--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Maybe this is not a…" description: "\"Maybe this is not a come-down-from-the-ledge story. But I tell it with the thought that the woman on the ledge will ask herself a question, the questio..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7a/amy-hempel-6636_ledges_maybe-this-is-not-a-come-down-from-the-l_1768559.jpg" --- # Maybe this is not a come-down-from-the-ledge story. But I… ![“Maybe this is not a come-down-from-the-ledge story. But I tell it with the thought that the woman on the ledge will ask herself a question, the question that occurred to that man in Bogota. He wondered how we know that what happens to us isn't good?” quote by Amy Hempel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7a/amy-hempel-6636_ledges_maybe-this-is-not-a-come-down-from-the-l_1768559.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7a/amy-hempel-6636_ledges_maybe-this-is-not-a-come-down-from-the-l_1768559.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7a/amy-hempel-6636_ledges_maybe-this-is-not-a-come-down-from-the-l_1768559.jpg) > “Maybe this is not a come-down-from-the-ledge story. But I tell it with the thought that the woman on the ledge will ask herself a question, the question that occurred to that man in Bogota. He wondered how we know that what happens to us isn't good?” [Amy Hempel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-hempel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A reflection on existential doubt, questioning whether events are inherently good. **In simple terms:** Questioning life’s goodness. Key Takeaway Embrace existential inquiry. Themes existentialism uncertainty philosophy Mood reflective melancholic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - life decisions - philosophical discussions - writing Key Concepts meaning of life personal growth Questions to Reflect On - What defines “good” in experience? - How do you cope with uncertainty? A Different Perspective Answers may remain elusive. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought/) ## Related quotes > [Coal lay in ledges under the ground since the Flood, until a laborer with pick and windlass brings it to the surface. We may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/coal-lay-in-ledges-under-the-ground-since-the-flood-until-a-laborer/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Even though I knew she wasn't going to jump, seeing her standing on the ledge made me realize that I want and need her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-sorensen/even-though-i-knew-she-wasn-t-going-to-jump-seeing-her-standing-on/) [Jessica Sorensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-sorensen/) > [I took a day to search for God, And found Him not. But as I trod By rocky ledge, through woods untamed, Just where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bliss-carman/i-took-a-day-to-search-for-god-and-found-him-not-but-as-i-trod-by/) [Bliss Carman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bliss-carman/) > [Growing old is not a gradual decline, but a series of drops, full of sorrow, from one ledge to another below it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/logan-pearsall-smith/growing-old-is-not-a-gradual-decline-but-a-series-of-drops-full-of/) [Logan Pearsall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/logan-pearsall-smith/) > [Once more their weird laughter of the loons comes to my ear, the distance lends it a musical, melancholy sound. For a dangerous ledge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celia-thaxter/once-more-their-weird-laughter-of-the-loons-comes-to-my-ear-the/) [Celia Thaxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celia-thaxter/) > [Easy climb, Kurokuma. You do it easily.' 'Not on your life,' Horace said... 'That's what we have Rangers for. They climb up sheer rock…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-flanagan/easy-climb-kurokuma-you-do-it-easily-not-on-your-life-horace-said/) [John Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-flanagan/) > [We only came close to dying six or seven times, which I thought was pretty good. Once, I lost my grip and found myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/we-only-came-close-to-dying-six-or-seven-times-which-i-thought-was-3/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [Our skin is very thin. It doesn't take much for us to jump off a ledge or to kill one another. It can happen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anderson-cooper/our-skin-is-very-thin-it-doesn-t-take-much-for-us-to-jump-off-a-ledge/) [Anderson Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anderson-cooper/) > [The other day, I was walking my dog around my building . . . on the ledge. Some people are afraid of heights. Not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/the-other-day-i-was-walking-my-dog-around-my-building-on-the-ledge/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) > [... to keep moving up ... , you have to abandon the security of that ledge and reach for another hold. Letting go of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-vujicic/to-keep-moving-up-you-have-to-abandon-the-security-of-that-ledge-and/) [Nick Vujicic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-vujicic/) > [But I've married a deeply sensible person who is extremely good at talking me down from my various ledges, and who takes care of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-groff/but-i-ve-married-a-deeply-sensible-person-who-is-extremely-good-at/) [Lauren