--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Maybe it was the alcohol, maybe it was…" description: "\"“Maybe it was the alcohol, maybe it was the truth, maybe I didn't want things to turn abstract, but I felt I should say it, because this was the moment..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/156/andre-aciman-459_cease-to-exist_maybe-it-was-the-alcohol-maybe-it-was-th_761625.jpg" --- # Maybe it was the alcohol, maybe it was the truth, maybe I… ![“Maybe it was the alcohol, maybe it was the truth, maybe I didn't want things to turn abstract, but I felt I should say it, because this was the moment to say it, because it suddenly dawned on me that this was why I had come, to tell him 'You are the only person I'd like to say goodbye to when I…” quote by André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/156/andre-aciman-459_cease-to-exist_maybe-it-was-the-alcohol-maybe-it-was-th_761625.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/156/andre-aciman-459_cease-to-exist_maybe-it-was-the-alcohol-maybe-it-was-th_761625.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/156/andre-aciman-459_cease-to-exist_maybe-it-was-the-alcohol-maybe-it-was-th_761625.jpg) > ““Maybe it was the alcohol, maybe it was the truth, maybe I didn't want things to turn abstract, but I felt I should say it, because this was the moment to say it, because it suddenly dawned on me that this was why I had come, to tell him 'You are the only person I'd like to say goodbye to when I die, because only then will this thing I call my life make any sense. And if I should hear that you died, my life as I know it, the me who is speaking with you now, will cease to exist.”” [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator sees love as the ultimate purpose of life; losing the beloved would erase his existence, highlighting love's central role. **In simple terms:** Love defines life’s purpose. Key Takeaway Recognize love’s central role. Themes love purpose existence identity Mood intense poignant Type philosophical emotional When to use this quote - relationships - grief - self‑reflection - artistic expression Key Concepts existentialism romanticism Questions to Reflect On - What does love mean to you? - How do you cope with loss? A Different Perspective Love can be idealized and painful. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cease to exist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cease-to-exist/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Love and loss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-and-loss/) [Nostalgia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nostalgia/) [Regret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regret/) [Say goodbye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/say-goodbye/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [“You are the only person I’d like to say goodbye to when I die, because only then will this thing I call my life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/you-are-the-only-person-i-d-like-to-say-goodbye-to-when-i-die-because-2/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“Elio: You are the only person I'd like to say goodbye to when I die, becaue only then will this thing I call my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/elio-you-are-the-only-person-i-d-like-to-say-goodbye-to-when-i-die/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“Maybe it was the alcohol. Yeah. That’s probably what it was. The booze must have mixed with the romance in the air and turned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-martin/maybe-it-was-the-alcohol-yeah-that-s-probably-what-it-was-the-booze/) [Natalie Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-martin/) > [Pubs are, disturbingly, where I hatch most of my best idea-sculptures: possibly it's something to do with the disinhibiting effects of alcohol, or maybe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/pubs-are-disturbingly-where-i-hatch-most-of-my-best-idea-sculptures/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [“I look back on those days and regret none of it, not the risks, not the shame, not the total lack of foresight. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/i-look-back-on-those-days-and-regret-none-of-it-not-the-risks-not-the/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“What I wanted to preserve was the turbulent gasp in his voice which lingered with me for days afterward and told me that, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/what-i-wanted-to-preserve-was-the-turbulent-gasp-in-his-voice-which/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“Everyone goes through a period of Traviamento - when we take, say, a different turn in life, the other via . Dante himself did.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/everyone-goes-through-a-period-of-traviamento-when-we-take-say-a/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“I couldn't understand how boldness and sorrow, how you're so hard and do you really care for me? could be so thoroughly bound together.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/i-couldn-t-understand-how-boldness-and-sorrow-how-you-re-so-hard-and/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“Over the years I'd lodged him in the permanent past, my pluperfect lover, put him on ice, stuffed him with memories and mothballs like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/over-the-years-i-d-lodged-him-in-the-permanent-past-my-pluperfect/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“They were soldiers of the sea, born and bred to battle her, taking her bounty along the way. Some succeeded and lived, others failed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-lynn-natusch/they-were-soldiers-of-the-sea-born-and-bred-to-battle-her-taking-her/) [Amber Lynn Natusch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-lynn-natusch/) > [“Life isn't about you or me. If me , you , him or her died life isn't going to die out or disappear it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathella/life-isn-t-about-you-or-me-if-me-you-him-or-her-died-life-isn-t-going/) [Nathella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathella/) > [For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-the-apostle/for-you-died-and-your-life-is-hidden-with-christ-in-god/) [Paul the Apostle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-the-apostle/) > [“And when the music died, life was always a little less bright, waiting for the next turn on the sprung, hardwood floor.