--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm broken, but I have to learn how to…" description: "\"“I'm broken, but I have to learn how to live. I feel stuck together with scotch tape, like after any breath everything could come apart. If it does, if..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cce/anna-white-12975_brokenness_i-m-broken-but-i-have-to-learn-how-to-li_3031181.jpg" --- # I'm broken, but I have to learn how to live. I feel stuck… ![“I'm broken, but I have to learn how to live. I feel stuck together with scotch tape, like after any breath everything could come apart. If it does, if it all comes undone, I think I'll fall down and never rise again.” quote by Anna White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cce/anna-white-12975_brokenness_i-m-broken-but-i-have-to-learn-how-to-li_3031181.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cce/anna-white-12975_brokenness_i-m-broken-but-i-have-to-learn-how-to-li_3031181.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cce/anna-white-12975_brokenness_i-m-broken-but-i-have-to-learn-how-to-li_3031181.jpg) > ““I'm broken, but I have to learn how to live. I feel stuck together with scotch tape, like after any breath everything could come apart. If it does, if it all comes undone, I think I'll fall down and never rise again.”” [Anna White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-white/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Feeling fragile yet compelled to keep living, fearing collapse at any moment. **In simple terms:** Feeling fragile but determined to survive. Key Takeaway Embrace resilience despite vulnerability. Themes vulnerability resilience fear self‑discovery Mood reflective hopeful introspective Type personal motivational When to use this quote - mental health therapy - creative writing - support groups - mindfulness practice Key Concepts psychology existentialism personal growth Questions to Reflect On - How can you nurture inner strength? - What support systems can you build? A Different Perspective May overlook external factors that cause distress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Brokenness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brokenness/) [Depression quotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depression-quotes/) [Depression-recovery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depression-recovery/) [Mental health](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mental-health/) [Recovery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/recovery/) [Scotch tape](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scotch-tape/) ## Related quotes > [“Slowly, inch by inch, I felt myself recovering. After a few weeks, the darkness began to recede; my appetite for life returned. Haven was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-hamilton/slowly-inch-by-inch-i-felt-myself-recovering-after-a-few-weeks-the/) [Tyler Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-hamilton/) > [“We got through it. Haven made excuses for me to friends, and made an appointment with a terrific doctor, who put me on Effexor,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-hamilton/we-got-through-it-haven-made-excuses-for-me-to-friends-and-made-an/) [Tyler Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-hamilton/) > [“Do you know that feeling? When everything you do seems like a struggle. Where you dont wanna leave the house because you know everyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/do-you-know-that-feeling-when-everything-you-do-seems-like-a-struggle/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“It's scary, and downing, that I make my best music when I'm going through my depression... At that moment, all i can see is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-mcgoldrick/it-s-scary-and-downing-that-i-make-my-best-music-when-i-m-going/) scott mcgoldrick > [“I wasn't lost when I found you, but I know I am now.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mr-joshua-shaw/i-wasn-t-lost-when-i-found-you-but-i-know-i-am-now/) [Mr. Joshua Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mr-joshua-shaw/) > [“Being broken isn't the worst thing. We can be mended and put together again. We don’t have to be ashamed of our past. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-white/being-broken-isn-t-the-worst-thing-we-can-be-mended-and-put-together/) [Anna White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-white/) > [“I want to share my story, and I want to know yours. 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Do not take life to be anything more than acting. Don’t identify yourself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/osho/always-remember-that-you-are-the-observer-and-not-the-doer-do-not/) [Osho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/osho/) > [“Whenever you feel down, take a long walk in nature.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/whenever-you-feel-down-take-a-long-walk-in-nature/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [“What's a triumph is that you woke up this morning and decided to live. That's a triumph.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-vizzini/what-s-a-triumph-is-that-you-woke-up-this-morning-and-decided-to-live/) [Ned Vizzini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-vizzini/) > [“In my community, mental health isn't taken seriously enough. Therapy is replaced by prayer. Tears are a sign of weakness. When you are different,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frida-r/in-my-community-mental-health-isn-t-taken-seriously-enough-therapy-is/) Frida R ## More by Anna White > [“It is the capacity to feel consuming grief and pain and despair that also allows me to embrace love and joy and beauty with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-white/it-is-the-capacity-to-feel-consuming-grief-and-pain-and-despair-that/) [Anna White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-white/) > [“I want my heart to be the thin place. I don't want to board a plane to feel the kiss of heaven. I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-white/i-want-my-heart-to-be-the-thin-place-i-don-t-want-to-board-a-plane-to/) [Anna White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-white/) > [“I doubt that anyone has a Damascus moment after experiencing discrimination. Most people seem to have shining moments of change after experiencing grace.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-white/i-doubt-that-anyone-has-a-damascus-moment-after-experiencing/) [Anna White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-white/) > [“The shadow is dark and the woods are cold, but they are not endless. No matter how lost you are now, you are not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-white/the-shadow-is-dark-and-the-woods-are-cold-but-they-are-not-endless-no/) [Anna White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-white/) > [“My husband says this longing for isolation is not a good quality, that if I wanted to be a hermit I should have moved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-white/my-husband-says-this-longing-for-isolation-is-not-a-good-quality-that/) [Anna White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-white/) > [“A basic reality of life is that we all struggle. We hurt and have hurt other people. We all feel lost sometimes. 