--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Like a medical procedure,' Ruth said…" description: "\"Like a medical procedure,' Ruth said. 'Intricate surgery is needed to patch up the planet.\" — Alice Sebold" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6da/alice-sebold-999_medical_like-a-medical-procedure-ruth-said-intri_2348295.jpg" --- # Like a medical procedure,' Ruth said. 'Intricate surgery… ![“Like a medical procedure,' Ruth said. 'Intricate surgery is needed to patch up the planet.” quote by Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6da/alice-sebold-999_medical_like-a-medical-procedure-ruth-said-intri_2348295.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6da/alice-sebold-999_medical_like-a-medical-procedure-ruth-said-intri_2348295.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6da/alice-sebold-999_medical_like-a-medical-procedure-ruth-said-intri_2348295.jpg) > “Like a medical procedure,' Ruth said. 'Intricate surgery is needed to patch up the planet.” [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Healing the world requires careful, precise effort like delicate surgery. **In simple terms:** Fix the planet with careful work. Key Takeaway Approach global problems methodically. Themes environment healing precision Mood hopeful urgent Type activist inspirational When to use this quote - policy reform - community projects - scientific research Key Concepts systemic change sustainability delicate intervention Questions to Reflect On - What small steps can you take to improve the environment? - Who can you collaborate with for systemic change? A Different Perspective Complex issues may resist simple fixes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Intricate Surgery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intricate-surgery-5708468/) [Medical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/medical/) [Medicine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/medicine/) [Needed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needed/) [Patch Planet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patch-planet-5708469/) [Patch up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patch-up/) [Patches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patches/) [Planets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/planets/) [Procedure Ruth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/procedure-ruth-5708467/) [Procedures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/procedures/) [Ruth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ruth/) [Ruth Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ruth-said-3361827/) [Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/said/) [Surgery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surgery/) [Surgery Needed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surgery-needed-2080139/) ## Related quotes > [“Do you ever think of her?' she asked. They were quiet again. All the time,' Ruth said. A chill ran down my spine. 'Sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/do-you-ever-think-of-her-she-asked-they-were-quiet-again-all-the-time/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [Whether it's mending a failing company, fighting corruption, tackling disease, or rebuilding a marriage, the hardest problems defy just-add-water remedies. Indeed, slapping on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-honor/whether-it-s-mending-a-failing-company-fighting-corruption-tackling/) [Carl Honore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-honor/) > [If I could turn back the clock, magically deleting my prostate cancer, the surgery I needed and its complications, would I do so? It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-monbiot/if-i-could-turn-back-the-clock-magically-deleting-my-prostate-cancer/) [George Monbiot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-monbiot/) > [“I'm not consciously hiding anything.' After Ruth said that she wondered whether it was true. Then again, who revealed everything - the irritation, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/i-m-not-consciously-hiding-anything-after-ruth-said-that-she-wondered/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [“singing has to come from the inside, and i don’t have anything left inside.’ ‘really?’ Ruth said, amazed, ‘How did that happen?’ ‘it all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-rivers/singing-has-to-come-from-the-inside-and-i-don-t-have-anything-left-2/) [Francine Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-rivers/) > [“I’m a novelist,” Ruth said. “I can’t help it. My narrative preferences are all I’ve got.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-ozeki/i-m-a-novelist-ruth-said-i-can-t-help-it-my-narrative-preferences-are/) [Ruth Ozeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-ozeki/) > [“Ruth said, "Love isn't just wanting another person the way you want to own an object you see in a store. That's just desire.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/ruth-said-love-isn-t-just-wanting-another-person-the-way-you-want-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“And Ruth said, Entreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pam-jenoff/and-ruth-said-entreat-me-not-to-leave-thee-or-to-return-from/) [Pam Jenoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pam-jenoff/) > [Your mama is so fat and stupid, she heard you say Babe Ruth and said I'll take eight of them](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/your-mama-is-so-fat-and-stupid-she-heard-you-say-babe-ruth-and-said-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Processions that lack high stilts have nothing that catches the eye. What if my great-granddad had a pair that were twenty foot high, And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/processions-that-lack-high-stilts-have-nothing-that-catches-the-eye/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [“The smoke burns slightly down my throat and to my lungs. I focus on this, and empty my head, empty the images of Skye’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-witter/the-smoke-burns-slightly-down-my-throat-and-to-my-lungs-i-focus-on/) [Stephanie Witter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-witter/) > [A person taking stock in middle age is like an artist or composer looking at an unfinished work; but whereas the composer and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-broudy/a-person-taking-stock-in-middle-age-is-like-an-artist-or-composer/) [Harry S. Broudy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-broudy/) > [God does not patch up the old life, or make certain repairs on the old life; He gives a new life, through the new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-kuhlman/god-does-not-patch-up-the-old-life-or-make-certain-repairs-on-the-old/) [Kathryn Kuhlman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-kuhlman/) > [“With you and me, I don't know what anything means. We're pushing each other away and yet I don't seem to be able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-witter/with-you-and-me-i-don-t-know-what-anything-means-we-re-pushing-each/) [Stephanie Witter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-witter/) > [“It's not as if we're running a hospital for sick children down here, let's put it that way. Where's the nobility in patching