--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Certain things existed out of time. It…" description: "\"“Certain things existed out of time. It was ten years ago, it was this morning. In that way the accident was like his mother's death. It did not recede..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fbf/ann-patchett-670_death_certain-things-existed-out-of-time-it-wa_1513372.jpg" --- # Certain things existed out of time. It was ten years ago… ![“Certain things existed out of time. It was ten years ago, it was this morning. In that way the accident was like his mother's death. It did not recede so much as hover, waxing and waning at different intervals but always there. It happened in the past and it was always happening. It happened every…” quote by Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fbf/ann-patchett-670_death_certain-things-existed-out-of-time-it-wa_1513372.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fbf/ann-patchett-670_death_certain-things-existed-out-of-time-it-wa_1513372.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fbf/ann-patchett-670_death_certain-things-existed-out-of-time-it-wa_1513372.jpg) > ““Certain things existed out of time. It was ten years ago, it was this morning. In that way the accident was like his mother's death. It did not recede so much as hover, waxing and waning at different intervals but always there. It happened in the past and it was always happening. It happened every single minute of the day.”” [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Trauma can feel timeless, persisting like a lingering presence that never fully fades. **In simple terms:** Pain can feel ever‑present. Key Takeaway Acknowledge lingering pain, seek healing. Themes trauma memory time perseverance psychology grief Mood somber reflective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - therapy - grief counseling - mindfulness Key Concepts existential continuity psychological imprint Questions to Reflect On - What moments make your trauma feel immediate? - How can you create distance from persistent memories? A Different Perspective Pain may dominate present life, obscuring growth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accident](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accident/) [Accident Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accident-like-5575543/) [Ago Morning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ago-morning-5575542/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Existed Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existed-time-1092082/) [Happened Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happened-past/) [Ten years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ten-years/) [Ten years ago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ten-years-ago/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Years ago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years-ago/) ## Related quotes > [The ideal is to put on shows where, if you go into the same space again, you don't remember ever having been there before,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-oldham/the-ideal-is-to-put-on-shows-where-if-you-go-into-the-same-space/) [Will Oldham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-oldham/) > [“Time never existed, time will never exist, for time is existing”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephan-attia/time-never-existed-time-will-never-exist-for-time-is-existing/) [Stephan Attia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephan-attia/) > [There has never been a time when you and I have not existed, nor will there be a time when we will cease to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bhagavad-gita/there-has-never-been-a-time-when-you-and-i-have-not-existed-nor-will/) [Bhagavad Gita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhagavad-gita/) > [Item numbers have existed from time immemorial.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zeenat-aman/item-numbers-have-existed-from-time-immemorial/) [Zeenat Aman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zeenat-aman/) > [Nothing ever happened in the past that can prevent you from being present now, and if the past cant prevent you from being present…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/nothing-ever-happened-in-the-past-that-can-prevent-you-from-being/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [You can always cry, but your eyes will once dry. 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The past was done and over and settled;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-werlin/nothing-that-had-happened-in-the-past-could-be-taken-away-this-was-an/) [Nancy Werlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-werlin/) > [Its not about what has happened in the past, its about what we can make of the future!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/its-not-about-what-has-happened-in-the-past-its-about-what-we-can/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [We're not going to think about what's happened in the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blake-griffin/we-re-not-going-to-think-about-what-s-happened-in-the-past/) [Blake Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blake-griffin/) > [Because that's just the way it is, and don't sleep on what you did before, you know, because it can... not hurt you, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thierry-henry/because-that-s-just-the-way-it-is-and-don-t-sleep-on-what-you-did/) [Thierry Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thierry-henry/) ## More by Ann Patchett > [She sang as if she was saving the life of every person in the room.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/she-sang-as-if-she-was-saving-the-life-of-every-person-in-the-room/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [If I had problems, I kept them to myself. I didn't make a scene.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/if-i-had-problems-i-kept-them-to-myself-i-didn-t-make-a-scene/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [I can't write the book I want to write, but I can and will write the book I am capable of writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/i-can-t-write-the-book-i-want-to-write-but-i-can-and-will-write-the/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [“Without worry to protect me, every thought that came into my mind received real attention.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/without-worry-to-protect-me-every-thought-that-came-into-my-mind/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [“I wrote the last sentence of The Patron Saint of Liars in early April and stumbled out of my apartment and into the beautiful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/i-wrote-the-last-sentence-of-the-patron-saint-of-liars-in-early-april/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [“In the future, he will try to say her name enough, but he never can.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/in-the-future-he-will-try-to-say-her-name-enough-but-he-never-can/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [My novels are very much the same, as I think many people's novels are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/my-novels-are-very-much-the-same-as-i-think-many-people-s-novels-are/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [“He was in love, and never had he felt such kindness towards another person.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/he-was-in-love-and-never-had-he-felt-such-kindness-towards-another/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [“Gen was sleeping the sleep of the heavily drugged.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/gen-was-sleeping-the-sleep-of-the-heavily-drugged/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [If I was a waitress, I was too tired at the end of the day when I came home to try to write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/if-i-was-a-waitress-i-was-too-tired-at-the-end-of-the-day-when-i-came/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [“She didn't know how to hate her mother yet, but every time she left her father crying in the airport she came that much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/she-didn-t-know-how-to-hate-her-mother-yet-but-every-time-she-left/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [“When you think of love you think as an American. 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