--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When he recalls it in later years, he…" description: "\"“When he recalls it in later years, he will wonder if he is distorting it, embellishing it, because each time he consciously recalls her, that forms a ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e52/abraham-verghese-1533_memory_when-he-recalls-it-in-later-years-he-wil_788895.png" --- # When he recalls it in later years, he will wonder if he is… ![“When he recalls it in later years, he will wonder if he is distorting it, embellishing it, because each time he consciously recalls her, that forms a new memory, a new imprint to be stacked on top of the previous one. He fears that too much handling will make it crumble.” quote by Abraham Verghese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e52/abraham-verghese-1533_memory_when-he-recalls-it-in-later-years-he-wil_788895.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e52/abraham-verghese-1533_memory_when-he-recalls-it-in-later-years-he-wil_788895.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e52/abraham-verghese-1533_memory_when-he-recalls-it-in-later-years-he-wil_788895.png) > ““When he recalls it in later years, he will wonder if he is distorting it, embellishing it, because each time he consciously recalls her, that forms a new memory, a new imprint to be stacked on top of the previous one. He fears that too much handling will make it crumble.”” [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. Recalling memories reshapes them, creating new layers that can degrade the original truth. **In simple terms:** Memory changes each time we recall it. Key Takeaway Recall with care to preserve authenticity. Themes memory identity truth Mood thoughtful cautious Type philosophical psychological When to use this quote - therapy sessions - personal storytelling - historical documentation Key Concepts neuroplasticity subjective recollection fragility Questions to Reflect On - How does repeated recollection affect personal truth? - Can we ever retrieve an untouched memory? A Different Perspective Memory alteration can lead to false narratives. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Consciously Recalls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consciously-recalls-3147025/) [Later Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/later-years-522882/) [Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) [New Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-memory-3147026/) [Previous Fears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/previous-fears-6063038/) [Wonder Distorting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wonder-distorting-6063039/) ## Related quotes > [“How cruel it is that this memory should surface in a winter storm so long after she is dead. How cruel to have this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-verghese/how-cruel-it-is-that-this-memory-should-surface-in-a-winter-storm-so/) [Abraham Verghese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-verghese/) > [“Sorry. Whenever a new memory pops up, it sort of takes me by surprise. It’s like finding a lost piece of a puzzle.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-dee/sorry-whenever-a-new-memory-pops-up-it-sort-of-takes-me-by-surprise/) [Bonnie Dee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-dee/) > [Now, we have inscribed a new memory alongside those others. It's a memory of tragedy and shock, of loss and mourning. But not only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/now-we-have-inscribed-a-new-memory-alongside-those-others-it-s-a/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [“What is interesting about you today, would not create new memory tomorrow braze up and create that envisage memory that is glaring you within.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anikor-daniel/what-is-interesting-about-you-today-would-not-create-new-memory/) [ANIKOR Daniel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anikor-daniel/) > [In my father's later years he asked several times that I remember him the way I knew him. He said that after his death,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-grant/in-my-father-s-later-years-he-asked-several-times-that-i-remember-him/) [Jennifer Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-grant/) > [Aging is no accident. It is necessary to the human condition, intended by the soul. We become more characteristic of who we are simply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hillman/aging-is-no-accident-it-is-necessary-to-the-human-condition-intended/) [James Hillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hillman/) > [In later years, during what might be called my gray-outs — when I was conscious but not myself — I craved foods that were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-tierney/in-later-years-during-what-might-be-called-my-gray-outs-when-i-was/) [Gene Tierney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-tierney/) > [My later years are my treasure years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-hay/my-later-years-are-my-treasure-years/) [Louise Hay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-hay/) > [...the hard work and poverty of my childhoodturned out to be my greatest asset in later years. Nothing could ever seem too hard after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-sanders/the-hard-work-and-poverty-of-my-childhoodturned-out-to-be-my-greatest/) [Sue Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-sanders/) > [I have known plenty of people who, in their later years, had the energy of children and the kind of curiosity and fascination with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-depp/i-have-known-plenty-of-people-who-in-their-later-years-had-the-energy/) [Johnny