Groff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-groff/) > [Where is it I've read that someone condemned to death says or thinks, an hour before his death, that if he had to live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky/where-is-it-i-ve-read-that-someone-condemned-to-death-says-or-thinks/) [Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/) > [With meditation I found a ledge above the waterfall of my thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/with-meditation-i-found-a-ledge-above-the-waterfall-of-my-thoughts/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The thing about hitting bottom is that, in the middle of it, sometimes you don’t know if you’re really hitting bottom or just bouncing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-weisel/the-thing-about-hitting-bottom-is-that-in-the-middle-of-it-sometimes/) [Frederick Weisel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-weisel/) > [Cats sleep Anywhere, Any table, Any chair, Top of piano, Window-ledge, In the middle, On the edge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-farjeon/cats-sleep-anywhere-any-table-any-chair-top-of-piano-window-ledge-in/) [Eleanor Farjeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-farjeon/) ## More by Amy Hempel > [Good leaders being scarce, following yourself is allowed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-hempel/good-leaders-being-scarce-following-yourself-is-allowed/) [Amy Hempel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-hempel/) > [Since his mother died I have seen him steam a cucumber thinking it was zucchini. That's the kind of thing that turns my heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-hempel/since-his-mother-died-i-have-seen-him-steam-a-cucumber-thinking-it/) [Amy Hempel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-hempel/) > [“A story happens when two equally appealing forces, or characters, or ideas try to occupy the same place at the same time, and they're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-hempel/a-story-happens-when-two-equally-appealing-forces-or-characters-or/) [Amy Hempel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-hempel/) > [“It is such a pretty story, told to me by a Cuban woman I met in a bar at the beach. She left the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-hempel/it-is-such-a-pretty-story-told-to-me-by-a-cuban-woman-i-met-in-a-bar/) [Amy Hempel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-hempel/) > [Journalism taught me how to write a sentence that would make someone want to read the next one. You are trained to get rid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-hempel/journalism-taught-me-how-to-write-a-sentence-that-would-make-someone/) [Amy Hempel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-hempel/) > [I had a mother I could only seem to please with verbal accomplishments of some sort or another. She read constantly, so I read…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-hempel/i-had-a-mother-i-could-only-seem-to-please-with-verbal/) [Amy Hempel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-hempel/) > [“Mrs. Linden was beautiful in spirit and in fact. Her wish, she told her daughter, was to be a beautiful woman and surprise people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-hempel/mrs-linden-was-beautiful-in-spirit-and-in-fact-her-wish-she-told-her/) [Amy Hempel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-hempel/) > [Then the children went to bed, or at least went upstairs, and the men joined the women for a cigarette on the porch, absently…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-hempel/then-the-children-went-to-bed-or-at-least-went-upstairs-and-the-men/) [Amy Hempel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-hempel/) > [“It comes back to the question, whom are you writing for? Who are the readers you want? Who are the people you want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-hempel/it-comes-back-to-the-question-whom-are-you-writing-for-who-are-the/) [Amy Hempel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-hempel/) > [An idea might spark an essay, but never a story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-hempel/an-idea-might-spark-an-essay-but-never-a-story/) [Amy Hempel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-hempel/) > [There’s so much I can’t read because I get so exasperated. Someone starts describing the character boarding the plane and pulling the seat back.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-hempel/there-s-so-much-i-can-t-read-because-i-get-so-exasperated-someone/) [Amy Hempel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-hempel/) > [The year I began to say vahz instead of vase, a man I barely knew nearly accidentally killed me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-hempel/the-year-i-began-to-say-vahz-instead-of-vase-a-man-i-barely-knew/) [Amy Hempel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-hempel/) > [I often feel the effects of people only after they leave me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-hempel/i-often-feel-the-effects-of-people-only-after-they-leave-me/) [Amy Hempel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-hempel/) > [“The psychic said I would have two children. This makes me shake my head. I know you are not supposed to leave a baby…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-hempel/the-psychic-said-i-would-have-two-children-this-makes-me-shake-my/) [Amy