--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's a funny thing, hope. It's not like…" description: "\"“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 gone.”\" — Anna Quindlen" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/660/anna-quindlen-467_fear_it-s-a-funny-thing-hope-it-s-not-like-lo_179645.png" --- # It's a funny thing, hope. It's not like love, or fear, or… ![“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 gone.” quote by Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/660/anna-quindlen-467_fear_it-s-a-funny-thing-hope-it-s-not-like-lo_179645.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/660/anna-quindlen-467_fear_it-s-a-funny-thing-hope-it-s-not-like-lo_179645.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/660/anna-quindlen-467_fear_it-s-a-funny-thing-hope-it-s-not-like-lo_179645.png) > ““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 gone.”” [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Hope is a subtle feeling that often goes unnoticed until it disappears, unlike stronger emotions. **In simple terms:** Hope is quiet and often unnoticed until gone. Key Takeaway Recognize and cherish hope while present. Themes hope emotion awareness Mood nostalgic contemplative Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - relationships - career setbacks - health challenges - personal loss Key Concepts psychology existentialism Questions to Reflect On - When have you realized you had hope only after it vanished? - How can you make hope more tangible? A Different Perspective Hope can be fragile and easily overlooked. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Feeling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feeling/) [Hate Feeling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hate-feeling-242672/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Hope Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope-like-292830/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Thing Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thing-hope-374680/) ## Related quotes > [You have a way of looking at things. You make it seem as though everything's going to be okay. 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Hope can drive a man insane.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-me-tell-you-something-my-friend-hope-is-a-dangerous-thing-hope/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The nice thing about HOPE is that you can give it to someone else, someone who needs it even more than you do, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/the-nice-thing-about-hope-is-that-you-can-give-it-to-someone-else/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [“This is LIFE sometimes you need to wait MORE or LESS but the sure thing is, there is HOPE.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-serrano/this-is-life-sometimes-you-need-to-wait-more-or-less-but-the-sure/) [Ariel Serrano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-serrano/) > [The cruelest thing, hope, the way it strings you along, the way it makes you believe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackson-pearce/the-cruelest-thing-hope-the-way-it-strings-you-along-the-way-it-makes/) [Jackson Pearce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackson-pearce/) > [We are only what we are; not what we would be; nor every thing we hope for. 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Hope could be the cruelest thing in the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-coben/hope-could-be-a-wonderful-thing-but-hope-could-crush-you-anew-every/) [Harlan Coben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-coben/) > [The thing about hope is that it doesn't go away even when it serves no purpose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-destefano/the-thing-about-hope-is-that-it-doesn-t-go-away-even-when-it-serves/) [Lauren DeStefano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-destefano/) > [“sometimes the thing that breaks your heart might be the very thing you hope for.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-beckerman/sometimes-the-thing-that-breaks-your-heart-might-be-the-very-thing/) [Hannah Beckerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-beckerman/) > [“Even here, behind the darkness of my eyelids, I cannot name the thing I hope for.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/even-here-behind-the-darkness-of-my-eyelids-i-cannot-name-the-thing-i/) [Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/) ## More by Anna Quindlen > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Trying to be perfect may be inevitable for people who are smart and ambitious and interested in the world and its good opinion...What is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/trying-to-be-perfect-may-be-inevitable-for-people-who-are-smart-and/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Sometimes change came all at once, with a sound like a fire taking hold of dry wood and paper, with a roar that rose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/sometimes-change-came-all-at-once-with-a-sound-like-a-fire-taking/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Loss as muse. 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