--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To leave, after all, was not the same as…" description: "\"To leave, after all, was not the same as being left.\" — Anita Shreve" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/817/anita-shreve-6955_quote_to-leave-after-all-was-not-the-same-as-b_1219028.jpg" --- # To leave, after all, was not the same as being left. ![“To leave, after all, was not the same as being left.” quote by Anita Shreve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/817/anita-shreve-6955_quote_to-leave-after-all-was-not-the-same-as-b_1219028.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/817/anita-shreve-6955_quote_to-leave-after-all-was-not-the-same-as-b_1219028.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/817/anita-shreve-6955_quote_to-leave-after-all-was-not-the-same-as-b_1219028.jpg) > “To leave, after all, was not the same as being left.” [Anita Shreve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-shreve/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Leaving a place does not equal being abandoned; departure and abandonment are distinct experiences. **In simple terms:** Leaving isn’t the same as being left. Key Takeaway Recognize the difference between leaving and being left. Themes relationships departure abandonment self‑awareness Mood reflective melancholic Type philosophical emotional When to use this quote - breakups - career changes - moving homes - family dynamics Key Concepts existential psychology attachment Questions to Reflect On - How does your perception of leaving affect those you leave? - What responsibilities remain after you depart? A Different Perspective Leaving may still cause emotional pain for those staying behind. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [Of course. That's what people do in a disordered world, a world of freedom and choice: they leave when they want. They disappear, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/of-course-that-s-what-people-do-in-a-disordered-world-a-world-of/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [“And I’d rather leave than be the one left.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gemma-burgess/and-i-d-rather-leave-than-be-the-one-left/) [Gemma Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gemma-burgess/) > [I would have thought this would make me feel better.. getting to be the one to leave and not the one left behind. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/i-would-have-thought-this-would-make-me-feel-better-getting-to-be-the/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [Play before you get Played, Leave Before You're Left!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/play-before-you-get-played-leave-before-you-re-left/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When I was asked to leave, I left... Then they made me come back. I did, and I decided to enjoy it. It was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paget-brewster/when-i-was-asked-to-leave-i-left-then-they-made-me-come-back-i-did/) [Paget Brewster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paget-brewster/) > [If I wanted to go I would have gone by now but I really need you near me.. Keep my mind,off the edge… If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-lambert/if-i-wanted-to-go-i-would-have-gone-by-now-but-i-really-need-you-near/) [Adam Lambert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-lambert/) > [It's funny, how you asked me to never leave you, but you left me when I still need you!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-funny-how-you-asked-me-to-never-leave-you-but-you-left-me-when-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [And you said that people always leave you. well, you left me. congrats.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-you-said-that-people-always-leave-you-well-you-left-me-congrats/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“LEAVE before you are LEFT. #Self Respect.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sobhan-pramanik/leave-before-you-are-left-self-respect/) Sobhan Pramanik > [“I would have thought this would make me feel better, for once getting to be the one to leave and not the one left…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/i-would-have-thought-this-would-make-me-feel-better-for-once-getting/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [You don’t have a home until you leave it and then, when you have left it, you never can go back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-don-t-have-a-home-until-you-leave-it-and-then-when-you-have-left/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“At least I’m the one leaving. It’s so much easier to leave than to be left.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-emunds/at-least-i-m-the-one-leaving-it-s-so-much-easier-to-leave-than-to-be/) [Stefan Emunds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefan-emunds/) > [Dont give everything to anyone because if they leave, its left nothing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritesh/dont-give-everything-to-anyone-because-if-they-leave-its-left-nothing/) [Ritesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritesh/) > [I leave before being left. I decide.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brigitte-bardot/i-leave-before-being-left-i-decide/) [Brigitte Bardot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brigitte-bardot/) > [I think the Netherlands will become one big city at a point. It is inevitable when you live in a country with so many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theo-jansen/i-think-the-netherlands-will-become-one-big-city-at-a-point-it-is/) [Theo Jansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theo-jansen/) ## More by Anita Shreve > [The things that don't happen to us that we'll never know didn't happen to us. The nonstories. The extra minute to find the briefcase…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-shreve/the-things-that-don-t-happen-to-us-that-we-ll-never-know-didn-t/) [Anita Shreve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-shreve/) > [I guess that's the point of drinking, to take all the feelings and thoughts and morals away until you are just a body doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-shreve/i-guess-that-s-the-point-of-drinking-to-take-all-the-feelings-and/) [Anita Shreve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-shreve/) > [“Webster, as if he's done it every day of his life, as if he did it just the day before, trails his fingers from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-shreve/webster-as-if-he-s-done-it-every-day-of-his-life-as-if-he-did-it-just/) [Anita Shreve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-shreve/) > [“It was probably not so unusual to be a different person with a different man, for all parts were authentically within, waiting to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-shreve/it-was-probably-not-so-unusual-to-be-a-different-person-with-a/) [Anita Shreve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-shreve/) > [Children don't heal as well.. they change.. they mutate with disaster and make accomodations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-shreve/children-don-t-heal-as-well-they-change-they-mutate-with-disaster-and/) [Anita Shreve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-shreve/) > [And then she moved from shock to grief the way she might enter another room.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-shreve/and-then-she-moved-from-shock-to-grief-the-way-she-might-enter/) [Anita Shreve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-shreve/) > [“It's a wonder any of us make it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-shreve/it-s-a-wonder-any-of-us-make-it/) [Anita Shreve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-shreve/) > [If you're skating on thin ice, you might as well dance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-shreve/if-you-re-skating-on-thin-ice-you-might-as-well-dance/) [Anita Shreve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-shreve/) > [I have always been faithful to you if faithful means the experience against which everything else has been measured.