Hempel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-hempel/) > [“I read about a famous mystery writer who worked for one week in a department store. One day she saw a woman come in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-hempel/i-read-about-a-famous-mystery-writer-who-worked-for-one-week-in-a/) [Amy Hempel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-hempel/) [Explore all 93 Amy Hempel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-hempel/) ## More Ledges quotes > [Coal lay in ledges under the ground since the Flood, until a laborer with pick and windlass brings it to the surface. We may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/coal-lay-in-ledges-under-the-ground-since-the-flood-until-a-laborer/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“The thing about hitting bottom is that, in the middle of it, sometimes you don’t know if you’re really hitting bottom or just bouncing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-weisel/the-thing-about-hitting-bottom-is-that-in-the-middle-of-it-sometimes/) [Frederick Weisel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-weisel/) > [With meditation I found a ledge above the waterfall of my thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/with-meditation-i-found-a-ledge-above-the-waterfall-of-my-thoughts/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Where is it I've read that someone condemned to death says or thinks, an hour before his death, that if he had to live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky/where-is-it-i-ve-read-that-someone-condemned-to-death-says-or-thinks/) [Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/) > [But I've married a deeply sensible person who is extremely good at talking me down from my various ledges, and who takes care of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-groff/but-i-ve-married-a-deeply-sensible-person-who-is-extremely-good-at/) [Lauren Groff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-groff/) > [... to keep moving up ... , you have to abandon the security of that ledge and reach for another hold. Letting go of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-vujicic/to-keep-moving-up-you-have-to-abandon-the-security-of-that-ledge-and/) [Nick Vujicic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-vujicic/) > [The other day, I was walking my dog around my building . . . on the ledge. Some people are afraid of heights. Not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/the-other-day-i-was-walking-my-dog-around-my-building-on-the-ledge/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) > [Our skin is very thin. It doesn't take much for us to jump off a ledge or to kill one another. It can happen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anderson-cooper/our-skin-is-very-thin-it-doesn-t-take-much-for-us-to-jump-off-a-ledge/) [Anderson Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anderson-cooper/) > [We only came close to dying six or seven times, which I thought was pretty good. Once, I lost my grip and found myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/we-only-came-close-to-dying-six-or-seven-times-which-i-thought-was-3/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [Easy climb, Kurokuma. You do it easily.' 'Not on your life,' Horace said... 'That's what we have Rangers for. They climb up sheer rock…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-flanagan/easy-climb-kurokuma-you-do-it-easily-not-on-your-life-horace-said/) [John Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-flanagan/) > [Once more their weird laughter of the loons comes to my ear, the distance lends it a musical, melancholy sound. For a dangerous ledge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celia-thaxter/once-more-their-weird-laughter-of-the-loons-comes-to-my-ear-the/) [Celia Thaxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celia-thaxter/) > [Growing old is not a gradual decline, but a series of drops, full of sorrow, from one ledge to another below it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/logan-pearsall-smith/growing-old-is-not-a-gradual-decline-but-a-series-of-drops-full-of/) [Logan Pearsall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/logan-pearsall-smith/) > [I took a day to search for God, And found Him not. But as I trod By rocky ledge, through woods untamed, Just where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bliss-carman/i-took-a-day-to-search-for-god-and-found-him-not-but-as-i-trod-by/) [Bliss Carman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bliss-carman/) > [Even though I knew she wasn't going to jump, seeing her standing on the ledge made me realize that I want and need her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-sorensen/even-though-i-knew-she-wasn-t-going-to-jump-seeing-her-standing-on/) [Jessica Sorensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-sorensen/) > [Cats sleep Anywhere, Any table, Any chair, Top of piano, Window-ledge, In the middle, On the edge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-farjeon/cats-sleep-anywhere-any-table-any-chair-top-of-piano-window-ledge-in/) [Eleanor Farjeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-farjeon/) Browse all 58 Ledges quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Maybe this is not a come-down-from-the-ledge story. But I tell it with the thought that the woman on the ledge will ask herself a question, the question that occurred to that man in Bogota. 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