Astonishing material and revelation appear in our lives all the time. Let it be. Unto us, so much is given. We just have to be open for business.
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...because when people have seen you at their worst, you don't have to put on the mask as much.
Anne LamottRead
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