--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Hope is like walking around with a…" description: "\"“Hope is like walking around with a fishhook in your mouth and somebody just keeps pulling it and pulling it.”\" — Ann Patchett" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc7/ann-patchett-670_hope_hope-is-like-walking-around-with-a-fishh_1937922.jpg" --- # Hope is like walking around with a fishhook in your mouth… ![“Hope is like walking around with a fishhook in your mouth and somebody just keeps pulling it and pulling it.” quote by Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc7/ann-patchett-670_hope_hope-is-like-walking-around-with-a-fishh_1937922.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc7/ann-patchett-670_hope_hope-is-like-walking-around-with-a-fishh_1937922.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc7/ann-patchett-670_hope_hope-is-like-walking-around-with-a-fishh_1937922.jpg) > ““Hope is like walking around with a fishhook in your mouth and somebody just keeps pulling it and pulling it.”” [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. Hope feels like a persistent tug, an uneasy sensation that keeps pulling you forward despite uncertainty. **In simple terms:** Hope is a constant, sometimes uncomfortable, pull. Key Takeaway Stay open to hope's guidance. Themes hope uncertainty perseverance motivation Mood hopeful introspective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - career challenges - personal loss - creative projects Key Concepts psychology resilience emotional endurance Questions to Reflect On - What keeps you moving when hope feels burdensome? - How can you differentiate hope from denial? A Different Perspective Hope can become obsession, leading to frustration. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fishhook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fishhook-2198600/) [Fishhook Mouth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fishhook-mouth-3070711/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Hope Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope-like/) [Keeps Pulling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/keeps-pulling-3070712/) [Walking around](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/walking-around/) [Walking Fishhook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/walking-fishhook-3070710/) ## Related quotes > [Therefore, look only for this fishhook, and you will be happily caught. The more you are caught, the more you will be liberated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meister-eckhart/therefore-look-only-for-this-fishhook-and-you-will-be-happily-caught/) [Meister Eckhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meister-eckhart/) > [The fishhook catches the fish; the truth catches the lie; the death catches the life; the love catches the hate!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/the-fishhook-catches-the-fish-the-truth-catches-the-lie-the-death/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [If you are a fish, stay away from the fishhook; if you are a lover, stay away from the suspicion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/if-you-are-a-fish-stay-away-from-the-fishhook-if-you-are-a-lover-stay/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Hope is a horrible thing, you know. I don't know who decided to package hope as a virtue because it's not. It's a plague.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/hope-is-a-horrible-thing-you-know-i-don-t-know-who-decided-to-package/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [I want to show the people what they want to see and I hope they like it. That is very important to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dmitry-bivol/i-want-to-show-the-people-what-they-want-to-see-and-i-hope-they-like/) [Dmitry Bivol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dmitry-bivol/) > [Hope is like a path in the countryside. Originally, there is nothing - but as people walk this way again and again, a path…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lu-xun/hope-is-like-a-path-in-the-countryside-originally-there-is-nothing/) [Lu Xun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lu-xun/) > [Hope you all like getting your minds blown...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramandeep-singh/hope-you-all-like-getting-your-minds-blown/) [Ramandeep Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramandeep-singh/) > [She's gonna marry the night. \_ I hope you like it, guys (:](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/babloo/she-s-gonna-marry-the-night-i-hope-you-like-it-guys/) [Babloo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/babloo/) > [For the one and only handsome ZHATT :) hope you like it <3](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imynatot/for-the-one-and-only-handsome-zhatt-hope-you-like-it-3/) [Imynatot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imynatot/) > [If you don't like me, life goes on, you know what I mean? But I hope you do like me. Because I think that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-quinn/if-you-don-t-like-me-life-goes-on-you-know-what-i-mean-but-i-hope-you/) [Christine Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-quinn/) > [I had to stop going to auditions thinking, 'Oh, I hope they like me.' I had to go in thinking I was the answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-clooney/i-had-to-stop-going-to-auditions-thinking-oh-i-hope-they-like-me-i/) [George Clooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-clooney/) > [Well, I hope you like it here, Leo. It used to be …really nice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/well-i-hope-you-like-it-here-leo-it-used-to-be-really-nice/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [When you're a parent, you're just like, God, I hope they like me when they grow up. I hope that I did a good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwen-stefani/when-you-re-a-parent-you-re-just-like-god-i-hope-they-like-me-when/) [Gwen Stefani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwen-stefani/) > [“It's a funny thing, hope. It's not like love, or fear, or hate. It's a feeling you don't really know you had until it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/it-s-a-funny-thing-hope-it-s-not-like-love-or-fear-or-hate-it-s-a/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [You have a way of looking at things. You make it seem as though everything's going to be okay. I can't imagine a more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-destefano/you-have-a-way-of-looking-at-things-you-make-it-seem-as-though/) [Lauren DeStefano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-destefano/) ## 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. You must think like a Russian. It is a more expansive view.' 