up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/it-s-not-as-if-we-re-running-a-hospital-for-sick-children-down-here/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) ## More by Alice Sebold > [Now I am in the place I call this wide wide Heaven because it includes all my simplest desires but also the most humble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/now-i-am-in-the-place-i-call-this-wide-wide-heaven-because-it/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [I left my mark on that man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/i-left-my-mark-on-that-man/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [These things, she felt, were not to be passed around like disingenuous party favors. She kept an honor code with her journals and her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/these-things-she-felt-were-not-to-be-passed-around-like-disingenuous/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [I don't think ignorance is a way that you gain distance on something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/i-don-t-think-ignorance-is-a-way-that-you-gain-distance-on-something/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [I was like I was in science class: I was curious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/i-was-like-i-was-in-science-class-i-was-curious/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“There are secret rooms inside us,” I had said to my therapist. “A relatively benign construct,” he said, and so I did not bother…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/there-are-secret-rooms-inside-us-i-had-said-to-my-therapist-a/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“This is just a temporary hell, not a permanent one”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/this-is-just-a-temporary-hell-not-a-permanent-one/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“And a soul would run by a living being, touch them softly on the shoulder or cheek, and continue on its way to heaven.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/and-a-soul-would-run-by-a-living-being-touch-them-softly-on-the/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [As if in the other side of his kiss there could ve a new life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/as-if-in-the-other-side-of-his-kiss-there-could-ve-a-new-life/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“My little brother's greatest fear was that the one person who meant so much to him would go away. He loved Lindsey and Grandma…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/my-little-brother-s-greatest-fear-was-that-the-one-person-who-meant/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“She listened for the pain in my words, not to the narrative itself. She was intuiting what it meant to me, what was most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/she-listened-for-the-pain-in-my-words-not-to-the-narrative-itself-she/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [The relationship with the words someone uses is more intimate and integrated than just a quick read and a blurb can ever be. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/the-relationship-with-the-words-someone-uses-is-more-intimate-and/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [Ruth hadn't talked to my sister since before my death, and then it was only to excuse herself in the hallway at school. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/ruth-hadn-t-talked-to-my-sister-since-before-my-death-and-then-it-was/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [Since then I've always thought that under rape in the dictionary it should tell the truth. It is not just forcible intercourse; rape means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/since-then-i-ve-always-thought-that-under-rape-in-the-dictionary-it/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [I live in a world where two truths coexist: where both hell and hope lie in the palm of my hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/i-live-in-a-world-where-two-truths-coexist-where-both-hell-and-hope/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) [Explore all 302 Alice Sebold quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) ## More Medical quotes > [When I went to medical school, the term 'digital' applied only to rectal exams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-topol/when-i-went-to-medical-school-the-term-digital-applied-only-to-rectal/) [Eric Topol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-topol/) > [Trust is about keeping commitments, but in many instances, circumstances change and organizations therefore shed commitments, things such as retiree medical benefits, pension obligations,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-pfeffer/trust-is-about-keeping-commitments-but-in-many-instances/) [Jeffrey Pfeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-pfeffer/) > [My parents were born into a secular country. They met in Turkey's top medical school, moved to America in the nineteen-seventies, and became researchers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/my-parents-were-born-into-a-secular-country-they-met-in-turkey-s-top/) [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) > [The miracle drugs (neuroleptics) cause the worst plague of brain damage in medical history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-breggin/the-miracle-drugs-neuroleptics-cause-the-worst-plague-of-brain-damage/) [Peter Breggin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-breggin/) > [The World Health Organisation has a lot of its medical experts sitting in Geneva while hospitals in Africa have no drugs and desperate patients…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-hanson/the-world-health-organisation-has-a-lot-of-its-medical-experts/) [Pauline Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-hanson/) > [Considering community support and cost-benefit analysis, I have supported earmarks for projects of high public purpose involving such areas as higher education, alternative energy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-fortenberry/considering-community-support-and-cost-benefit-analysis-i-have/) [Jeff Fortenberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-fortenberry/) > [I'd like to think Helen very much understood what it was to be disadvantaged in the medical field. And that that was something that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-stuart-masterson/i-d-like-to-think-helen-very-much-understood-what-it-was-to-be/) [Mary Stuart Masterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-stuart-masterson/) > [“You don’t look like much, but they say you murdered that other chick.” Treating Murder”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-black/you-don-t-look-like-much-but-they-say-you-murdered-that-other-chick/) [Gabrielle Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-black/) > [No doubt, clinical practice in alleviating malaria symptoms utilizing Qinghao - inherited from traditional Chinese medical literature - provided some useful information leading to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tu-youyou/no-doubt-clinical-practice-in-alleviating-malaria-symptoms-utilizing/) [Tu Youyou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tu-youyou/) > [Some Iranian doctors from Europe and America go to Iran and operate for free or teach medical students there. 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