--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What lies ahead is going to be very…" description: "\"“What lies ahead is going to be very difficult,” he started to say, altering his voice. His tone said: We don’t have to speak about it, but let’s not p..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f04/andre-aciman-459_speak-the-truth_what-lies-ahead-is-going-to-be-very-diff_2014166.png" --- # What lies ahead is going to be very difficult,” he started… ![“What lies ahead is going to be very difficult,” he started to say, altering his voice. His tone said: We don’t have to speak about it, but let’s not pretend we don’t know what I’m saying. Speaking abstractly was the only way to speak the truth to him.” quote by André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f04/andre-aciman-459_speak-the-truth_what-lies-ahead-is-going-to-be-very-diff_2014166.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f04/andre-aciman-459_speak-the-truth_what-lies-ahead-is-going-to-be-very-diff_2014166.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f04/andre-aciman-459_speak-the-truth_what-lies-ahead-is-going-to-be-very-diff_2014166.png) > ““What lies ahead is going to be very difficult,” he started to say, altering his voice. His tone said: We don’t have to speak about it, but let’s not pretend we don’t know what I’m saying. Speaking abstractly was the only way to speak the truth to him.”” [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. Avoiding direct discussion can mask truth, but abstract language may reveal it. **In simple terms:** Indirect speech hides yet hints at truth. Key Takeaway Use clear language to convey difficult truths. Themes truth communication difficulty abstraction Mood serious introspective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - conflict resolution - personal relationships - therapy Key Concepts psychology interpersonal dynamics Questions to Reflect On - Why do we choose abstraction over honesty? - What are the risks of speaking indirectly? A Different Perspective Abstraction may lead to misunderstanding. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Speak the truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speak-the-truth/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [I just speak the truth. I keep it real.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlon-vera/i-just-speak-the-truth-i-keep-it-real/) [Marlon Vera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlon-vera/) > [As far as I'm concerned, I just speak the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-mcgregor/as-far-as-i-m-concerned-i-just-speak-the-truth/) [Conor McGregor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-mcgregor/) > [“Enough of this, dearest one. I ought not to have spoken of it, but I lost my temper. Still, it is pleasant to speak…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/enough-of-this-dearest-one-i-ought-not-to-have-spoken-of-it-but-i/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [“Sometimes distortions can speak the truth. They confirm for me what is real by troubling me with something false.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-overstreet/sometimes-distortions-can-speak-the-truth-they-confirm-for-me-what-is/) [Jeffrey Overstreet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-overstreet/) > [I would rather speak the truth to ten men than blandishments and lying to a million. Try it, ye who think there is nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/i-would-rather-speak-the-truth-to-ten-men-than-blandishments-and/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [Speak the truth, even if you voice shakes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unknow/speak-the-truth-even-if-you-voice-shakes/) Unknow > [I am tired of talk that comes to nothing It makes my heart sick when I remember all the good words and all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chief-joseph/i-am-tired-of-talk-that-comes-to-nothing-it-makes-my-heart-sick-when/) [Chief Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chief-joseph/) > [It is better to be divided by truth than to be united in error. It is better to speak the truth that hurts and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-rogers/it-is-better-to-be-divided-by-truth-than-to-be-united-in-error-it-is/) [Adrian Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-rogers/) > [They're only words. You can't be afraid of words that speak the truth, even if it's an unpleasant truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/they-re-only-words-you-can-t-be-afraid-of-words-that-speak-the-truth/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [Speak the truth even if its against your self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/speak-the-truth-even-if-its-against-your-self/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It is so difficult - at least, I find it difficult - to understand people who speak the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/it-is-so-difficult-at-least-i-find-it-difficult-to-understand-people/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) > [Sinners often speak the truth. And saints have led people astray. Examine what is said, not the one who says it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-de-mello/sinners-often-speak-the-truth-and-saints-have-led-people-astray/) [Anthony de Mello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-de-mello/) > [I have found that in fiction one is freer to speak the truth, if only because in fiction the truth is not expected or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-sington/i-have-found-that-in-fiction-one-is-freer-to-speak-the-truth-if-only/) [Philip Sington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-sington/) > [Im starting to feel as though I should give up now to not risk what we have. keep silent what I want to speak.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaliyah-owens/im-starting-to-feel-as-though-i-should-give-up-now-to-not-risk-what/) [Aaliyah Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaliyah-owens/) > [Speak kind words to mankind and the unkind will attack you. Speak common sense using all your senses, and you will attacked by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-kassem/speak-kind-words-to-mankind-and-the-unkind-will-attack-you-speak/) [Suzy Kassem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-kassem/) ## 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 Speak the truth quotes > [I just speak the truth. I keep it real.