--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I joined him, laughing because we had…" description: "\"“I joined him, laughing because we had looked death in the face and lived to tell about it, laughing because I didn't want to cry.”\" — Amy Harmon" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/215/amy-harmon-1093_death_i-joined-him-laughing-because-we-had-loo_780833.png" --- # I joined him, laughing because we had looked death in the… ![“I joined him, laughing because we had looked death in the face and lived to tell about it, laughing because I didn't want to cry.” quote by Amy Harmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/215/amy-harmon-1093_death_i-joined-him-laughing-because-we-had-loo_780833.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/215/amy-harmon-1093_death_i-joined-him-laughing-because-we-had-loo_780833.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/215/amy-harmon-1093_death_i-joined-him-laughing-because-we-had-loo_780833.png) > ““I joined him, laughing because we had looked death in the face and lived to tell about it, laughing because I didn't want to cry.”” [Amy Harmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-harmon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Facing death together creates a bond that transforms fear into shared laughter **In simple terms:** Shared trauma can become a source of joy and connection Key Takeaway Find humor after hardship to heal together Themes resilience empathy humor Mood hopeful introspective Type inspirational reflective When to use this quote - surviving illness - combat veterans - disaster relief - family loss Key Concepts Existential crisis catharsis Questions to Reflect On - How does humor help process trauma? - When can laughter become avoidance? A Different Perspective Laughter may mask unresolved grief ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Joined Laughing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joined-laughing-3582672/) [Laughing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laughing/) [Laughing Didn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laughing-didn-1137039/) [Laughing Looked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laughing-looked-4209605/) [Looked Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looked-death-2991128/) [Tell Laughing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tell-laughing-623640/) ## Related quotes > [“She smiled. “Do that again,” he breathed. So Sorscha smiled again, laughing. And he looked so baffled by it that she asked, “What?” “That’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-maas/she-smiled-do-that-again-he-breathed-so-sorscha-smiled-again-laughing/) [Sarah J. Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/) > [Only a short time ago, I learned that people laughed at me. Now I can see that unknowingly I joined them in laughing at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-keyes/only-a-short-time-ago-i-learned-that-people-laughed-at-me-now-i-can/) [Daniel Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-keyes/) > [I was a comedian in Russia, and I worked on the cruise ships there. I met a lot of Americans, and they were laughing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yakov-smirnoff/i-was-a-comedian-in-russia-and-i-worked-on-the-cruise-ships-there-i/) [Yakov Smirnoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yakov-smirnoff/) > [People make a lot of jokes about the empty nest. Let me tell you, it is no laughing matter. It is really hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-pfeiffer/people-make-a-lot-of-jokes-about-the-empty-nest-let-me-tell-you-it-is/) [Michelle Pfeiffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-pfeiffer/) > [“But you can't feel bad every second, I wanted to tell her. Laughing doesn’t make bad things worse any more than crying makes them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ransom-riggs/but-you-can-t-feel-bad-every-second-i-wanted-to-tell-her-laughing/) [Ransom Riggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ransom-riggs/) > [No one can tell if I’m laughing or weeping. I wonder myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/no-one-can-tell-if-i-m-laughing-or-weeping-i-wonder-myself/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [“You must be joking! What exactly could they be laughing about?” “Well, I didn’t hear it directly, of course. Kenan told Füsun. And she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/you-must-be-joking-what-exactly-could-they-be-laughing-about-well-i/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [“Eriko raised me that way," he said, laughing. "If I didn't open the door for her, she'd get mad and refuse to get in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banana-yoshimoto/eriko-raised-me-that-way-he-said-laughing-if-i-didn-t-open-the-door/) [Banana Yoshimoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banana-yoshimoto/) > [“I say, sir, you sir, who are hiding yourself behind that shutter—yes, you, sir, tell me what you are laughing at, and we will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/i-say-sir-you-sir-who-are-hiding-yourself-behind-that-shutter-yes-you/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [“It was so good to see him in there, yet so funny to find him so much like me, and so tiny. "Nice kingdom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-james-duncan/it-was-so-good-to-see-him-in-there-yet-so-funny-to-find-him-so-much/) [David James Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-james-duncan/) > [I've looked death in the face, I'm not obsessed with it, but it is a relevant topic for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/everlast/i-ve-looked-death-in-the-face-i-m-not-obsessed-with-it-but-it-is-a/) [Everlast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/everlast/) > [The eunuch had looked death in the face, so near he might have kissed her on the lips.