--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: An aching vacuum inside her sucking the…" description: "\"“An aching vacuum inside her sucking the air from her lungs. She hung her head and wept fiercely, the emptiness inside her growing larger not smaller; ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ee/alan-brennert-14608_aching_an-aching-vacuum-inside-her-sucking-the_1777963.jpg" --- # An aching vacuum inside her sucking the air from her… ![“An aching vacuum inside her sucking the air from her lungs. She hung her head and wept fiercely, the emptiness inside her growing larger not smaller; she felt as though it would grow so large it would suffocate her just as surely as the sea would have” quote by Alan Brennert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ee/alan-brennert-14608_aching_an-aching-vacuum-inside-her-sucking-the_1777963.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ee/alan-brennert-14608_aching_an-aching-vacuum-inside-her-sucking-the_1777963.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ee/alan-brennert-14608_aching_an-aching-vacuum-inside-her-sucking-the_1777963.jpg) > ““An aching vacuum inside her sucking the air from her lungs. She hung her head and wept fiercely, the emptiness inside her growing larger not smaller; she felt as though it would grow so large it would suffocate her just as surely as the sea would have”” [Alan Brennert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-brennert/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A character feels an overwhelming emptiness that threatens to suffocate her, symbolizing deep emotional despair. **In simple terms:** She feels a crushing emptiness inside. Key Takeaway Seek connection to fill the void. Themes despair loneliness mental health Mood somber reflective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - grief counseling - therapy - support groups - creative writing Key Concepts psychology existential crisis emotional trauma Questions to Reflect On - What does the “vacuum” represent for you? - How can you confront overwhelming emptiness? A Different Perspective Physical health may be ignored while focusing on emotional pain. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Emptiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emptiness/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Sea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sea/) [Suffocate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffocate/) ## Related quotes > [And, hungry for the old, familiar ways, I turned aside and bowed my head and wept.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-mckay/and-hungry-for-the-old-familiar-ways-i-turned-aside-and-bowed-my-head/) [Claude McKay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-mckay/) > [“Words know how to suffocate lies to exhale the truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/munia-khan/words-know-how-to-suffocate-lies-to-exhale-the-truth/) [Munia Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/munia-khan/) > [“I woke up in the middle of the night suffocating and gasping for breath. After a minute or so of difficulty breathing, I realized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/i-woke-up-in-the-middle-of-the-night-suffocating-and-gasping-for/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [“Physics extra credit: What should you do if you are stuck on frictionless ice? Assume you are nude and there is no atmospheric resistance.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blythe-woolston/physics-extra-credit-what-should-you-do-if-you-are-stuck-on/) [Blythe Woolston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blythe-woolston/) > [Always be your husband's best friend, make him laugh and give him a little bit of freedom - you can't suffocate him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roselyn-sanchez/always-be-your-husband-s-best-friend-make-him-laugh-and-give-him-a/) [Roselyn Sanchez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roselyn-sanchez/) > [“To schedule life is to miss it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/to-schedule-life-is-to-miss-it/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [Affliction is more apt to suffocate the imagination than to stimulate it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-levertov/affliction-is-more-apt-to-suffocate-the-imagination-than-to-stimulate/) [Denise Levertov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-levertov/) > [“You put your own joy in prison if you work hard to make other people’s happiness suffocate.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/you-put-your-own-joy-in-prison-if-you-work-hard-to-make-other-people/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [“Smile, so your teeth won't suffocate.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-evans/smile-so-your-teeth-won-t-suffocate/) Katherine Evans > [It's just so nice when your pet isn't all needy. I need a lot of space, so dogs suffocate me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerli/it-s-just-so-nice-when-your-pet-isn-t-all-needy-i-need-a-lot-of-space/) [Kerli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerli/) > [So sorrie I suffocate you... It must feel like I hate you! x'D](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-merrow/so-sorrie-i-suffocate-you-it-must-feel-like-i-hate-you-x-d/) [James Merrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-merrow/) > [“What would I do without you to give me clarity?" "I imagine you'd suffocate yourself by shoving your head too far up your own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kady-cross/what-would-i-do-without-you-to-give-me-clarity-i-imagine-you-d/) [Kady Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kady-cross/) > [You can suffocate a thought by expressing it with too many words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-a-clark/you-can-suffocate-a-thought-by-expressing-it-with-too-many-words/) [Frank A. Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-a-clark/) > [The more you cling to what was, the more you suffocate the life out of this moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-more-you-cling-to-what-was-the-more-you-suffocate-the-life-out-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A man can suffocate on courtesy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/a-man-can-suffocate-on-courtesy/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) ## More by Alan Brennert > [“There is beauty in the least beautiful of things.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-brennert/there-is-beauty-in-the-least-beautiful-of-things/) [Alan Brennert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-brennert/) > [“Old Korean adage, "Even jade has flaws." Or, in other words: Nothing in life is ever perfect.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-brennert/old-korean-adage-even-jade-has-flaws-or-in-other-words-nothing-in/) [Alan Brennert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-brennert/) > [“Summer in Honolulu brings the sweet smell of mangoes, guava, and passionfruit, ripe for picking; it arbors the streets with the fiery red umbrellas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-brennert/summer-in-honolulu-brings-the-sweet-smell-of-mangoes-guava-and/) [Alan Brennert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-brennert/) > [Perhaps you need to look back before you can move ahead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-brennert/perhaps-you-need-to-look-back-before-you-can-move-ahead/) [Alan Brennert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-brennert/) > [“We moved into Jade Moon's rooming house within the week, and slowly she and I found that our friendship, though damaged, was like fabric…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-brennert/we-moved-into-jade-moon-s-rooming-house-within-the-week-and-slowly/) [Alan Brennert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-brennert/) > [“Isn't it strange, how one so afraid of contracting a fatal malady...should so earnestly wish for death, as well?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-brennert/isn-t-it-strange-how-one-so-afraid-of-contracting-a-fatal-malady/) [Alan Brennert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-brennert/) > [God didn't give man wings; He gave him the brains and the spirit to give himself wings. Just as He gave us the capacity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-brennert/god-didn-t-give-man-wings-he-gave-him-the-brains-and-the-spirit-to/) [Alan Brennert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-brennert/) > [“They toured the new hospital, the renovated and expanded McVeigh Home, and the (named without apparent irony) Bay View Home for the Blind and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-brennert/they-toured-the-new-hospital-the-renovated-and-expanded-mcveigh-home/) [Alan Brennert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-brennert/) > [“Carve the peg by looking at the hole.' Eddie looked at me blankly and I explained, 'An old Korean saying. It means, Do things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-brennert/carve-the-peg-by-looking-at-the-hole-eddie-looked-at-me-blankly-and-i/) [Alan Brennert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-brennert/) > [“...she bid me to look out on the lawn at the leper girls who were running on lame feet, playing croquet with crippled hands.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-brennert/she-bid-me-to-look-out-on-the-lawn-at-the-leper-girls-who-were/) [Alan Brennert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-brennert/) > [“She had never been afraid of the dark, but then she had never known a dark like this before.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-brennert/she-had-never-been-afraid-of-the-dark-but-then-she-had-never-known-a/) [Alan Brennert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-brennert/) > [I've come to believe that how we choose to live with pain, or injustice, or death…is the true measure of the Divine within us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-brennert/i-ve-come-to-believe-that-how-we-choose-to-live-with-pain-or/) [Alan Brennert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-brennert/) > [“...and all they could do was sit, sleep, eat, and be reminded day after day, night after night, of their disease and eventual death.