--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Life, too, is like that. You live it…" description: "\"“Life, too, is like that. You live it forward, but understand it backward.\" from CUTTING FOR STONE”\" — Abraham Verghese" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a5/abraham-verghese-1533_backward_life-too-is-like-that-you-live-it-forwar_175410.png" --- # Life, too, is like that. You live it forward, but… ![“Life, too, is like that. You live it forward, but understand it backward." from CUTTING FOR STONE” quote by Abraham Verghese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a5/abraham-verghese-1533_backward_life-too-is-like-that-you-live-it-forwar_175410.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a5/abraham-verghese-1533_backward_life-too-is-like-that-you-live-it-forwar_175410.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a5/abraham-verghese-1533_backward_life-too-is-like-that-you-live-it-forwar_175410.png) > ““Life, too, is like that. You live it forward, but understand it backward." from CUTTING FOR STONE”” [Abraham Verghese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-verghese/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life is experienced forward but only fully understood when reflected upon later. **In simple terms:** We act now, understand later. Key Takeaway Live fully, then reflect. Themes life reflection time Mood thoughtful contemplative Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - daily decisions - career planning - personal growth - historical analysis Key Concepts philosophy experience awareness Questions to Reflect On - How does hindsight change your view of past actions? - What can you learn by reviewing past experiences? A Different Perspective Understanding may be limited by hindsight bias. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ## Related quotes > [“Life is like that. You live it forward but understand it backward.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-verghese/life-is-like-that-you-live-it-forward-but-understand-it-backward/) [Abraham Verghese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-verghese/) > [“Life too is like that. You live it forward, but understand it backward.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-verghese/life-too-is-like-that-you-live-it-forward-but-understand-it-backward-3/) [Abraham Verghese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-verghese/) > [You live it forward, but understand it backward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-verghese/you-live-it-forward-but-understand-it-backward/) [Abraham Verghese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-verghese/) > [“IT’S SAID that you can only live life forward and understand it backward.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-welch/it-s-said-that-you-can-only-live-life-forward-and-understand-it/) [Jack Welch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-welch/) > [Life, too, is like that. You live it forward, but understand it backward. It is only when you stop and look to the rear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-verghese/life-too-is-like-that-you-live-it-forward-but-understand-it-backward-2/) [Abraham Verghese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-verghese/) > [Life can only be understood backwards but you have to live it forward. You can only do that by stepping into uncertainty and by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-handy/life-can-only-be-understood-backwards-but-you-have-to-live-it-forward/) [Charles Handy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-handy/) > [Listen to your own voice. Don't listen to someone else's. To me the way to live is to always move forward - to keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-young/listen-to-your-own-voice-don-t-listen-to-someone-else-s-to-me-the-way/) [Neil Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-young/) > [We don't live in reverse. We live forward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-griffin/we-don-t-live-in-reverse-we-live-forward/) [Eddie Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-griffin/) > [“If only life could be lived backward, we'd know the mistakes not to make,' Kylee thought, 'and instead of losing all we knew peck…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-london/if-only-life-could-be-lived-backward-we-d-know-the-mistakes-not-to/) [Alex London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-london/) > [“Life can only be understood going backward, but must be lived going forward.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/life-can-only-be-understood-going-backward-but-must-be-lived-going/) [SOREN KIERKEGAARD](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [“We live our lives in forward motion, but only understand them when looking backward. I therefore challenge you to keep a six- to twelve-month…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-c-neal/we-live-our-lives-in-forward-motion-but-only-understand-them-when/) [Mary C. Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-c-neal/) > [Honestly, if you were any slower, you’d be going backward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/honestly-if-you-were-any-slower-you-d-be-going-backward/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Whoever said that the past isn’t dead had it backward. It’s the future that’s already dead, already played out. This whole night has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gayle-forman/whoever-said-that-the-past-isn-t-dead-had-it-backward-it-s-the-future/) [Gayle Forman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gayle-forman/) > [“Thus the thoughtless drift backward toward slavery.