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alana-albertson/and-when-the-music-died-life-was-always-a-little-less-bright-waiting/) [Alana Albertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alana-albertson/) > [Gary Coleman just died, life is Short.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jcole/gary-coleman-just-died-life-is-short/) JCole > [“Something or someone lived or died so you could have this life. The mountain of the dead. They left you into the daylight.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/something-or-someone-lived-or-died-so-you-could-have-this-life-the/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) ## More by André Aciman > [Don't all writers have a hidden nerve, call it a secret chamber, something irreducibly theirs, which stirs their prose and makes it tick and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/don-t-all-writers-have-a-hidden-nerve-call-it-a-secret-chamber/) [Andre Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“I wanted him to remember the morning on Monet's berm when I'd kissed him not the first but the second time and given him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/i-wanted-him-to-remember-the-morning-on-monet-s-berm-when-i-d-kissed/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [Rituals are how we step into our private field of dreams, a small Elysium all our own. Rituals are made not just for us,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/rituals-are-how-we-step-into-our-private-field-of-dreams-a-small/) [Andre Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“I desperately wanted to give him something. By contrast, taking seemed so bland, so facile, so mechanical.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/i-desperately-wanted-to-give-him-something-by-contrast-taking-seemed/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“The man who'll lay the last stone here isn't even born yet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/the-man-who-ll-lay-the-last-stone-here-isn-t-even-born-yet/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [Proust is interested in minutiae because life, as he sees it, is seldom ever about things but about our impression of things, not about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/proust-is-interested-in-minutiae-because-life-as-he-sees-it-is-seldom/) [Andre Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“Well, since you're not going to do anything with me—can you at least read me a story? I'd settle for that. I wanted him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/well-since-you-re-not-going-to-do-anything-with-me-can-you-at-least/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“This is heaven.” And I wouldn’t hear him say another word for at least an hour. There was nothing I loved more in life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/this-is-heaven-and-i-wouldn-t-hear-him-say-another-word-for-at-least/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“He loved the sticky taste. What had I done? I told him and pointed to the bruised evidence sitting on my desk. “Let me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/he-loved-the-sticky-taste-what-had-i-done-i-told-him-and-pointed-to/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“When had they separated us, you and me, Oliver? And why did I know it, and why didn't you?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/when-had-they-separated-us-you-and-me-oliver-and-why-did-i-know-it/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“As we were swimming back, he asked as though it were an afterthought, “Are you going to hold last night against me?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/as-we-were-swimming-back-he-asked-as-though-it-were-an-afterthought/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“To be with you. To be with you, Oliver. With or without my bathing suit. To be with you on my bed. In your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/to-be-with-you-to-be-with-you-oliver-with-or-without-my-bathing-suit/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“I thought I could ever want another living soul, gently, softly, and, with the kindness one Jew extends to another, work his way into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/i-thought-i-could-ever-want-another-living-soul-gently-softly-and/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“Oliver: But there's the catch: you're still twenty years younger than those gathered around you, which is why I can be twenty-four in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/oliver-but-there-s-the-catch-you-re-still-twenty-years-younger-than/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [I cannot write if there is a sense of plenitude. I have to hypothesize that there is a loss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/i-cannot-write-if-there-is-a-sense-of-plenitude-i-have-to-hypothesize/) [Andre Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) [Explore all 527 André Aciman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) ## More Cease to exist quotes > [“In the end, we are left with this painful conundrum: we only need DEI initiatives because we don’t truly have a society that values…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-yako/in-the-end-we-are-left-with-this-painful-conundrum-we-only-need-dei/) [Louis Yako](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-yako/) > [There has always been war. War is raging throughout the world at the present moment. And there is little reason to believe that war…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-nachtwey/there-has-always-been-war-war-is-raging-throughout-the-world-at-the/) [James Nachtwey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-nachtwey/) > [“The eyes are one of the most powerful tools a woman can have. With one look, she can relay the most intimate message. After…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-salaiz/the-eyes-are-one-of-the-most-powerful-tools-a-woman-can-have-with-one/) [Jennifer Salaiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-salaiz/) > [The Democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-democracy-will-cease-to-exist-when-you-take-away-from-those-who/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Let me say only that these vehicles float a few inches off the ground. No animals draw them. No steam or chemical fuels them.