--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It struck her all at once that dealing…" description: "\"It struck her all at once that dealing with other human beings was an awful lot of work.\" — Anne Tyler" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/752/anne-tyler-1837_awful_it-struck-her-all-at-once-that-dealing-w_163412.png" --- # It struck her all at once that dealing with other human… ![“It struck her all at once that dealing with other human beings was an awful lot of work.” quote by Anne Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/752/anne-tyler-1837_awful_it-struck-her-all-at-once-that-dealing-w_163412.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/752/anne-tyler-1837_awful_it-struck-her-all-at-once-that-dealing-w_163412.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/752/anne-tyler-1837_awful_it-struck-her-all-at-once-that-dealing-w_163412.png) > “It struck her all at once that dealing with other human beings was an awful lot of work.” [Anne Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-tyler/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human relationships require constant effort and emotional labor, revealing their complexity. **In simple terms:** Dealing with people is hard work. Key Takeaway Invest effort in understanding others. Themes relationships empathy effort complexity Mood thoughtful empathetic Type reflective philosophical When to use this quote - family dynamics - team projects - customer service - friendships Key Concepts sociology psychology Questions to Reflect On - What relationships demand the most effort? - How can you make that effort rewarding? A Different Perspective Some may view effort as burdensome. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human/) [Human beings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-beings/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) ## Related quotes > [But I did an awful lot of work in Hollywood, and in New York for that matter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-macnee/but-i-did-an-awful-lot-of-work-in-hollywood-and-in-new-york-for-that/) [Patrick Macnee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-macnee/) > [It takes an awful lot to offend me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-visage/it-takes-an-awful-lot-to-offend-me/) [Michelle Visage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-visage/) > [I get invited to an awful lot of Jewish functions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-roth/i-get-invited-to-an-awful-lot-of-jewish-functions/) [Tim Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-roth/) > [I learned by reading an awful lot and by writing a half a million words of stuff nobody would do anything with except wrap…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-turtledove/i-learned-by-reading-an-awful-lot-and-by-writing-a-half-a-million/) [Harry Turtledove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-turtledove/) > [For someone who doesn't even like love stories, I've played an awful lot of lovers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shahrukh-khan/for-someone-who-doesn-t-even-like-love-stories-i-ve-played-an-awful/) [Shahrukh Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shahrukh-khan/) > [I've done an awful lot of stuff that's a monument to public patience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyrone-power/i-ve-done-an-awful-lot-of-stuff-that-s-a-monument-to-public-patience/) Tyrone Power > [That invisible hand of Adam Smith seems to offer an extended middle finger to an awful lot of people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/that-invisible-hand-of-adam-smith-seems-to-offer-an-extended-middle/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [“There is room enough for an awful lot of people to be right about things and still not agree. The”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut-jr/there-is-room-enough-for-an-awful-lot-of-people-to-be-right-about/) [Kurt Vonnegut Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut-jr/) > [You know, as director of the CIA, I got an awful lot of intelligence about all the horrible things that could go on across…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-panetta/you-know-as-director-of-the-cia-i-got-an-awful-lot-of-intelligence/) [Leon Panetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-panetta/) > [I get into an awful lot of trouble for not being polite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-hancock/i-get-into-an-awful-lot-of-trouble-for-not-being-polite/) [Sheila Hancock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-hancock/) > [“Learn a little bit about an awful lot and an awful lot about precious little.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-rancic/learn-a-little-bit-about-an-awful-lot-and-an-awful-lot-about-precious/) [Bill Rancic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-rancic/) > [There's an awful lot of terrible television which I could do, but I mostly stick to Have I Got News for You.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hislop/there-s-an-awful-lot-of-terrible-television-which-i-could-do-but-i/) [Ian Hislop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hislop/) > [On Route 66, a lot of it, it's very transient. There's an awful lot of really, really bad food, you can't ignore that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-myers/on-route-66-a-lot-of-it-it-s-very-transient-there-s-an-awful-lot-of/) [Dave Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-myers/) > [The fans mean an awful lot to us. They keep us going.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rickey-medlocke/the-fans-mean-an-awful-lot-to-us-they-keep-us-going/) [Rickey Medlocke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rickey-medlocke/) > [I have an awful lot of energy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-quant/i-have-an-awful-lot-of-energy/) [Mary Quant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-quant/) ## More by Anne Tyler > [Try Jesus, you won't regret it, a billboard read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-tyler/try-jesus-you-won-t-regret-it-a-billboard-read/) [Anne Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-tyler/) > [“Every place I go I miss another place.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-tyler/every-place-i-go-i-miss-another-place/) [Anne Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-tyler/) > [I'm falling into disrepair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-tyler/i-m-falling-into-disrepair/) [Anne Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-tyler/) > [None of my own experiences ever finds its way into my work. However, the stages of my life - motherhood, middle age, etc. -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-tyler/none-of-my-own-experiences-ever-finds-its-way-into-my-work-however/) [Anne Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-tyler/) > [For my own family, I would always choose the makeshift, surrogate family formed by various characters unrelated by blood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-tyler/for-my-own-family-i-would-always-choose-the-makeshift-surrogate/) [Anne Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-tyler/) > [Mostly it's lies, writing novels. You set out to tell an untrue story and you try to make it believable, even to yourself. Which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-tyler/mostly-it-s-lies-writing-novels-you-set-out-to-tell-an-untrue-story/) [Anne Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-tyler/) > [When I read, I'm purely a reader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-tyler/when-i-read-i-m-purely-a-reader/) [Anne Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-tyler/) > [“You wake in the morning, you’re feeling fine, but all at once you think, “Something’s not right. Something’s off somewhere; what is it?” And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-tyler/you-wake-in-the-morning-you-re-feeling-fine-but-all-at-once-you-think/) [Anne Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-tyler/) > [“...that was Julian for you: reckless. 