--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You build your world around someone, and…" description: "\"You build your world around someone, and then what happens when he disappears? Where do you go-into pieces, into atoms, into the arms of another man? Y..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/899/alice-hoffman-427_another-man_you-build-your-world-around-someone-and_1048338.png" --- # You build your world around someone, and then what happens… ![“You build your world around someone, and then what happens when he disappears? Where do you go-into pieces, into atoms, into the arms of another man? You go shopping, you cook dinner, you work odd hours, you make love to someone else on June nights. But you're not really there.” quote by Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/899/alice-hoffman-427_another-man_you-build-your-world-around-someone-and_1048338.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/899/alice-hoffman-427_another-man_you-build-your-world-around-someone-and_1048338.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/899/alice-hoffman-427_another-man_you-build-your-world-around-someone-and_1048338.png) > “You build your world around someone, and then what happens when he disappears? Where do you go-into pieces, into atoms, into the arms of another man? You go shopping, you cook dinner, you work odd hours, you make love to someone else on June nights. But you're not really there.” [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Building a life around another person leaves a void when they leave, forcing one to reconstruct identity through everyday actions. **In simple terms:** Dependence on others creates emptiness when they vanish. Key Takeaway Rebuild self through daily routines. Themes loss dependence identity resilience relationships Mood melancholic hopeful Type reflective emotional When to use this quote - breakups - career changes - relocation - grief counseling Key Concepts psychology existentialism self-reconstruction Questions to Reflect On - What habits help you maintain identity independent of relationships? - How can you find meaning after a major loss? A Different Perspective Overreliance on others can hinder personal growth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Atoms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atoms/) [Dinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dinner/) [June](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/june/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night/) [Shopping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shopping/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [One believes that if nothing happens, one disappears. That is not true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabelle-adjani/one-believes-that-if-nothing-happens-one-disappears-that-is-not-true/) [Isabelle Adjani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabelle-adjani/) > [If any man dared to translate all that is in his heart, to put down what is really his experience, what is truly his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/if-any-man-dared-to-translate-all-that-is-in-his-heart-to-put-down/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“in the forty-five years centered on 1910, the nature of the atom was first understood—partly by shooting pieces of atoms at atoms and watching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/in-the-forty-five-years-centered-on-1910-the-nature-of-the-atom-was/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Just because something is unspoken doesn't mean that it disappears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/just-because-something-is-unspoken-doesn-t-mean-that-it-disappears/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [“You build your world around someone, and then what happens when he disappears? Where do you go- into pieces, into atoms, into the arms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/you-build-your-world-around-someone-and-then-what-happens-when-he/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [Nothing in this world happens without a reason. That we are all exactly where we are supposed to be, and that the pieces of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-green/nothing-in-this-world-happens-without-a-reason-that-we-are-all/) [Jane Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-green/) > [“We don’t accomplish anything in the world alone and whatever happens is the result of the whole tapestry off one’s life and all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-day-o-connor/we-don-t-accomplish-anything-in-the-world-alone-and-whatever-happens/) [Sandra Day O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-day-o-connor/) > [“Every tragedy that happens in the world happens to my mother,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/every-tragedy-that-happens-in-the-world-happens-to-my-mother/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [“The sense of the world must lie outside the world. In the world everything is as it is, and everything happens as it does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/the-sense-of-the-world-must-lie-outside-the-world-in-the-world/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) > [So, the world happens twice-- once what we see it as; second it legends itself deep, the way it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/so-the-world-happens-twice-once-what-we-see-it-as-second-it-legends/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“There are two things in the world: feeding the ego or breaking it. Everyone’s ego is either being fed or being shattered in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/there-are-two-things-in-the-world-feeding-the-ego-or-breaking-it/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [Remember that you create your world. It’s not what happens to you, but how you choose to deal with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-delany/remember-that-you-create-your-world-it-s-not-what-happens-to-you-but/) [Dana Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-delany/) > [“Everything in this world happens with a purpose. You are born in this world with a purpose, you are chosen by purpose.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/udai-yadla/everything-in-this-world-happens-with-a-purpose-you-are-born-in-this/) [Udai Yadla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/udai-yadla/) > [“Miracles happen quietly every day—in an operating room, on a stormy sea, in the sudden appearance of a roadside stranger. They are rarely tallied.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/miracles-happen-quietly-every-day-in-an-operating-room-on-a-stormy/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [The awkward moment when you predict the end of the world and nothing happens :P](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-awkward-moment-when-you-predict-the-end-of-the-world-and-nothing/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Alice Hoffman > [Women know things that men will never know. We keep the best secrets. We tell the best stories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/women-know-things-that-men-will-never-know-we-keep-the-best-secrets/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [“All of the quarters in his hand were tarnished. He had no idea that the silver in a man’s pockets always turns black if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/all-of-the-quarters-in-his-hand-were-tarnished-he-had-no-idea-that/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [But most important of all, she explained that it was all right to say 'No. I disagree.' that was a gift. I understood it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/but-most-important-of-all-she-explained-that-it-was-all-right-to-say/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [“It was after dark when the woods were most filled with magic, when there were fireflies and the mist was rising from the streams.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/it-was-after-dark-when-the-woods-were-most-filled-with-magic-when/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [“Never look back, that's what she's told herself. Don't think about swans or being alone in the dark. Don't think of storms, or lightning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/never-look-back-that-s-what-she-s-told-herself-don-t-think-about/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [This was what it meant to be human, to know that time moved and all things changed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/this-was-what-it-meant-to-be-human-to-know-that-time-moved-and-all/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [“She preferred cats to human beings and turned down every offer from the men who fell in love with her.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/she-preferred-cats-to-human-beings-and-turned-down-every-offer-from/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [I'm a really eclectic reader.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/i-m-a-really-eclectic-reader/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [It's not the lie that's the problem; it's the distance the lie forges between you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/it-s-not-the-lie-that-s-the-problem-it-s-the-distance-the-lie-forges/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [“Her vision was going, but she could see him, the way people see clouds-beautiful, racing by, casting shadows.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/her-vision-was-going-but-she-could-see-him-the-way-people-see-clouds/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [That's why there are ten gates to pass through before you reach the garden. If life were easy there would be one gate. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/that-s-why-there-are-ten-gates-to-pass-through-before-you-reach-the/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [“...the summer of the gypsy moths when all the trees in their yard were bare, the leaves chewed by caterpillars. You could hear crunching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/the-summer-of-the-gypsy-moths-when-all-the-trees-in-their-yard-were/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [“The best way to die is when you're living.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/the-best-way-to-die-is-when-you-re-living/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [“Haylin was given a good talking-to by the headmaster and made to write a paper about workers’ rights, which he considered a privilege rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/haylin-was-given-a-good-talking-to-by-the-headmaster-and-made-to/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [My darling girl, when are you going to realize that being normal is not necessarily a virtue? It rather denotes a lack of courage."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/my-darling-girl-when-are-you-going-to-realize-that-being-normal-is/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) [Explore all 571 Alice Hoffman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) ## More Another man quotes > [ Next came the Patent laws. These began in England in 1624; and, in this country, with the adoption of our constitution. 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