--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's funny, isn't it, what will make you…" description: "\"“It's funny, isn't it, what will make you break? Your lover moves to London and falls in love with a news reader for the BBC and you feel fine and then..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/977/anna-quindlen-467_break_it-s-funny-isn-t-it-what-will-make-you-b_1505816.jpg" --- # It's funny, isn't it, what will make you break? Your lover… ![“It's funny, isn't it, what will make you break? Your lover moves to London and falls in love with a news reader for the BBC and you feel fine and then one day you raise your umbrella slightly to cross Fifty-seventh Street and stare into the Burberry shop and begin to sob. Or your baby dies at…” quote by Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/977/anna-quindlen-467_break_it-s-funny-isn-t-it-what-will-make-you-b_1505816.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/977/anna-quindlen-467_break_it-s-funny-isn-t-it-what-will-make-you-b_1505816.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/977/anna-quindlen-467_break_it-s-funny-isn-t-it-what-will-make-you-b_1505816.jpg) > ““It's funny, isn't it, what will make you break? Your lover moves to London and falls in love with a news reader for the BBC and you feel fine and then one day you raise your umbrella slightly to cross Fifty-seventh Street and stare into the Burberry shop and begin to sob. Or your baby dies at birth and five years later, in an antique store, a small battered silver rattle with teeth marks in one end engraved with the name Emily lies on a square of velvet, and the sobs escape from the genie's bottle somewhere deep in your gut where they've lain low until then. Or the garbage bag breaks.”” [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. She illustrates how ordinary moments trigger deep grief, showing how loss resurfaces unexpectedly in daily life. **In simple terms:** Small events can unleash hidden sorrow. Key Takeaway Acknowledge and process lingering grief. Themes grief memory everyday triggers Mood somber introspective Type emotional reflective When to use this quote - journaling - counseling - mindful walking Key Concepts loss emotional health Questions to Reflect On - What triggers your hidden grief? - How can you honor past loss? A Different Perspective Grief may become overwhelming if unaddressed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Break](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/break/) [Break Lover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/break-lover-5531770/) [Breaks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breaks/) [Broken Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/broken-heart-231836/) [Five years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/five-years/) [Make Break](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make-break-611637/) [Sob Baby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sob-baby-5531771/) ## Related quotes > [Sometimes life pushes you over the edge, you'er the only person that can make it are break it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-f/sometimes-life-pushes-you-over-the-edge-you-er-the-only-person-that/) [James F](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-f/) > [I dont make up for another break up, if we ever break up, we are done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelvin-mpama/i-dont-make-up-for-another-break-up-if-we-ever-break-up-we-are-done/) [Kelvin Mpama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelvin-mpama/) > [Does he make you cry, make you break down, shatter your illusions of love? You need to know how to pick up the pieces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/does-he-make-you-cry-make-you-break-down-shatter-your-illusions-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Hope you got insurance, I'm ensuring you I make break your back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/webbie/hope-you-got-insurance-i-m-ensuring-you-i-make-break-your-back/) [Webbie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/webbie/) > [It was time to come up here and retire with my wonderful husband, and my children and my grandchildren, and make that change. I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-ghesquiere/it-was-time-to-come-up-here-and-retire-with-my-wonderful-husband-and/) [Nicolas Ghesquiere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-ghesquiere/) > [“Bit by Bit, Bit by Bit, Bit by Bit, we create a habit that can Make or Break our Life Bit by Bit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rvm/bit-by-bit-bit-by-bit-bit-by-bit-we-create-a-habit-that-can-make-or/) [RVM](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rvm/) > [Truth can make you or break you, in the end it will save you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/truth-can-make-you-or-break-you-in-the-end-it-will-save-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life can make you or it can break you. But the good part is you can choose to allow it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/serenity-c/life-can-make-you-or-it-can-break-you-but-the-good-part-is-you-can/) [Serenity C](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/serenity-c/) > [For good or ill, your habits will make or break you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-pavlina/for-good-or-ill-your-habits-will-make-or-break-you/) [Steve Pavlina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-pavlina/) > [Love is to make not to break if to break why to make.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-is-to-make-not-to-break-if-to-break-why-to-make/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It's good to believe in yourself, but there are people out there who can make or break you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-cash/it-s-good-to-believe-in-yourself-but-there-are-people-out-there-who/) [Johnny Cash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-cash/) > [Money can make or break you. It just depends on what you make it to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-rock/money-can-make-or-break-you-it-just-depends-on-what-you-make-it-to-be/) [Jay Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-rock/) > [“The mind is a fascinating instrument that can make or break you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvan-byeajee/the-mind-is-a-fascinating-instrument-that-can-make-or-break-you/) [yvan Byeajee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvan-byeajee/) > [I don't believe in make-or-break moments in your life. If you screw something up, it can knock you down, but that only means you'll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/romesh-ranganathan/i-don-t-believe-in-make-or-break-moments-in-your-life-if-you-screw/) [Romesh Ranganathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/romesh-ranganathan/) > [Be personal, and original. Try to work clean. Stay away from topical material, as it does not allow you to craft it to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-iglesias/be-personal-and-original-try-to-work-clean-stay-away-from-topical/) [Gabriel Iglesias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-iglesias/) ## 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. Loss as character. Loss as life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/loss-as-muse-loss-as-character-loss-as-life/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [knowledge of our own mortality is the greatest gift God ever gives