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Whenever she saw one, she had an urge to tell the owner some scandalous fortune, loudly enough to be heard everywhere:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-tyler/justine-hated-pantsuits-whenever-she-saw-one-she-had-an-urge-to-tell/) [Anne Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-tyler/) > [My family can always tell when I'm well into a novel because the meals get very crummy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-tyler/my-family-can-always-tell-when-i-m-well-into-a-novel-because-the/) [Anne Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-tyler/) > [“She liked to think that she was wearing her beauty out—using it up, she liked to think. She took some satisfaction in it, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-tyler/she-liked-to-think-that-she-was-wearing-her-beauty-out-using-it-up/) [Anne Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-tyler/) > [It is not how much you love someone, but who you are when you are with him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-tyler/it-is-not-how-much-you-love-someone-but-who-you-are-when-you-are-with/) [Anne Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-tyler/) > [He was wondering if there was some cryptic, cultish mark on his door that told all the crazy people he'd have trouble saying no.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-tyler/he-was-wondering-if-there-was-some-cryptic-cultish-mark-on-his-door/) [Anne Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-tyler/) [Explore all 202 Anne Tyler quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-tyler/) ## More Awful quotes > [It must be that I am dreaming, and that I shall awaken in a moment to see that awful knife descending toward my heart-…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-rice-burroughs/it-must-be-that-i-am-dreaming-and-that-i-shall-awaken-in-a-moment-to/) [Edgar Rice Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-rice-burroughs/) > [I spent two years in Palo Alto - what an awful, suffocating place for those of us who don't care about yoga, yogurts and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeny-morozov/i-spent-two-years-in-palo-alto-what-an-awful-suffocating-place-for/) [Evgeny Morozov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeny-morozov/) > [Layla brought her arms around herself, no doubt because she was remembering the feel of another, stronger set. 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It was very painful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-stephenson/there-was-a-special-challenge-in-describing-the-awful-childhood-of-a/) [Pamela Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-stephenson/) > [On balance the moral influence of religion has been awful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weinberg/on-balance-the-moral-influence-of-religion-has-been-awful/) [Steven Weinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-weinberg/) > [When you finish a poem, it clicks shut like the top of a jewel box, but prose is endless. I haven't experienced an awful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-koch/when-you-finish-a-poem-it-clicks-shut-like-the-top-of-a-jewel-box-but/) [Kenneth Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-koch/) > [Fascism: awful stench of saw and axe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-leiris/fascism-awful-stench-of-saw-and-axe/) [Michel Leiris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-leiris/) > [No one with a bad tie is getting my vote. Some Lib Dems wear the most shockingly awful ties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-fox/no-one-with-a-bad-tie-is-getting-my-vote-some-lib-dems-wear-the-most/) [Freddie Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-fox/) > [“Here she was back in the brightly lit world she had been avoiding for twenty years, and it was exactly as awful as she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-charles-wilson/here-she-was-back-in-the-brightly-lit-world-she-had-been-avoiding-for/) [Robert Charles Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-charles-wilson/) > [I'm pretty indiscriminating, and I have awful taste, generally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nellie-mckay/i-m-pretty-indiscriminating-and-i-have-awful-taste-generally/) [Nellie McKay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nellie-mckay/) > [The blessed Religion revealed in the word of God will remain an eternal and awful monument to prove that the best Institution may be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/the-blessed-religion-revealed-in-the-word-of-god-will-remain-an/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [“I am awful. I am heartless. I am scared that these things are actually true.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-am-awful-i-am-heartless-i-am-scared-that-these-things-are-actually/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Democracy is an awful way to run a country, but it's the best system we have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/democracy-is-an-awful-way-to-run-a-country-but-it-s-the-best-system/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) Browse all 1,826 Awful quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It struck her all at once that dealing with other human beings was an awful lot of work.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anne Tyler" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-tyler/it-struck-her-all-at-once-that-dealing-with-other-human-beings-was-an/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Awful" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-tyler/it-struck-her-all-at-once-that-dealing-with-other-human-beings-was-an/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/752/anne-tyler-1837_awful_it-struck-her-all-at-once-that-dealing-w_163412.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/752/anne-tyler-1837_awful_it-struck-her-all-at-once-that-dealing-w_163412.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/752/anne-tyler-1837_awful_it-struck-her-all-at-once-that-dealing-w_163412.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It struck her all at once that dealing with other human beings was an awful lot of work.” — Anne Tyler", "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": "Anne Tyler", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-tyler/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It struck her all at once...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-tyler/it-struck-her-all-at-once-that-dealing-with-other-human-beings-was-an/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-tyler/it-struck-her-all-at-once-that-dealing-with-other-human-beings-was-an/#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 } } ] } ```