---
title: "2 Hard things Quotes By Tim O'Brien"
description: "2 Hard things quotes by Tim O'Brien. Plus more from Tim O'Brien and more Hard things sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a5c/tim-o-brien-1818_afraid_it-s-a-hard-thing-to-explain-to-somebody_1839137.jpg"
---

> [It’s a hard thing to explain to somebody who hasn’t felt it, but the presence of death and danger has a way of bringing you fully awake. It makes things vivid. When you’re afraid, really afraid, you see things you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/it-s-a-hard-thing-to-explain-to-somebody-who-hasn-t-felt-it-but-the/)

[Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a5c/tim-o-brien-1818_afraid_it-s-a-hard-thing-to-explain-to-somebody_1839137.jpg)

> [It's a hard thing to explain to somebody who hasn't felt it, but the presence of death and danger has a way of bringing you fully awake. It makes things vivid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/it-s-a-hard-thing-to-explain-to-somebody-who-hasn-t-felt-it-but-the-2/)

[Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/224/tim-o-brien-1818_awake_it-s-a-hard-thing-to-explain-to-somebody_2405301.jpg)

## Other authors on Hard things

- [Cal Newport 5 quotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard-things/cal-newport/)

## More by Tim O'Brien

> [“Yes, the issue was courage. It always had been, even as a kid. Things scared him. He couldn't help it. Noise scared him, dark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/yes-the-issue-was-courage-it-always-had-been-even-as-a-kid-things/)

[Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/)

> [It's very hard to articulate the things that are important about writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/it-s-very-hard-to-articulate-the-things-that-are-important-about/)

[Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/)

> [The thing about a story is that you dream it as you tell it, hoping that others might then dream along with you, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/the-thing-about-a-story-is-that-you-dream-it-as-you-tell-it-hoping/)

[Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/)

> [Fiction, maybe art in general, is a tentative, uncertain enterprise; it's not science, it's an exploration, but you never find much in the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/fiction-maybe-art-in-general-is-a-tentative-uncertain-enterprise-it-s/)

[Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/)

> [“I learned that words make a difference. It's easier to cope with a kicked bucked than a corpse; if it isn't human, it doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/i-learned-that-words-make-a-difference-it-s-easier-to-cope-with-a/)

[Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/)

> [“Stories are for eternity, when memory is erased, when there is nothing to remember except the story.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/stories-are-for-eternity-when-memory-is-erased-when-there-is-nothing/)

[Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/)

> [“The story' Sanders would say "the whole tone, man, you're wrecking it." Tone?' The sound. You need to get a consitent sound, like slow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/the-story-sanders-would-say-the-whole-tone-man-you-re-wrecking-it/)

[Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/)

> [“On occasions the war was like a Ping-Pong ball. You could put fancy spin on it, you could make it dance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/on-occasions-the-war-was-like-a-ping-pong-ball-you-could-put-fancy/)

[Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/)

> [“They were afraid of dying, but they were even more afraid to show it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/they-were-afraid-of-dying-but-they-were-even-more-afraid-to-show-it/)

[Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/)

> [“Forty-three years old, and the war occurred half a lifetime ago, and yet the remembering makes it now. And sometimes remembering will lead to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/forty-three-years-old-and-the-war-occurred-half-a-lifetime-ago-and/)

[Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/)

> [“He thought about the difference between good times and bad times, and how funny it was that he could not state the difference, only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/he-thought-about-the-difference-between-good-times-and-bad-times-and/)

[Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/)

> [A lie, sometimes, can be truer than the truth, which is why fiction gets written.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/a-lie-sometimes-can-be-truer-than-the-truth-which-is-why-fiction-gets/)

[Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/)

> [My life is storytelling. I believe in stories, in their incredible power to keep people alive, to keep the living alive, and the dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/my-life-is-storytelling-i-believe-in-stories-in-their-incredible/)

[Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/)

> [With a hangover and with fear, it is difficult to put a helmet on your head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/with-a-hangover-and-with-fear-it-is-difficult-to-put-a-helmet-on-your/)

[Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/)

> [“Peace never bragged. If you didn't look for it, it wasn't there.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/peace-never-bragged-if-you-didn-t-look-for-it-it-wasn-t-there/)

[Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/)

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