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/let-me-say-only-that-these-vehicles-float-a-few-inches-off-the-ground/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [“could change the past and … cease to exist.” “But that’s the nature of risk, isn’t it? You gamble everything on the slenderest of hopes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-kate/could-change-the-past-and-cease-to-exist-but-that-s-the-nature-of/) [Lauren Kate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-kate/) > [Honesty is the cornerstone of all success, without which confidence and ability to perform shall cease to exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-kay-ash/honesty-is-the-cornerstone-of-all-success-without-which-confidence/) [Mary Kay Ash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-kay-ash/) > [ “Tags \[distinctive agent features observable by other agents\] almost always define the network by delimiting the critical interactions, the major connections. Tags acquire this… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-h-holland/tags-distinctive-agent-features-observable-by-other-agents-almost/) John H. Holland > [If we one day cease to exist, what will be remarkable is that we were ever here at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-harkaway/if-we-one-day-cease-to-exist-what-will-be-remarkable-is-that-we-were/) [Nick Harkaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-harkaway/) > [“...Juliana. Should you cease to exist, so would I.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-collins/juliana-should-you-cease-to-exist-so-would-i/) [Kathleen Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-collins/) > [Religion, ideology, resources, land, spite, love or just because¦ No matter how pathetic the reason, its enough to start war. War will never cease…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/religion-ideology-resources-land-spite-love-or-just-because-no-matter/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The Charcoal Sky Sometimes you go to the wrong place, but the right way comes and finds you. It might make you trip over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/the-charcoal-sky-sometimes-you-go-to-the-wrong-place-but-the-right/) [Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/) > [“The Dusk follows you as you go through it. If it touches you, you cease to exist, so one wrong turn down a dead-end,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/the-dusk-follows-you-as-you-go-through-it-if-it-touches-you-you-cease/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [“She was too compelling to look at directly. Bright like the sun, bright and terrible. Only one other being could look upon her, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shana-abe/she-was-too-compelling-to-look-at-directly-bright-like-the-sun-bright/) [Shana Abe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shana-abe/) > [There are in France some fifty thousand young men of good birth and fairly well off who are encouraged to live a life of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-de-maupassant/there-are-in-france-some-fifty-thousand-young-men-of-good-birth-and/) [Guy de Maupassant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-de-maupassant/) [Browse all 215 Cease to exist quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cease-to-exist/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Maybe it was the alcohol, maybe it was the truth, maybe I didn't want things to turn abstract, but I felt I should say it, because this was the moment to say it, because it suddenly dawned on me that this was why I had come, to tell him 'You are the only person I'd like to say goodbye to when I die, because only then will this thing I call my life make any sense. And if I should hear that you died, my life as I know it, the me who is speaking with you now, will cease to exist.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "André Aciman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/maybe-it-was-the-alcohol-maybe-it-was-the-truth-maybe-i-didn-t-want/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cease to exist" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/maybe-it-was-the-alcohol-maybe-it-was-the-truth-maybe-i-didn-t-want/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/156/andre-aciman-459_cease-to-exist_maybe-it-was-the-alcohol-maybe-it-was-th_761625.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/156/andre-aciman-459_cease-to-exist_maybe-it-was-the-alcohol-maybe-it-was-th_761625.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/156/andre-aciman-459_cease-to-exist_maybe-it-was-the-alcohol-maybe-it-was-th_761625.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Maybe it was the alcohol, maybe it was the truth, maybe I didn't want things to turn abstract, but I felt I…” — André Aciman", "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": "André Aciman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Maybe it was the alcohol, maybe...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/maybe-it-was-the-alcohol-maybe-it-was-the-truth-maybe-i-didn-t-want/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/maybe-it-was-the-alcohol-maybe-it-was-the-truth-maybe-i-didn-t-want/#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 } } ] } ```