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-brennert/and-all-they-could-do-was-sit-sleep-eat-and-be-reminded-day-after-day/) [Alan Brennert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-brennert/) > [“But no - I was his wife, and it was my duty to share his pain as I shared his success. I walked out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-brennert/but-no-i-was-his-wife-and-it-was-my-duty-to-share-his-pain-as-i/) [Alan Brennert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-brennert/) > [“What's it like? Being married? Cold feet. Middle of the night you're sleeping, suddenly, wham, you've got ice cold feet warming themselves on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-brennert/what-s-it-like-being-married-cold-feet-middle-of-the-night-you-re/) [Alan Brennert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-brennert/) [Explore all 46 Alan Brennert quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-brennert/) ## More Aching quotes > [I didn't care if I was aching or hurting. I wanted to give the fans their money's worth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruno-sammartino/i-didn-t-care-if-i-was-aching-or-hurting-i-wanted-to-give-the-fans/) [Bruno Sammartino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruno-sammartino/) > [I'm empty and aching, and I don't know why.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-and-garfunkel/i-m-empty-and-aching-and-i-don-t-know-why/) [Simon And Garfunkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-and-garfunkel/) > [“She had that aching feeling again, that feeling she knew was happiness. It seemed not only unfamiliar but terribly fragile—and frightening. She wondered how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-t-geissinger/she-had-that-aching-feeling-again-that-feeling-she-knew-was-happiness/) [J.T. Geissinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-t-geissinger/) > [This should be agony. I should be a mass of aching muscle - broken, spent, unable to move. And, were I an older man,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-miller/this-should-be-agony-i-should-be-a-mass-of-aching-muscle-broken-spent/) [Frank Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-miller/) > [We're quietly aching for something to celebrate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-nepo/we-re-quietly-aching-for-something-to-celebrate/) [Mark Nepo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-nepo/) > [The only thing that cures the ache of loneliness is the ache of true love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-cervantes/the-only-thing-that-cures-the-ache-of-loneliness-is-the-ache-of-true/) [Andrew Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-cervantes/) > [Love- what is love? A great and aching heart; Wrung hands; and silence; and a long despair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/love-what-is-love-a-great-and-aching-heart-wrung-hands-and-silence/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [“I went to a box room at the top of the house and locked myself in, in order to be alone with my aching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-wells-2/i-went-to-a-box-room-at-the-top-of-the-house-and-locked-myself-in-in/) [H.G. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-g-wells-2/) > [“I was aching—all my body was aching for him, and I could tell he felt the same—and we were both almost too shy to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/i-was-aching-all-my-body-was-aching-for-him-and-i-could-tell-he-felt/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [“I nodded. More time. I wanted all the clocks to stop, for this moment to last as long as possible, even though the pain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denna-ray/i-nodded-more-time-i-wanted-all-the-clocks-to-stop-for-this-moment-to/) [Denna Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denna-ray/) > [I have suffered from migraines since childhood and have long been curious about my own aching head, my dizziness, my divine lifting feelings, my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/i-have-suffered-from-migraines-since-childhood-and-have-long-been/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) > [“Will you still love me When I'm no longer young and beautiful? Will you still love me When I got nothing but my aching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lana-del-rey/will-you-still-love-me-when-i-m-no-longer-young-and-beautiful-will/) [Lana Del Rey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lana-del-rey/) > [If I touch a burning candle, I can feel no pain. In the ice or in the sun, it's all the same. Yet I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-i-touch-a-burning-candle-i-can-feel-no-pain-in-the-ice-or-in-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Desperate need and hunger overpowered something more vulnerable; an aching desire to know me, all of me, and to be known. To love and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deanna-chase/desperate-need-and-hunger-overpowered-something-more-vulnerable-an/) [Deanna Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deanna-chase/) > [I don't think too much about age. Maybe if you're hurting, aching and arthritic, then you think about it a lot. But I don't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-newhart/i-don-t-think-too-much-about-age-maybe-if-you-re-hurting-aching-and/) [Bob Newhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-newhart/) Browse all 111 Aching quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“An aching vacuum inside her sucking the air from her lungs. 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