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-shreve/i-have-always-been-faithful-to-you-if-faithful-means-the-experience/) [Anita Shreve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-shreve/) > [“If one has a good reputation and trusted, the rules can be bent to accommodate.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-shreve/if-one-has-a-good-reputation-and-trusted-the-rules-can-be-bent-to/) [Anita Shreve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-shreve/) > [“She felt with the shiver the rare sensation that she was exactly where she should be. She was an idea, a memory, one perfect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-shreve/she-felt-with-the-shiver-the-rare-sensation-that-she-was-exactly/) [Anita Shreve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-shreve/) > [“She thinks of all that will have to be done to dismantle a life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-shreve/she-thinks-of-all-that-will-have-to-be-done-to-dismantle-a-life/) [Anita Shreve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-shreve/) > [Reunions are always fraught with awkward tensions - the necessity to account for oneself; the attempt to find, through memories, an ember of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-shreve/reunions-are-always-fraught-with-awkward-tensions-the-necessity-to/) [Anita Shreve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-shreve/) > [Like many readers, I am continually in search of books that allow me to lose myself in an entirely unique universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-shreve/like-many-readers-i-am-continually-in-search-of-books-that-allow-me/) [Anita Shreve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-shreve/) > [“kind of necessary acceptance will form around her, like a lobster making its new shell, one that will be soft and easily breakable in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-shreve/kind-of-necessary-acceptance-will-form-around-her-like-a-lobster/) [Anita Shreve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-shreve/) [Explore all 95 Anita Shreve quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-shreve/) ## More Leave quotes > [You've got to tell your money what to do or it will leave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-ramsey/you-ve-got-to-tell-your-money-what-to-do-or-it-will-leave/) [Dave Ramsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-ramsey/) > [“Congregating power to leave u… To control this love But I always go back to December!!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moaz-zulfiqar/congregating-power-to-leave-u-to-control-this-love-but-i-always-go/) Moaz Zulfiqar > [“You are the queen, he ought to be begging leave of you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin/you-are-the-queen-he-ought-to-be-begging-leave-of-you/) [George R.R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin/) > [Can't blame people for walking away. People get tired and can only take so much. Don't be surprised when they leave and don't come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/can-t-blame-people-for-walking-away-people-get-tired-and-can-only/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you leave someone for another person, don't be surprised if that person leaves you for someone else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-leave-someone-for-another-person-don-t-be-surprised-if-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [To have a future we have to live and leave the present.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akiane-kramarik/to-have-a-future-we-have-to-live-and-leave-the-present/) [Akiane Kramarik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akiane-kramarik/) > [My parents and my sister always leave me over New Year, so I'm always on my own in London.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amelia-dimoldenberg/my-parents-and-my-sister-always-leave-me-over-new-year-so-i-m-always/) [Amelia Dimoldenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amelia-dimoldenberg/) > [I would leave at once, but it would be cruel to abandon a lady in a foreign land with a maniac.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/i-would-leave-at-once-but-it-would-be-cruel-to-abandon-a-lady-in-a/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [The fact that you can even make a record and leave a document that you were here, that's nothing to sneeze at.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-trent-d-arby/the-fact-that-you-can-even-make-a-record-and-leave-a-document-that/) [Terence Trent D'Arby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-trent-d-arby/) > [Take what you LOVE , Leave what you don't :)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/psychefaye/take-what-you-love-leave-what-you-don-t/) PsycheFaye > [There is no reason why one should believe you should leave out politicians in cricket or any sport for that matter. There are ways…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roosevelt-skerrit/there-is-no-reason-why-one-should-believe-you-should-leave-out/) Roosevelt Skerrit > [Take your cap and leave my sweater cause we have nothing left to weather.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-urban/take-your-cap-and-leave-my-sweater-cause-we-have-nothing-left-to/) [Keith Urban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-urban/) > [I try to leave my work at the door when I leave the set. It's almost like summer camp. You go in hard, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-dano/i-try-to-leave-my-work-at-the-door-when-i-leave-the-set-it-s-almost/) [Paul Dano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-dano/) > [It is our job to make a difference and leave the world a better place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karol-g/it-is-our-job-to-make-a-difference-and-leave-the-world-a-better-place/) [Karol G](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karol-g/) > [In a portrait, you always leave part of yourself behind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ellen-mark/in-a-portrait-you-always-leave-part-of-yourself-behind/) [Mary Ellen Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ellen-mark/) Browse all 3,701 Leave quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To leave, after all, was not the same as being left.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anita Shreve" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-shreve/to-leave-after-all-was-not-the-same-as-being-left/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Leave" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-shreve/to-leave-after-all-was-not-the-same-as-being-left/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/817/anita-shreve-6955_quote_to-leave-after-all-was-not-the-same-as-b_1219028.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/817/anita-shreve-6955_quote_to-leave-after-all-was-not-the-same-as-b_1219028.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/817/anita-shreve-6955_quote_to-leave-after-all-was-not-the-same-as-b_1219028.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“To leave, after all, was not the same as being left.” — Anita Shreve", "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": "Anita Shreve", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-shreve/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "To leave, after all, was not...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-shreve/to-leave-after-all-was-not-the-same-as-being-left/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-shreve/to-leave-after-all-was-not-the-same-as-being-left/#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 } } ] } ```