--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Grief is not linear. People kept telling…" description: "\"“Grief is not linear. People kept telling me that once this happened or that passed, everything would be better. Some people gave me one year to grieve..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a1/ann-hood-10436_autumn-leaves_grief-is-not-linear-people-kept-telling_1818839.jpg" --- # Grief is not linear. People kept telling me that once this… ![“Grief is not linear. People kept telling me that once this happened or that passed, everything would be better. Some people gave me one year to grieve. They saw grief as a straight line, with a beginning, middle, and end. But it is not linear. It is disjointed. One day you are acting almost like a…” quote by Ann Hood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a1/ann-hood-10436_autumn-leaves_grief-is-not-linear-people-kept-telling_1818839.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a1/ann-hood-10436_autumn-leaves_grief-is-not-linear-people-kept-telling_1818839.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a1/ann-hood-10436_autumn-leaves_grief-is-not-linear-people-kept-telling_1818839.jpg) > ““Grief is not linear. People kept telling me that once this happened or that passed, everything would be better. Some people gave me one year to grieve. They saw grief as a straight line, with a beginning, middle, and end. But it is not linear. It is disjointed. One day you are acting almost like a normal person. You maybe even manage to take a shower. Your clothes match. You think the autumn leaves look pretty, or enjoy the sound of snow crunching under your feet. Then a song, a glimpse of something, or maybe even nothing sends you back into the hole of grief. It is not one step forward, two steps back. It is a jumble. It is hours that are all right, and weeks that aren't. Or it is good days and bad days. Or it is the weight of sadness making you look different to others and nothing helps.”” [Ann Hood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-hood/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Grief does not follow a predictable path; it fluctuates between normalcy and deep sorrow, often triggered unexpectedly. **In simple terms:** Grief is unpredictable and uneven. Key Takeaway Accept the ups and downs; be patient with yourself. Themes grief mental health resilience Mood reflective empathetic Type personal therapeutic When to use this quote - counseling sessions - support groups - daily self‑care - journaling Key Concepts non‑linear process emotional regulation triggering events Questions to Reflect On - How do you recognize when a good day is a genuine recovery? - What strategies help you navigate sudden grief spikes? A Different Perspective Grief may persist longer than societal expectations suggest, leading to isolation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Autumn leaves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autumn-leaves/) [Bad day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-day/) [Bad days](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-days/) [Days And Bad Days](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/days-and-bad-days/) [Good day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-day/) [Good days](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-days/) [Good Days And Bad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-days-and-bad/) [Grief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief/) [Grief Linear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief-linear-2175438/) [Grief Step](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief-step-2175441/) [Grief Straight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief-straight-2175439/) [Normal person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/normal-person/) [Sadness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sadness/) [Saw Grief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/saw-grief-2175440/) [Step forward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/step-forward/) [Straight line](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/straight-line/) [Year Grieve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/year-grieve-2175442/) ## Related quotes > [“The first thing to know is that grief is not a straight line. 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I have accepted there is no perfect thing, there will be good days and bad days, but Ill…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/with-every-struggle-i-have-grown-i-have-accepted-there-is-no-perfect/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I see myself as most people see themselves, you have good days and bad days. I don't think I'm better looking now than I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-skarsgard/i-see-myself-as-most-people-see-themselves-you-have-good-days-and-bad/) [Bill Skarsgard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-skarsgard/) > [There are going to be good days and bad days... and you have to learn to fight through that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zach-lavine/there-are-going-to-be-good-days-and-bad-days-and-you-have-to-learn-to/) [Zach LaVine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zach-lavine/) > [I like the challenge of getting players to rise to certain levels, but that's the easy part. The biggest challenge is to get them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dawn-staley/i-like-the-challenge-of-getting-players-to-rise-to-certain-levels-but/) [Dawn Staley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dawn-staley/) > [I think one thing we went through was common to a lot of people: You work your whole life to achieve something, then you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-easton/i-think-one-thing-we-went-through-was-common-to-a-lot-of-people-you/) [Elliot Easton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-easton/) ## More by Ann Hood > [Everyone has read about or knows someone who has gone through fertility treatments. It is an emotional nightmare, fueled by false hope and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-hood/everyone-has-read-about-or-knows-someone-who-has-gone-through/) [Ann Hood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-hood/) > [“Still, he loved her. She knew that. He loved her the best way he could. But she wasn't sure that was enough anymore.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-hood/still-he-loved-her-she-knew-that-he-loved-her-the-best-way-he-could/) [Ann Hood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-hood/) > [“On April 18, 1906, when that earthquake hit San Francisco and took David from her, Vivien began to speak the language of grief. She…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-hood/on-april-18-1906-when-that-earthquake-hit-san-francisco-and-took/) [Ann Hood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-hood/) > [I have learned that there is more power in a good strong hug than in a thousand meaningful words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-hood/i-have-learned-that-there-is-more-power-in-a-good-strong-hug-than-in/) [Ann Hood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-hood/) > [Babies make you do things for them. They get you up and they get you moving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-hood/babies-make-you-do-things-for-them-they-get-you-up-and-they-get-you/) [Ann Hood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-hood/) > [“Follow love and it will flee; Flee love and it will follow you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-hood/follow-love-and-it-will-flee-flee-love-and-it-will-follow-you/) [Ann Hood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-hood/) > [I was a daughterless mother. I had nowhere to put the things a mother places on her daughter. The nail polish I used to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-hood/i-was-a-daughterless-mother-i-had-nowhere-to-put-the-things-a-mother/) [Ann Hood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-hood/) > [For reasons I can't