--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Sometimes when she thought of Eric, and…" description: "\"“Sometimes when she thought of Eric, and now more powerfully when she saw him, she felt some achy nostalgia for her old self. For the dauntless, daring..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/585/ann-brashares-572_nostalgia_sometimes-when-she-thought-of-eric-and-n_456767.png" --- # Sometimes when she thought of Eric, and now more… ![“Sometimes when she thought of Eric, and now more powerfully when she saw him, she felt some achy nostalgia for her old self. For the dauntless, daring soul she used to be. There were certain qualities you possessed carelessly. And you couldn't retrieve them when they were gone.” quote by Ann Brashares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/585/ann-brashares-572_nostalgia_sometimes-when-she-thought-of-eric-and-n_456767.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/585/ann-brashares-572_nostalgia_sometimes-when-she-thought-of-eric-and-n_456767.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/585/ann-brashares-572_nostalgia_sometimes-when-she-thought-of-eric-and-n_456767.png) > ““Sometimes when she thought of Eric, and now more powerfully when she saw him, she felt some achy nostalgia for her old self. For the dauntless, daring soul she used to be. There were certain qualities you possessed carelessly. And you couldn't retrieve them when they were gone.”” [Ann Brashares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-brashares/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Nostalgia for a past, bolder self highlights personal growth and loss of youthful daring. **In simple terms:** Missing past daring self. Key Takeaway Reconnect with lost confidence. Themes nostalgia identity growth self-reflection Mood reflective melancholic Type literary emotional When to use this quote - career transitions - relationships - creative projects Key Concepts personal evolution confidence memory Questions to Reflect On - What qualities from your past can you revive? - How does nostalgia shape your current identity? A Different Perspective Clinging to the past can hinder present progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Nostalgia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nostalgia/) [Old self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-self/) ## Related quotes > [There's too much rock that relies a fetishism or nostalgia for the old ways. That's a real enemy to music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-tong/there-s-too-much-rock-that-relies-a-fetishism-or-nostalgia-for-the/) [Matt Tong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-tong/) > [“NW" is full of split selves, people alienated from the very things they thought defined them. Their nostalgia -- for old movies, old songs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-lorentzen/nw-is-full-of-split-selves-people-alienated-from-the-very-things-they/) Christian Lorentzen > [When I thought of Eric with someone else, I wanted to rip out all his beautiful blonde hair. By the roots. In clumps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlaine-harris/when-i-thought-of-eric-with-someone-else-i-wanted-to-rip-out-all-his/) [Charlaine Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlaine-harris/) > [“I mean if I wanted to get myself off I just squeezed my legs together, rocked back and forth and thought of Eric from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucinda-lane/i-mean-if-i-wanted-to-get-myself-off-i-just-squeezed-my-legs-together/) Lucinda Lane > [“Though I was having a blissful moment of being happy and content, I had one of those stray ideas you get at odd moments.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlaine-harris/though-i-was-having-a-blissful-moment-of-being-happy-and-content-i/) [Charlaine Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlaine-harris/) > [Those were the people who made her something, and without them she was different. She'd held on to them and to that old self…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-brashares/those-were-the-people-who-made-her-something-and-without-them-she-was/) [Ann Brashares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-brashares/) > [“Good will never be enough as long as great exist. Don't look to do better than anyone else aim to do better than your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyconis-d-allison-ty/good-will-never-be-enough-as-long-as-great-exist-don-t-look-to-do/) Tyconis D. Allison Ty > [So the secret is just to say 'Yes!' and jump off from here. Then there is no problem. It means to be yourself, always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shunryu-suzuki/so-the-secret-is-just-to-say-yes-and-jump-off-from-here-then-there-is/) [Shunryu Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shunryu-suzuki/) > [“Because if every moment of a life is present in every other, so is every old self you've ever tried to outrun. And then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-risk-hallberg/because-if-every-moment-of-a-life-is-present-in-every-other-so-is/) [Garth Risk Hallberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-risk-hallberg/) > [“The sad truth is that what I could recall in five seconds all too soon needed ten, then thirty, then a full minute—like shadows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/the-sad-truth-is-that-what-i-could-recall-in-five-seconds-all-too-2/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [I have moments where I miss my old self. But I think anyone can get caught up in what we used to have. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-gleason/i-have-moments-where-i-miss-my-old-self-but-i-think-anyone-can-get/) [Steve Gleason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-gleason/) > [“Marcus's fear that his wife might succumb to childbed fever receded day by day as Lillian returned to her old self, healthy and slender…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-kleypas/marcus-s-fear-that-his-wife-might-succumb-to-childbed-fever-receded/) [Lisa Kleypas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kleypas/) > [“My Dear Mrs Winter. (I had half a mind when I dipped my pen in the ink, to address you by your old natural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/my-dear-mrs-winter-i-had-half-a-mind-when-i-dipped-my-pen-in-the-ink/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“Paradoxically, we achieve true wholeness only by embracing our fragility and sometimes, our brokenness. Wholeness is a natural radiance of Love, and Love demands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jalaja-bonheim/paradoxically-we-achieve-true-wholeness-only-by-embracing-our/) [Jalaja Bonheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jalaja-bonheim/) > [Through learning we grow, becoming more than we were before, and in that sense learning is unselfish, because it results in the transformation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/through-learning-we-grow-becoming-more-than-we-were-before-and-in/) [Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/) ## More by Ann Brashares > [“Because the truth wouldn't be comforting and wouldn't bring them closer again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-brashares/because-the-truth-wouldn-t-be-comforting-and-wouldn-t-bring-them/) [Ann Brashares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-brashares/) > [“It’s by living that you live more.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-brashares/it-s-by-living-that-you-live-more/) [Ann Brashares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-brashares/) > [“¿Iban a sumirla en la tristeza antes de hacerla feliz? No, por favor.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-brashares/iban-a-sumirla-en-la-tristeza-antes-de-hacerla-feliz-no-por-favor/) [Ann Brashares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-brashares/) > [“When she made her way to the big picture window that framed the dining room table she froze. She stopped breathing. The anger was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-brashares/when-she-made-her-way-to-the-big-picture-window-that-framed-the/) [Ann Brashares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-brashares/) > [“Lena remembered herself in all the old familiar things they said. She existed in her friends; there she was. All the parts of herself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-brashares/lena-remembered-herself-in-all-the-old-familiar-things-they-said-she/) [Ann Brashares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-brashares/) > [Everyone is fragile. Everything beautiful is fragile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-brashares/everyone-is-fragile-everything-beautiful-is-fragile/) [Ann Brashares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-brashares/) > [“but it was hard to give the real world much notice when he was this close.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-brashares/but-it-was-hard-to-give-the-real-world-much-notice-when-he-was-this/) [Ann Brashares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-brashares/) > [“You don't have time, Len. That is the most bitter and the most beautiful piece of advice I can offer. If you don't have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-brashares/you-don-t-have-time-len-that-is-the-most-bitter-and-the-most/) [Ann Brashares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-brashares/) > [“You couldn’t count on Providence for anything ever.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-brashares/you-couldn-t-count-on-providence-for-anything-ever/) [Ann Brashares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-brashares/) > [Gestating characters feels something like the mental equivalent of gestating a baby. In both cases, to create them you lose yourself. Or at least…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-brashares/gestating-characters-feels-something-like-the-mental-equivalent-of/) [Ann Brashares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-brashares/) > [“He could take happiness from her, but could he give any?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-brashares/he-could-take-happiness-from-her-but-could-he-give-any/) [Ann Brashares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-brashares/) > [The weather turned. Her skin seemed to grow a million extra pores, and all of them opened to take in the warmth and tenderness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-brashares/the-weather-turned-her-skin-seemed-to-grow-a-million-extra-pores-and/) [Ann Brashares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-brashares/) > [She wanted him to notice her so much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-brashares/she-wanted-him-to-notice-her-so-much/) [Ann Brashares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-brashares/) > [“No matter how it felt to be near him, she had to keep her swollen heart in check.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-brashares/no-matter-how-it-felt-to-be-near-him-she-had-to-keep-her-swollen/) [Ann Brashares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-brashares/) > [Maybe happiness was just a matter of the little upticks- the traffic signal that said "Walk" the second you go there- and downticks- the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-brashares/maybe-happiness-was-just-a-matter-of-the-little-upticks-the-traffic/) [Ann Brashares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-brashares/) [Explore all 465 Ann Brashares quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-brashares/) ## More Nostalgia quotes > [Nostalgia keeps dissolving the ironic narratives in which I have contained my past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/nostalgia-keeps-dissolving-the-ironic-narratives-in-which-i-have/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [“When I was alive, I aimed to be a student not of longing but of light.