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carter-g-woodson/thus-the-thoughtless-drift-backward-toward-slavery/) [Carter G. Woodson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carter-g-woodson/) > [I hate looking backward, but every once in a while it sneaks up on you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burt-lancaster/i-hate-looking-backward-but-every-once-in-a-while-it-sneaks-up-on-you/) [Burt Lancaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/burt-lancaster/) ## More by Abraham Verghese > [I've never bought this idea of taking a therapeutic distance. If I see a student or house staff cry, I take great faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-verghese/i-ve-never-bought-this-idea-of-taking-a-therapeutic-distance-if-i-see/) [Abraham Verghese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-verghese/) > [I love to read poetry but I haven't written anything that I'm willing to show anybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-verghese/i-love-to-read-poetry-but-i-haven-t-written-anything-that-i-m-willing/) [Abraham Verghese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-verghese/) > [We come unbidden into this life, and if we are lucky we find a purpose beyond starvation, misery, and early death which, lest we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-verghese/we-come-unbidden-into-this-life-and-if-we-are-lucky-we-find-a-purpose/) [Abraham Verghese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-verghese/) > [I think America is really in denial about the degree to which residents, particularly foreign medical graduates, man the county hospitals of this country,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-verghese/i-think-america-is-really-in-denial-about-the-degree-to-which/) [Abraham Verghese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-verghese/) > [“Do they listen?" He held up a finger. "Every year one does," he said, ginning, "But that one makes it worthwhile. Even Jesus only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-verghese/do-they-listen-he-held-up-a-finger-every-year-one-does-he-said/) [Abraham Verghese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-verghese/) > [“It seems we humans never learn. And so we relearn the lesson every generation and then want to write epistles. We proselytize to our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-verghese/it-seems-we-humans-never-learn-and-so-we-relearn-the-lesson-every/) [Abraham Verghese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-verghese/) > [It was all I had, all I've ever had, the only currency, the only proof that I was alive. Memory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-verghese/it-was-all-i-had-all-i-ve-ever-had-the-only-currency-the-only-proof/) [Abraham Verghese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-verghese/) > [“There it was, Hema must have thought; it was both the sorry and the thank-you that was so long overdue, and the funny thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-verghese/there-it-was-hema-must-have-thought-it-was-both-the-sorry-and-the/) [Abraham Verghese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-verghese/) > [“This is my life, I thought, as my taxi slogged through heavy traffic and inched through the tunnel to Logan Airport. I have excised…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-verghese/this-is-my-life-i-thought-as-my-taxi-slogged-through-heavy-traffic/) [Abraham Verghese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-verghese/) > [“I could see that the almost mystical aura of this legendary surgeon -- the single-mindedness, the dedication, the skill -- was mere surface. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-verghese/i-could-see-that-the-almost-mystical-aura-of-this-legendary-surgeon/) [Abraham Verghese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-verghese/) > [“As a child I'd longed for Thomas Stone or at least the idea of him. So many mornings I waited for him at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-verghese/as-a-child-i-d-longed-for-thomas-stone-or-at-least-the-idea-of-him-so/) [Abraham Verghese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-verghese/) > [“The reader, knowing nothing about the ‘dark continent,’ filled in the blanks. Pictured Stone in a tent, kerosene lamp held up by a Hottentot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-verghese/the-reader-knowing-nothing-about-the-dark-continent-filled-in-the/) [Abraham Verghese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-verghese/) > [“This was what growing up was about: hide the corpse, don't bare your heart, do make assumptions about the motives of others. They're certainly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-verghese/this-was-what-growing-up-was-about-hide-the-corpse-don-t-bare-your/) [Abraham Verghese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-verghese/) > [“And as for my father? No, he wouldn't ever walk through those gates; I now knew that. Whatever Thomas Stone had, wherever he was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-verghese/and-as-for-my-father-no-he-wouldn-t-ever-walk-through-those-gates-i/) [Abraham Verghese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-verghese/) > [“... telling herself stories about herself in a singsong voice, creating her own mythology.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-verghese/telling-herself-stories-about-herself-in-a-singsong-voice-creating/) [Abraham Verghese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-verghese/) [Explore all 230 Abraham Verghese quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-verghese/) ## More Backward quotes > [I hate looking backward, but every once in a while it sneaks up on you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burt-lancaster/i-hate-looking-backward-but-every-once-in-a-while-it-sneaks-up-on-you/) [Burt Lancaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/burt-lancaster/) > [“Thus the thoughtless drift backward toward slavery.