Depp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-depp/) > [People who have escaped from poverty are like old soldiers. In later years they recount the little, amusing incidents that happened infrequently, and conveniently…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elsa-maxwell/people-who-have-escaped-from-poverty-are-like-old-soldiers-in-later/) [Elsa Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elsa-maxwell/) > [“I know only that civilizations seem to be like people. They are born, they grow to maturity, then they age and lose their vitality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-l-amour/i-know-only-that-civilizations-seem-to-be-like-people-they-are-born/) [Louis L'Amour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-l-amour/) > [In the early years, you fight because you don't understand each other. In the later years, you fight because you do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/in-the-early-years-you-fight-because-you-don-t-understand-each-other/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“For however one may come in later years to reassess one’s achievements, it is always a consolation to know that one’s life has contained…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/for-however-one-may-come-in-later-years-to-reassess-one-s/) [Kazuo Ishiguro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/) > [The good news is that even a bad and painful childhood may be put behind in our later years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kumar-anupam/the-good-news-is-that-even-a-bad-and-painful-childhood-may-be-put/) [Kumar Anupam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kumar-anupam/) ## 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 Memory quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [“Maybe there is something when it all ends. Maybe there is memory, memory of the person you loved, when you lived. Maybe this is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-ellison/maybe-there-is-something-when-it-all-ends-maybe-there-is-memory/) [Kate Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-ellison/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [Memory is funny. Once you hit a vein the problem is not how to remember but how to control the flow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-wolff/memory-is-funny-once-you-hit-a-vein-the-problem-is-not-how-to/) [Tobias Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-wolff/) > [Once upon a time. Ah forget it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/once-upon-a-time-ah-forget-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I am told many children block out the memory of trauma. In fact, the healing process can only truly begin when we are willing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phoebe-stone/i-am-told-many-children-block-out-the-memory-of-trauma-in-fact-the/) [Phoebe Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phoebe-stone/) > [“The whole town rushed outside to celebrate this crowded minute when the time of suffering had ended and the time of forgetting had not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-whole-town-rushed-outside-to-celebrate-this-crowded-minute-when/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [I have a memory like an elephant. I remember every elephant I've ever met.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herb-caen/i-have-a-memory-like-an-elephant-i-remember-every-elephant-i-ve-ever/) [Herb Caen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herb-caen/) > [Your memory is a monster; you forget - it doesn't. It simply files things away. It keeps things for you, or hides things from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/your-memory-is-a-monster-you-forget-it-doesn-t-it-simply-files-things/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [My first Olympics memory was watching Haile Gebrselassie in Sydney 2000. His sprint finish to defend his title really moved me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-farah/my-first-olympics-memory-was-watching-haile-gebrselassie-in-sydney/) [Mo Farah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-farah/) > [That old man dies prematurely whose memory records no benefits conferred. They only have lived long who have lived virtuously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/that-old-man-dies-prematurely-whose-memory-records-no-benefits/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > [My greatest memories as a kid were playing sports with my dad and watching sports with my dad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-teixeira/my-greatest-memories-as-a-kid-were-playing-sports-with-my-dad-and/) [Mark Teixeira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-teixeira/) > [What’s the use of remembering anything? If it was unpleasant it was unpleasant and if it was pleasant it’s over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-dundy/what-s-the-use-of-remembering-anything-if-it-was-unpleasant-it-was/) [Elaine Dundy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-dundy/) > [Always remember a little thing can change everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/always-remember-a-little-thing-can-change-everything/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If God knows me I will never forget him](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trunxbeats/if-god-knows-me-i-will-never-forget-him/) [Trunxbeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trunxbeats/) [Browse all 12,248 Memory quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“When he recalls it in later years, he will wonder if he is distorting it, embellishing it, because each time he consciously recalls her, that forms a new memory, a new imprint to be stacked on top of the previous one. 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