us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/knowledge-of-our-own-mortality-is-the-greatest-gift-god-ever-gives-us/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [You teach your 16-year-old with your heart in your mouth to be a good driver and none of that makes any difference when some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/you-teach-your-16-year-old-with-your-heart-in-your-mouth-to-be-a-good/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Every reader, I suspect, has a book like this somewhere in his or her past, a book that seemed to hold within it, at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/every-reader-i-suspect-has-a-book-like-this-somewhere-in-his-or-her/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [“I’ve finally recognized my body for what it is: a personality-delivery system, designed expressly to carry my character from place to place, now and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-ve-finally-recognized-my-body-for-what-it-is-a-personality-delivery/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [A man who builds his own pedestal had better use strong cement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/a-man-who-builds-his-own-pedestal-had-better-use-strong-cement/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [“In England I am always madam; I arrived too late to ever be a miss. In New York I have only been madamed once,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/in-england-i-am-always-madam-i-arrived-too-late-to-ever-be-a-miss-in/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [“Yet there was always in me, even when I was very small, the sense that I ought to be somewhere else. And wander I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/yet-there-was-always-in-me-even-when-i-was-very-small-the-sense-that/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [I can't think of a single downside to motherhood now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-can-t-think-of-a-single-downside-to-motherhood-now/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It would take a helluva man to replace no man at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/it-would-take-a-helluva-man-to-replace-no-man-at-all/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Not writing at all leads to nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/not-writing-at-all-leads-to-nothing/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Reading has always been my home, my sustenance, my great invincible companion. "Book love," Trollope called it. "It will make your hours pleasant to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/reading-has-always-been-my-home-my-sustenance-my-great-invincible/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) [Explore all 538 Anna Quindlen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) ## More Break quotes > [I made, like, five movies while I was in college. I think they just weren't memorable movies. I've taken breaks as the years have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodie-foster/i-made-like-five-movies-while-i-was-in-college-i-think-they-just/) [Jodie Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodie-foster/) > [Things are going well in Germany because the economy is booming and as an export-driven nation, we are profiting from the fact that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-schulz/things-are-going-well-in-germany-because-the-economy-is-booming-and/) [Martin Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-schulz/) > [There were songs that we cut out after we chose the name, because 'Praise Break' turned out to be an underlying concept that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-caesar/there-were-songs-that-we-cut-out-after-we-chose-the-name-because/) [Daniel Caesar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-caesar/) > [“He didn't break my heart. No one can break your heart except you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/he-didn-t-break-my-heart-no-one-can-break-your-heart-except-you/) [Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/) > [“She couldn't break the orbit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/she-couldn-t-break-the-orbit/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) > [Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding. Even as the stone of the fruit must break, that its heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/your-pain-is-the-breaking-of-the-shell-that-encloses-your/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [Must I go bound while you go free Must I love a manwho doesn't love me Must I be born with so little art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/must-i-go-bound-while-you-go-free-must-i-love-a-manwho-doesn-t-love/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [I hadn't worked for a year when I had my Prison Break audition and it was the easiest audition I've ever had. I got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wentworth-miller/i-hadn-t-worked-for-a-year-when-i-had-my-prison-break-audition-and-it/) [Wentworth Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wentworth-miller/) > [If you strike upon a thought that baffles you, break off from that entanglement and try another, so shall your wits be fresh to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/if-you-strike-upon-a-thought-that-baffles-you-break-off-from-that/) [Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/) > [“A hole ain’t nothing either, but you can still break your neck in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-donati/a-hole-ain-t-nothing-either-but-you-can-still-break-your-neck-in-it/) [Sara Donati](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-donati/) > [“I break things, a lot of things, but I don’t want one of them to be you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-briggs/i-break-things-a-lot-of-things-but-i-don-t-want-one-of-them-to-be-you/) [Patricia Briggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-briggs/) > [Motor racing's less of a sport these days than a commercial break doing 150 mph.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-dunne/motor-racing-s-less-of-a-sport-these-days-than-a-commercial-break/) [Peter Dunne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-dunne/) > [Much like teaching art to young art students age 10 to 15 or so on, you have to break it down into bite-sized pieces,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/much-like-teaching-art-to-young-art-students-age-10-to-15-or-so-on/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [The purpose is to be in gratitude forever. Live with applied consciousness, prosperity will break through the walls, flood you with it. You do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harbhajan-singh-yogi/the-purpose-is-to-be-in-gratitude-forever-live-with-applied/) [Harbhajan Singh Yogi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harbhajan-singh-yogi/) > [Never break another man's rice bowl.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akio-morita/never-break-another-man-s-rice-bowl/) [Akio Morita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akio-morita/) [Browse all 8,188 Break quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/break/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It's funny, isn't it, what will make you break? Your lover moves to London and falls in love with a news reader for the BBC and you feel fine and then one day you raise your umbrella slightly to cross Fifty-seventh Street and stare into the Burberry shop and begin to sob. 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