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carter-g-woodson/thus-the-thoughtless-drift-backward-toward-slavery/) [Carter G. Woodson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carter-g-woodson/) > [“Whoever said that the past isn’t dead had it backward. It’s the future that’s already dead, already played out. This whole night has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gayle-forman/whoever-said-that-the-past-isn-t-dead-had-it-backward-it-s-the-future/) [Gayle Forman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gayle-forman/) > [Honestly, if you were any slower, you’d be going backward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/honestly-if-you-were-any-slower-you-d-be-going-backward/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I learn things in a backward way. I learn all those limitations, and slowly my brain soaks them up, and if things go right,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-odenkirk/i-learn-things-in-a-backward-way-i-learn-all-those-limitations-and/) [Bob Odenkirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-odenkirk/) > [“It took us a while to discover that we do effectively think, but that we more readily narrate backward in order to give ourselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/it-took-us-a-while-to-discover-that-we-do-effectively-think-but-that/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [“Our habit of wishing backward from what is to what might have been is the soft but persistent tapping that cracks the crystal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kirn/our-habit-of-wishing-backward-from-what-is-to-what-might-have-been-is/) [Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kirn/) > [The thing I love most about my job is watching people age backward, becoming more lively and energetic as they free themselves from situations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/the-thing-i-love-most-about-my-job-is-watching-people-age-backward/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [“Dreaming her way backward in time, resurrecting images, the young girl realized, with wonder, that the absent are always present, that you don't make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-shields/dreaming-her-way-backward-in-time-resurrecting-images-the-young-girl/) [Carol Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-shields/) > [“Us ballplayers do things backward. First we play, then we retire and go to work. —CHARLIE GEHRINGER”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lori-wilde/us-ballplayers-do-things-backward-first-we-play-then-we-retire-and-go-2/) [Lori Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lori-wilde/) > [This was the Darker Life, where every truth was written backward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/this-was-the-darker-life-where-every-truth-was-written-backward/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Backward, flow backward, O tide of the years!I am so weary of toil and of tears,-Toil without recompense, tears all in vain!Take them, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-chase-allen/backward-flow-backward-o-tide-of-the-years-i-am-so-weary-of-toil-and/) [Elizabeth Chase Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-chase-allen/) > [I loved you backward and forward in time. I loved you beyond boundaries of time and space.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/i-loved-you-backward-and-forward-in-time-i-loved-you-beyond/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [Nobody gets to live life backward. Look ahead; that is where your future lies. Opportunities are usually disguised as hard work, so most people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-landers/nobody-gets-to-live-life-backward-look-ahead-that-is-where-your/) [Ann Landers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-landers/) > [The poorest and most backward societies are always those that put women down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/the-poorest-and-most-backward-societies-are-always-those-that-put/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) Browse all 340 Backward quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Life, too, is like that. You live it forward, but understand it backward.\" from CUTTING FOR STONE”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Abraham Verghese" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-verghese/life-too-is-like-that-you-live-it-forward-but-understand-it-backward/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Backward" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-verghese/life-too-is-like-that-you-live-it-forward-but-understand-it-backward/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a5/abraham-verghese-1533_backward_life-too-is-like-that-you-live-it-forwar_175410.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a5/abraham-verghese-1533_backward_life-too-is-like-that-you-live-it-forwar_175410.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a5/abraham-verghese-1533_backward_life-too-is-like-that-you-live-it-forwar_175410.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Life, too, is like that. You live it forward, but understand it backward.\" from CUTTING FOR STONE” — Abraham Verghese", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Abraham Verghese", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-verghese/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Life, too, is like that. You...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-verghese/life-too-is-like-that-you-live-it-forward-but-understand-it-backward/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-verghese/life-too-is-like-that-you-live-it-forward-but-understand-it-backward/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```