--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Fifteen and a half years as…" description: "\"“Fifteen and a half years as incontestable, a continent he'd never visit, a staircase he'd never climb.”\" — Anthony Doerr" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ba/anthony-doerr-886_staircase_fifteen-and-a-half-years-as-incontestabl_1727148.png" --- # Fifteen and a half years as incontestable, a continent… ![“Fifteen and a half years as incontestable, a continent he'd never visit, a staircase he'd never climb.” quote by Anthony Doerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ba/anthony-doerr-886_staircase_fifteen-and-a-half-years-as-incontestabl_1727148.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ba/anthony-doerr-886_staircase_fifteen-and-a-half-years-as-incontestabl_1727148.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ba/anthony-doerr-886_staircase_fifteen-and-a-half-years-as-incontestabl_1727148.png) > ““Fifteen and a half years as incontestable, a continent he'd never visit, a staircase he'd never climb.”” [Anthony Doerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-doerr/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A poetic lament about unfulfilled experiences and missed opportunities across a lifetime. **In simple terms:** Regret over never experiencing certain things. Key Takeaway Seek experiences before they become regrets. Themes regret missed opportunities loneliness Mood melancholic contemplative Type literary inspirational When to use this quote - travel planning - career decisions - personal reflection Key Concepts existentialism poetry Questions to Reflect On - What “staircase” have you avoided? - How can you balance safety with adventure? A Different Perspective Not all missed chances are tragic; some protect us. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [I make sure that I am active all time. For example I make it a point not to use the lift or escalator. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milind-soman/i-make-sure-that-i-am-active-all-time-for-example-i-make-it-a-point/) [Milind Soman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milind-soman/) > [I spent two and a half years in the Philippines in World War II.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-rickles/i-spent-two-and-a-half-years-in-the-philippines-in-world-war-ii/) [Don Rickles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-rickles/) > [I worked in the Square Mile for three and half years at an international City law firm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuka-umunna/i-worked-in-the-square-mile-for-three-and-half-years-at-an/) [Chuka Umunna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuka-umunna/) > [I had the idea for the show like a year and a half, two years ago. And it was all about the things that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/genevieve-gorder/i-had-the-idea-for-the-show-like-a-year-and-a-half-two-years-ago-and/) [Genevieve Gorder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/genevieve-gorder/) > [It took me three and a half years to go from being sentenced in federal court to going to the Oscars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-bloom/it-took-me-three-and-a-half-years-to-go-from-being-sentenced-in/) [Molly Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-bloom/) > [My father died when I was 28, and within two-and-a-half years of that, I lost my first son.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nana-patekar/my-father-died-when-i-was-28-and-within-two-and-a-half-years-of-that/) [Nana Patekar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nana-patekar/) > [“How did a child of ten find out about a three and a half hundred years old children's show?!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meinos-kaen/how-did-a-child-of-ten-find-out-about-a-three-and-a-half-hundred/) Meinos Kaen > [The interesting part about the writing process is that you can never see all the way to the end, not if something is happening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-perrotta/the-interesting-part-about-the-writing-process-is-that-you-can-never/) [Tom Perrotta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-perrotta/) > [For the record, I have sex on a weekly basis. And I did throughout my two-and-a-half years with Crystal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-hefner/for-the-record-i-have-sex-on-a-weekly-basis-and-i-did-throughout-my/) [Hugh Hefner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-hefner/) > [ It was a wonderful opportunity. And so for two and a half years we lived with \[Bernard\] Leach. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-mackenzie/it-was-a-wonderful-opportunity-and-so-for-two-and-a-half-years-we/) [Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-mackenzie/) > [I still think of myself as the new kid, even though I've been on the air for two and a half years. But my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-maddow/i-still-think-of-myself-as-the-new-kid-even-though-i-ve-been-on-the/) [Rachel Maddow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-maddow/) > [The first four and a half years was me in the studio every day, writing songs for other people. I had jobs, too -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-ocean/the-first-four-and-a-half-years-was-me-in-the-studio-every-day/) [Frank Ocean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-ocean/) > [I taught sixth grade for three and a half years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-bradley/i-taught-sixth-grade-for-three-and-a-half-years/) [Ed Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-bradley/) > [I spent 24 and a half years in prison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ahmed-ben-bella/i-spent-24-and-a-half-years-in-prison/) [Ahmed Ben Bella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ahmed-ben-bella/) > [“Yeah, I went to school three hundred and a half years ago y’know.