remember, my family eventually stopped attending church, and I started questioning the Catholic Church's beliefs. I dabbled a little, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-hood/for-reasons-i-can-t-remember-my-family-eventually-stopped-attending/) [Ann Hood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-hood/) > [Since my brother died in 1982, my parents and I had formed a shaky tripod of a family; now that I'd lost my father…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-hood/since-my-brother-died-in-1982-my-parents-and-i-had-formed-a-shaky/) [Ann Hood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-hood/) > [“Nothing can stop the words so well as the mute alphabet of knit and purl. The curl of your cupped hand scoops up long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-hood/nothing-can-stop-the-words-so-well-as-the-mute-alphabet-of-knit-and/) [Ann Hood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-hood/) > [I learned to knit in 2002, six months after my 5-year-old daughter, Grace, died suddenly from a virulent form of strep. I was unable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-hood/i-learned-to-knit-in-2002-six-months-after-my-5-year-old-daughter/) [Ann Hood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-hood/) > [If watching your child die is a parent's worst nightmare, imagine having to tell your other child that his sister is dead... Although I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-hood/if-watching-your-child-die-is-a-parent-s-worst-nightmare-imagine/) [Ann Hood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-hood/) > [In my adult life, I had spent a lot of time angry at God, mostly over the sudden deaths in my family - my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-hood/in-my-adult-life-i-had-spent-a-lot-of-time-angry-at-god-mostly-over/) [Ann Hood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-hood/) > [God does give us more than we can bear sometimes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-hood/god-does-give-us-more-than-we-can-bear-sometimes/) [Ann Hood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-hood/) > [As someone who has lived the nightmare of losing a child, I know that the enormous hole left behind remains forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-hood/as-someone-who-has-lived-the-nightmare-of-losing-a-child-i-know-that/) [Ann Hood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-hood/) [Explore all 65 Ann Hood quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-hood/) ## More Autumn leaves quotes > [“Easter blessings All life’s sacrifices like autumn leaves awaken our senses and power to love and be whole Our Mother Earth, Our Father Sky…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramon-ravenswood/easter-blessings-all-life-s-sacrifices-like-autumn-leaves-awaken-our/) [Ramon Ravenswood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramon-ravenswood/) > [While cares will drop off like autumn leaves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/while-cares-will-drop-off-like-autumn-leaves/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [“The Crows of the region could have told them that there are almost always more Crows around them than they can see; but like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-crowley/the-crows-of-the-region-could-have-told-them-that-there-are-almost/) [John Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-crowley/) > [“Do you ever think about him? About the boy who infected you?" Images flash in the darkness: a crown of auburn hair, like autumn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/do-you-ever-think-about-him-about-the-boy-who-infected-you-images/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [Inside of us, there's a continual autumn. Our leaves fall and are blown out over the water.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/inside-of-us-there-s-a-continual-autumn-our-leaves-fall-and-are-blown/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [“True friends are like diamonds, Precious and rare, Fake friends are like autumn leaves, Found everywhere.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ari-joseph/true-friends-are-like-diamonds-precious-and-rare-fake-friends-are/) [Ari Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ari-joseph/) > [With the ripening of the fruits in Autumn the leaves begin to wither and the trees, taking up their sap from the earth through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-vitruvius-pollio/with-the-ripening-of-the-fruits-in-autumn-the-leaves-begin-to-wither/) [Marcus Vitruvius Pollio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-vitruvius-pollio/) > [“Ah - the autumn leaves,' she exclaimed, 'spinning earthwards, to their common home! Ah me, life is strange! Would you care to hear my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-baker/ah-the-autumn-leaves-she-exclaimed-spinning-earthwards-to-their/) [Frank Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-baker/) > [“The maple brings tourists who come to marvel at the blazing colours of the autumn leaves and it brings cash dollars in the form…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/the-maple-brings-tourists-who-come-to-marvel-at-the-blazing-colours/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [“Autumn leaves fall from the tree, disappear with the wind, but then reappear on the tree and disappear again. Memories are like that, first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/autumn-leaves-fall-from-the-tree-disappear-with-the-wind-but-then/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [The stripped and shapely Maple grieves The ghosts of her Departed leaves. The ground is hard, As hard as stone. The year is old,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-stripped-and-shapely-maple-grieves-the-ghosts-of-her-departed/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [TIME WENT ON, life with the children unfolding in its own ecosystem, small plastic toys seeming to grow up from the carpet like mushrooms,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-bauermeister/time-went-on-life-with-the-children-unfolding-in-its-own-ecosystem/) [Erica Bauermeister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-bauermeister/) > [Let life be beautiful like summer flowers and death like autumn leaves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/let-life-be-beautiful-like-summer-flowers-and-death-like-autumn-leaves/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [Spring stands for when I met you, and you started to bloom like the trees in my garden. Summer stands for when our relationship…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oksana-serdyuk/spring-stands-for-when-i-met-you-and-you-started-to-bloom-like-the/) [Oksana Serdyuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oksana-serdyuk/) > [No lake is beautiful without the sky, without the mist or without the trees and the autumn leaves! No beauty is beautiful in itself!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/no-lake-is-beautiful-without-the-sky-without-the-mist-or-without-the/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) [Browse all 114 Autumn leaves quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autumn-leaves/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Grief is not linear. People kept telling me that once this happened or that passed, everything would be better. Some people gave me one year to grieve. They saw grief as a straight line, with a beginning, middle, and end. But it is not linear. It is disjointed. One day you are acting almost like a normal person. You maybe even manage to take a shower. Your clothes match. You think the autumn leaves look pretty, or enjoy the sound of snow crunching under your feet. Then a song, a glimpse of something, or maybe even nothing sends you back into the hole of grief. It is not one step forward, two steps back. It is a jumble. It is hours that are all right, and weeks that aren't. Or it is good days and bad days. 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