'Americans havea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/when-you-think-of-love-you-think-as-an-american-you-must-think-like-a/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [“...Nebraska was white, a page as still as fallen snow. It was not crosshatched with roads, overrun with the hard lines of interstate systems.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/nebraska-was-white-a-page-as-still-as-fallen-snow-it-was-not/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [“Clearly he needed a father, but some other father, any other father, would have been preferable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/clearly-he-needed-a-father-but-some-other-father-any-other-father/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [“I don't have any talent for vacations.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/i-don-t-have-any-talent-for-vacations/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) [Explore all 413 Ann Patchett quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) ## More Hope quotes > [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/) [Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/) > [“Cine a ucis stelele? Cine a surpat drumul spre viitor al celor din morminte?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ionel-teodoreanu/cine-a-ucis-stelele-cine-a-surpat-drumul-spre-viitor-al-celor-din/) [Ionel Teodoreanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ionel-teodoreanu/) > [“What can we do in any hardship? We can hope with prayerful praise.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/what-can-we-do-in-any-hardship-we-can-hope-with-prayerful-praise/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [I hope I continue to evolve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-flair/i-hope-i-continue-to-evolve/) [Charlotte Flair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-flair/) > [If one truly has lost hope, one would not be on hand to say so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bentley/if-one-truly-has-lost-hope-one-would-not-be-on-hand-to-say-so/) [Eric Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bentley/) > [“too—I realized that my only hope was to give up the life that had been, in order to make room for the life that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-lesser/too-i-realized-that-my-only-hope-was-to-give-up-the-life-that-had/) [Elizabeth Lesser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-lesser/) > [You practice mindfulness, on the one hand, to be calm and peaceful. On the other hand, as you practice mindfulness and live a life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-practice-mindfulness-on-the-one-hand-to-be-calm-and-peaceful-on/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Stop trying to give me hope ... I have no room left for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenn-f/stop-trying-to-give-me-hope-i-have-no-room-left-for-it/) [Jenn F](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenn-f/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Give me love, give me peace on earth, give me light, give me life, keep me free from birth, give me hope, help me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/give-me-love-give-me-peace-on-earth-give-me-light-give-me-life-keep/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Pray, hope, don't worry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pio-of-pietrelcina/pray-hope-don-t-worry/) [Pio of Pietrelcina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pio-of-pietrelcina/) > [Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillips-brooks/do-not-pray-for-tasks-equal-to-your-powers-pray-for-powers-equal-to/) [Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/) > [I am at a point in my life where everything I have worked for starts to look like a burden, a weight on my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-abou-samra/i-am-at-a-point-in-my-life-where-everything-i-have-worked-for-starts/) [Simone Abou Samra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-abou-samra/) > [Im really happy that I met you I hope you know that](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/im-nothing/im-really-happy-that-i-met-you-i-hope-you-know-that/) [Im Nothing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/im-nothing/) > [All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/all-that-i-am-or-ever-hope-to-be-i-owe-to-my-angel-mother/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) [Browse all 24,868 Hope quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Hope is like walking around with a fishhook in your mouth and somebody just keeps pulling it and pulling it.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ann Patchett" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/hope-is-like-walking-around-with-a-fishhook-in-your-mouth-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Hope" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/hope-is-like-walking-around-with-a-fishhook-in-your-mouth-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc7/ann-patchett-670_hope_hope-is-like-walking-around-with-a-fishh_1937922.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc7/ann-patchett-670_hope_hope-is-like-walking-around-with-a-fishh_1937922.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc7/ann-patchett-670_hope_hope-is-like-walking-around-with-a-fishh_1937922.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Hope is like walking around with a fishhook in your mouth and somebody just keeps pulling it and pulling it.” — Ann Patchett", "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 Patchett", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Hope is like walking around with...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/hope-is-like-walking-around-with-a-fishhook-in-your-mouth-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/hope-is-like-walking-around-with-a-fishhook-in-your-mouth-and/#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 } } ] } ```