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin-2/the-eunuch-had-looked-death-in-the-face-so-near-he-might-have-kissed/) [George R. R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin-2/) > [I looked at death and I said fuck you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-limn/i-looked-at-death-and-i-said-fuck-you/) [Jeremy Limn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-limn/) > [I looked at death in the face once...and it was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-looked-at-death-in-the-face-once-and-it-was-the-most-beautiful/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I looked death in the eye - and it was a terrible experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virgil-van-dijk/i-looked-death-in-the-eye-and-it-was-a-terrible-experience/) [Virgil van Dijk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virgil-van-dijk/) ## More by Amy Harmon > [“You can't control who loves you...you can't let someone love you anymore than you can make someone love you”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-harmon/you-can-t-control-who-loves-you-you-can-t-let-someone-love-you/) [Amy Harmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-harmon/) > [“I love the way you smile at me... knocks me on my arse.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-harmon/i-love-the-way-you-smile-at-me-knocks-me-on-my-arse/) [Amy Harmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-harmon/) > [“When the ancient Romans would conquer a new place or a new people, they would leave the language and the customs in tact –…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-harmon/when-the-ancient-romans-would-conquer-a-new-place-or-a-new-people/) [Amy Harmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-harmon/) > [“Maybe it was just Mr. Wilson's obvious love of the subject he taught. Maybe it was simply his cool accent and his youth. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-harmon/maybe-it-was-just-mr-wilson-s-obvious-love-of-the-subject-he-taught/) [Amy Harmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-harmon/) > [“It wasn't nothing. It was something.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-harmon/it-wasn-t-nothing-it-was-something/) [Amy Harmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-harmon/) > [“Once upon a time there was a little blackbird, pushed out of the nest, unwanted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-harmon/once-upon-a-time-there-was-a-little-blackbird-pushed-out-of-the-nest/) [Amy Harmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-harmon/) > [“Do you think about how I look when you kiss me?" "Yes." His voice was raspy. "I think about your long red hair and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-harmon/do-you-think-about-how-i-look-when-you-kiss-me-yes-his-voice-was/) [Amy Harmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-harmon/) > [“If God made all our faces, did he laugh when he made me? Does he make the legs that cannot walk and eyes that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-harmon/if-god-made-all-our-faces-did-he-laugh-when-he-made-me-does-he-make/) [Amy Harmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-harmon/) > [But maybe you see beauty in me because you are beautiful, not because I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-harmon/but-maybe-you-see-beauty-in-me-because-you-are-beautiful-not-because/) [Amy Harmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-harmon/) > [“I keep wishing you had had a better life...a different life. But a different life would have made you a different Blue." He looked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-harmon/i-keep-wishing-you-had-had-a-better-life-a-different-life-but-a/) [Amy Harmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-harmon/) > [“You can’t find the end of infinity. There is no end. So if you can’t tack space onto the end of infinity, you have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-harmon/you-can-t-find-the-end-of-infinity-there-is-no-end-so-if-you-can-t/) [Amy Harmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-harmon/) > [“News flash, Fern Taylor! Everything has changed! You are beautiful, I am hideous, you don’t need me anymore, but I sure as hell need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-harmon/news-flash-fern-taylor-everything-has-changed-you-are-beautiful-i-am/) [Amy Harmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-harmon/) > [“No. It can’t happen because I’m a Jew. And it’s now against the law for Catholics to marry Jews. It’s against the law for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-harmon/no-it-can-t-happen-because-i-m-a-jew-and-it-s-now-against-the-law-for/) [Amy Harmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-harmon/) > [“Silence, daughter. Stay alive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-harmon/silence-daughter-stay-alive/) [Amy Harmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-harmon/) > [The real thing, when done right , is always better than a daydream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-harmon/the-real-thing-when-done-right-is-always-better-than-a-daydream/) [Amy Harmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-harmon/) [Explore all 294 Amy Harmon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-harmon/) ## More Death quotes > [“He wondered how it was fair that your dying should depend so much on when you were born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/he-wondered-how-it-was-fair-that-your-dying-should-depend-so-much-on/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [I do not want to live at the cost of the life even of a snake. I should let him bite me to death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-to-live-at-the-cost-of-the-life-even-of-a-snake-i/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“It was beautiful. He thought he had never seen anything so beautiful in all his life; that, having seen it, he could die content,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/it-was-beautiful-he-thought-he-had-never-seen-anything-so-beautiful/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [Retirement? You're talking about death, right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-altman/retirement-you-re-talking-about-death-right/) [Robert Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-altman/) > [With multiplayer, permanent death, and an ever-changing world to explore and conquer, 'A Valley Without Wind' might be the place you're looking for if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-manuel/with-multiplayer-permanent-death-and-an-ever-changing-world-to/) [Rob Manuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-manuel/) > [“What did you see?” she asked gently. His brow furrowed, as if he could not understand the question. Then his eyes turned to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-anthony-torino/what-did-you-see-she-asked-gently-his-brow-furrowed-as-if-he-could/) [J. Anthony Torino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-anthony-torino/) > [Those whose life is long still strive for gain, and for all mortals all things take second place to money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/those-whose-life-is-long-still-strive-for-gain-and-for-all-mortals/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [“I practice Dying--every night-- But have not learned to, still-- Though Talented--by Mortal bones-- For such a common Skill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-powers/i-practice-dying-every-night-but-have-not-learned-to-still-though/) [Alan W. Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-w-powers/) > [“You must understand the pain and grief of losing someone is nothing more than a function of survival.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-cooper/you-must-understand-the-pain-and-grief-of-losing-someone-is-nothing/) [Steven Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-cooper/) > [I am not a depressive person at all, but I reflect a lot on my life, and life in general, from the perspective of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/i-am-not-a-depressive-person-at-all-but-i-reflect-a-lot-on-my-life/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [“Death is a reality that calls the rest of life and all of our assorted strivings into sharp relief.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/death-is-a-reality-that-calls-the-rest-of-life-and-all-of-our/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [I love life. I love life to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuelle-riva/i-love-life-i-love-life-to-death/) [Emmanuelle Riva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuelle-riva/) > [I think when you’re dying you start looking for important things in the corners. You can’t let anything that seems even semi-important pass, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-crutcher/i-think-when-you-re-dying-you-start-looking-for-important-things-in/) [Chris Crutcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-crutcher/) [Browse all 39,127 Death quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I joined him, laughing because we had looked death in the face and lived to tell about it, laughing because I didn't want to cry.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Amy Harmon" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-harmon/i-joined-him-laughing-because-we-had-looked-death-in-the-face-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Death" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-harmon/i-joined-him-laughing-because-we-had-looked-death-in-the-face-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/215/amy-harmon-1093_death_i-joined-him-laughing-because-we-had-loo_780833.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/215/amy-harmon-1093_death_i-joined-him-laughing-because-we-had-loo_780833.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/215/amy-harmon-1093_death_i-joined-him-laughing-because-we-had-loo_780833.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I joined him, laughing because we had looked death in the face and lived to tell about it, laughing because…” — Amy Harmon", "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": "Amy Harmon", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-harmon/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I joined him, laughing because we...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-harmon/i-joined-him-laughing-because-we-had-looked-death-in-the-face-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-harmon/i-joined-him-laughing-because-we-had-looked-death-in-the-face-and/#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 } } ] } ```