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To give us the winning lottery ticket so all our money problems will go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-white/the-god-i-serve-is-able-to-save-us-both-to-give-us-the-winning/) [Anna White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-white/) > [“There are lots of real reasons to decide to leave something or someone, but there are lots of other reasons that are less valid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-white/there-are-lots-of-real-reasons-to-decide-to-leave-something-or/) [Anna White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-white/) > [“The first night in the hospital with a snuffling baby girl, I learned that my family was not the only thing that had expanded.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-white/the-first-night-in-the-hospital-with-a-snuffling-baby-girl-i-learned/) [Anna White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-white/) > [“The most amazing thing is that all my sorrows, all of my darkest moments, are becoming my gifts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-white/the-most-amazing-thing-is-that-all-my-sorrows-all-of-my-darkest/) [Anna White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-white/) > [“The idea of practicing love is deeply appealing to me, because built right in is an acceptance of imperfection. There is an acknowledgment to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-white/the-idea-of-practicing-love-is-deeply-appealing-to-me-because-built/) [Anna White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-white/) > [“I think this is the essence of life: to be willing circle back, to fall in deeper, to relearn what I thought I already…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-white/i-think-this-is-the-essence-of-life-to-be-willing-circle-back-to-fall/) [Anna White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-white/) > [“I can't say for sure if I'm better off, since I have no way of knowing what would have been. I could have traveled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-white/i-can-t-say-for-sure-if-i-m-better-off-since-i-have-no-way-of-knowing/) [Anna White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-white/) [Explore all 52 Anna White quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-white/) ## More Brokenness quotes > [“Despite the way she rallied, the haunted look in her eyes was enough to break him, as lost and lonely as an abandoned child’s.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-mcintyre/despite-the-way-she-rallied-the-haunted-look-in-her-eyes-was-enough/) [Katherine McIntyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-mcintyre/) > [“My parents are humans too. This has been one of my greatest awakenings in adulthood: my parents being regular people, too. They have baggage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-brenner/my-parents-are-humans-too-this-has-been-one-of-my-greatest-awakenings/) [Natalie Brenner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-brenner/) > [“Maybe when we say we want to fall in love, we really mean we just want a place to fall apart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/maybe-when-we-say-we-want-to-fall-in-love-we-really-mean-we-just-want/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The church is not a museum for pristine saints, but a hospital ward for broken sinners.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/the-church-is-not-a-museum-for-pristine-saints-but-a-hospital-ward/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [“Our brokenness is our greatest strength. I've been broken all my life, for my life is one on the spectrum with OCD to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/our-brokenness-is-our-greatest-strength-i-ve-been-broken-all-my-life/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [“Leave the broken, irreversible past in God's hands, and step out into the invincible future with Him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/leave-the-broken-irreversible-past-in-god-s-hands-and-step-out-into/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [The worst kind of brokenness is the kind that you don’t know you have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-neftzger/the-worst-kind-of-brokenness-is-the-kind-that-you-don-t-know-you-have/) [Amy Neftzger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-neftzger/) > [“Plus, once he did the requisite double-take and recognized me, he’d probably beat the crap out of any guy who looked at me in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katja-millay/plus-once-he-did-the-requisite-double-take-and-recognized-me-he-d/) [Katja Millay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katja-millay/) > [Every day I have spent in Uganda has been beautifully overwhelming; everywhere I have looked, raw, filthy, human need and brokenness have been on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-davis/every-day-i-have-spent-in-uganda-has-been-beautifully-overwhelming/) [Katie Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-davis/) > [Brokenness is the shattering of my self-will - the absolute surrender of my will to the will of God. It is saying “Yes, Lord!”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-leigh-demoss/brokenness-is-the-shattering-of-my-self-will-the-absolute-surrender/) [Nancy Leigh DeMoss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-leigh-demoss/) > [“If you spend time judging and criticizing people, you will not have time to heal from your pain or brokenness. You cannot love yourself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kemi-sogunle/if-you-spend-time-judging-and-criticizing-people-you-will-not-have/) [Kemi Sogunle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kemi-sogunle/) > [“I want to drag knives over my skin, just to feel something other than shame, but I'm not even brave enough for that”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-hawkins/i-want-to-drag-knives-over-my-skin-just-to-feel-something-other-than/) [Paula Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-hawkins/) > [My brokenness is a better bridge for people than my pretend wholeness ever was.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-walsh/my-brokenness-is-a-better-bridge-for-people-than-my-pretend-wholeness/) [Sheila Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-walsh/) > [The immense joy in welcoming back the lost son hides in the immense sorrow that has gone before…our brokenness may appear beautiful, but our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-nouwen/the-immense-joy-in-welcoming-back-the-lost-son-hides-in-the-immense/) [Henri Nouwen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-nouwen/) > [“God uses broken things. 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