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlon-vera/i-just-speak-the-truth-i-keep-it-real/) [Marlon Vera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlon-vera/) > [When you speak the truth watch the fuck niggas start hating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-you-speak-the-truth-watch-the-fuck-niggas-start-hating/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [To think profoundly, to seek and speak truth, to love justice and denounce wrong is to draw upon one's self the ill will of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lancaster-spalding/to-think-profoundly-to-seek-and-speak-truth-to-love-justice-and/) [John Lancaster Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lancaster-spalding/) > [“Autumn eats its leaf out of my hand: we are friends. From the nuts we shell time and we teach it to walk: then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-celan/autumn-eats-its-leaf-out-of-my-hand-we-are-friends-from-the-nuts-we/) [Paul Celan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-celan/) > [“The husband is the head of the wife just in so far as he is to her what Christ is to the Church -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/the-husband-is-the-head-of-the-wife-just-in-so-far-as-he-is-to-her/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [Fall in love or fall in hate. Get inspired or be depressed. Ace a test or flunk a class. Make babies or make art.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/fall-in-love-or-fall-in-hate-get-inspired-or-be-depressed-ace-a-test/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Im starting to feel as though I should give up now to not risk what we have. keep silent what I want to speak.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaliyah-owens/im-starting-to-feel-as-though-i-should-give-up-now-to-not-risk-what/) [Aaliyah Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaliyah-owens/) > [I have found that in fiction one is freer to speak the truth, if only because in fiction the truth is not expected or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-sington/i-have-found-that-in-fiction-one-is-freer-to-speak-the-truth-if-only/) [Philip Sington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-sington/) > [Sinners often speak the truth. And saints have led people astray. Examine what is said, not the one who says it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-de-mello/sinners-often-speak-the-truth-and-saints-have-led-people-astray/) [Anthony de Mello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-de-mello/) > [It is so difficult - at least, I find it difficult - to understand people who speak the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/it-is-so-difficult-at-least-i-find-it-difficult-to-understand-people/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) > [The man who is asked by an author what he thinks of his work is put to the torture and is not obliged to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-man-who-is-asked-by-an-author-what-he-thinks-of-his-work-is-put/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Speak the truth even if its against your self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/speak-the-truth-even-if-its-against-your-self/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [They're only words. You can't be afraid of words that speak the truth, even if it's an unpleasant truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/they-re-only-words-you-can-t-be-afraid-of-words-that-speak-the-truth/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [It is better to be divided by truth than to be united in error. It is better to speak the truth that hurts and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-rogers/it-is-better-to-be-divided-by-truth-than-to-be-united-in-error-it-is/) [Adrian Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-rogers/) > [Honor to those who in the life they lead define and guard a Thermopylae. Never betraying what is right, consistent and just in all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-p-cavafy/honor-to-those-who-in-the-life-they-lead-define-and-guard-a/) [C.P. Cavafy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-p-cavafy/) [Browse all 513 Speak the truth quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speak-the-truth/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“What lies ahead is going to be very difficult,” he started to say, altering his voice. His tone said: We don’t have to speak about it, but let’s not pretend we don’t know what I’m saying. Speaking abstractly was the only way to speak the truth to him.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "André Aciman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/what-lies-ahead-is-going-to-be-very-difficult-he-started-to-say/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Speak the truth" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/what-lies-ahead-is-going-to-be-very-difficult-he-started-to-say/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f04/andre-aciman-459_speak-the-truth_what-lies-ahead-is-going-to-be-very-diff_2014166.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f04/andre-aciman-459_speak-the-truth_what-lies-ahead-is-going-to-be-very-diff_2014166.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f04/andre-aciman-459_speak-the-truth_what-lies-ahead-is-going-to-be-very-diff_2014166.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What lies ahead is going to be very difficult,” he started to say, altering his voice. His tone said: We…” — 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": "“What lies ahead is going to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/what-lies-ahead-is-going-to-be-very-difficult-he-started-to-say/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/what-lies-ahead-is-going-to-be-very-difficult-he-started-to-say/#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 } } ] } ```