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-nelson/when-i-was-alive-i-aimed-to-be-a-student-not-of-longing-but-of-light/) [Maggie Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-nelson/) > [“Haunted by the longing to feel something real, deep and magical; I searched for a shared ecstasy... that's when you came along.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lebo-grand/haunted-by-the-longing-to-feel-something-real-deep-and-magical-i/) [Lebo Grand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lebo-grand/) > [“Whenever I think about ancient cultures nostalgia seizes me. Perhaps this is nothing but envy of the sweet slowness of the history of that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/whenever-i-think-about-ancient-cultures-nostalgia-seizes-me-perhaps/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [“I don't want to break my memories with you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arzum-uzun/i-don-t-want-to-break-my-memories-with-you/) [Arzum Uzun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arzum-uzun/) > [Sometimes it has to do with other longings that are much more existential. Sometimes you go elsewhere not because you are not liking the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-perel/sometimes-it-has-to-do-with-other-longings-that-are-much-more/) [Esther Perel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-perel/) > [“Not very long ago I was driving with my husband on the back roads of Grey County, which is to the north and east…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/not-very-long-ago-i-was-driving-with-my-husband-on-the-back-roads-of/) [Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/) > [“Can you miss someone you haven’t seen for longer than you knew them? Maybe we rue the time not the person.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-rothschild/can-you-miss-someone-you-haven-t-seen-for-longer-than-you-knew-them/) Hannah Rothschild > [A vacation is like love - anticipated with pleasure, experienced with discomfort, and remembered with nostalgia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-esar/a-vacation-is-like-love-anticipated-with-pleasure-experienced-with/) [Evan Esar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-esar/) > [Could it be in longing we are most ourselves?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-young-lee/could-it-be-in-longing-we-are-most-ourselves/) [Li-Young Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-young-lee/) > [Any time gone by was better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/any-time-gone-by-was-better/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Let us not burthen our remembrance with A heaviness that's gone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/let-us-not-burthen-our-remembrance-with-a-heaviness-that-s-gone/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Some things in this world just ain't meant to be, not in the times we want 'em to, and the heart has to hold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcbride/some-things-in-this-world-just-ain-t-meant-to-be-not-in-the-times-we/) [James McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mcbride/) > [For me, growing up in hip-hop culture, it's all about having the next style, the new fashion, the new way to express yourself, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/el-p/for-me-growing-up-in-hip-hop-culture-it-s-all-about-having-the-next/) [El-P](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/el-p/) > [“Out of infinite longings rise finite deeds like weak fountains, falling back just in time and trembling. And yet, what otherwise remains silent, our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/out-of-infinite-longings-rise-finite-deeds-like-weak-fountains/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) [Browse all 2,425 Nostalgia quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nostalgia/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Sometimes when she thought of Eric, and now more powerfully when she saw him, she felt some achy nostalgia for her old self. For the dauntless, daring soul she used to be. There were certain qualities you possessed carelessly. And you couldn't retrieve them when they were gone.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ann Brashares" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-brashares/sometimes-when-she-thought-of-eric-and-now-more-powerfully-when-she/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Nostalgia" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-brashares/sometimes-when-she-thought-of-eric-and-now-more-powerfully-when-she/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/585/ann-brashares-572_nostalgia_sometimes-when-she-thought-of-eric-and-n_456767.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/585/ann-brashares-572_nostalgia_sometimes-when-she-thought-of-eric-and-n_456767.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/585/ann-brashares-572_nostalgia_sometimes-when-she-thought-of-eric-and-n_456767.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Sometimes when she thought of Eric, and now more powerfully when she saw him, she felt some achy nostalgia…” — Ann Brashares", "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": "Ann Brashares", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-brashares/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Sometimes when she thought of Eric,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-brashares/sometimes-when-she-thought-of-eric-and-now-more-powerfully-when-she/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-brashares/sometimes-when-she-thought-of-eric-and-now-more-powerfully-when-she/#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 } } ] } ```