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nandanie-phalgoo/yeah-i-went-to-school-three-hundred-and-a-half-years-ago-y-know/) [Nandanie Phalgoo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nandanie-phalgoo/) ## More by Anthony Doerr > [I was a nerdy kid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-doerr/i-was-a-nerdy-kid/) [Anthony Doerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-doerr/) > [“he moved neither forward nor backward in time, but merely endured variations of the same day over and over. Maybe he was the one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-doerr/he-moved-neither-forward-nor-backward-in-time-but-merely-endured/) [Anthony Doerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-doerr/) > [“Open your eyes, the Frenchman on the radio used to say, and see what you can with them before they close forever.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-doerr/open-your-eyes-the-frenchman-on-the-radio-used-to-say-and-see-what/) [Anthony Doerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-doerr/) > [“Just when we think we have a system, ...the system collapses. Just when we know our way around, we get lost. Just when we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-doerr/just-when-we-think-we-have-a-system-the-system-collapses-just-when-we/) [Anthony Doerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-doerr/) > [“An hour passed and another and then, like a glass of water overfilled - the meniscus inverting, going convex, gravity pulling at the edges,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-doerr/an-hour-passed-and-another-and-then-like-a-glass-of-water-overfilled/) [Anthony Doerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-doerr/) > [“For dinner, he orders wild boar cooked with fresh mushrooms. And a full bottle of Bordeaux. Especially during wartime, such things remain important. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-doerr/for-dinner-he-orders-wild-boar-cooked-with-fresh-mushrooms-and-a-full/) [Anthony Doerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-doerr/) > [“Do you know what happens, Etienne,” says Madame Manec from the other side of the kitchen, “when you drop a frog in a pot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-doerr/do-you-know-what-happens-etienne-says-madame-manec-from-the-other/) [Anthony Doerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-doerr/) > [“You ever hope for something so much? So much you can't sleep, so much your skull hurts? But the thing is, you don't even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-doerr/you-ever-hope-for-something-so-much-so-much-you-can-t-sleep-so-much/) [Anthony Doerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-doerr/) > [“Hope was a sunrise, a friend in the alley, a whisper in an empty corridor.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-doerr/hope-was-a-sunrise-a-friend-in-the-alley-a-whisper-in-an-empty/) [Anthony Doerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-doerr/) > [Time is a slippery thing: lose hold of it once, and its string might sail out of your hands forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-doerr/time-is-a-slippery-thing-lose-hold-of-it-once-and-its-string-might/) [Anthony Doerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-doerr/) > [“...the air a library and the record of every life lived, every sentence spoken, every word transmitted still reverberating within it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-doerr/the-air-a-library-and-the-record-of-every-life-lived-every-sentence/) [Anthony Doerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-doerr/) > [“silent desperation of everything they never said - gaps and absences in every conversation, the past circumscribing the present, the future hemming in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-doerr/silent-desperation-of-everything-they-never-said-gaps-and-absences-in/) [Anthony Doerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-doerr/) > [“She is in charge of everything, but no one knows. It is a tremendous burden, she says, to be responsible for every little thing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-doerr/she-is-in-charge-of-everything-but-no-one-knows-it-is-a-tremendous/) [Anthony Doerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-doerr/) > [I guess you could say I've been writing all my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-doerr/i-guess-you-could-say-i-ve-been-writing-all-my-life/) [Anthony Doerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-doerr/) > [Only Numbers. Pure math. You have to accustom yourself to thinking that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-doerr/only-numbers-pure-math-you-have-to-accustom-yourself-to-thinking-that/) [Anthony Doerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-doerr/) [Explore all 336 Anthony Doerr quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-doerr/) ## More Staircase quotes > [I watched 'Holiday' in college, and that was when I had my first fantasy of being Katharine Hepburn, standing at the top of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/i-watched-holiday-in-college-and-that-was-when-i-had-my-first-fantasy/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) > [“May I ask what you have in your black leather bag with gold buckles?" "Everything." They were climbing a narrow staircase. Rhoda stopped to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-sendak/may-i-ask-what-you-have-in-your-black-leather-bag-with-gold-buckles/) [Maurice Sendak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-sendak/) > [“He is crooked enough to hide behind a spiral staircase.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-mccaffrey-margaret-ball/he-is-crooked-enough-to-hide-behind-a-spiral-staircase/) Anne McCaffrey & Margaret Ball > [Once I tried to make a standardization of staircases. Probably that is one of the oldest of the standardizations. Of course, we design new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvar-aalto/once-i-tried-to-make-a-standardization-of-staircases-probably-that-is/) [Alvar Aalto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvar-aalto/) > [“Nude descending a staircase headless, not knowing where she is going but brave because all dreams lack conclusions and she is not enlisted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-berman/nude-descending-a-staircase-headless-not-knowing-where-she-is-going/) [David Berman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-berman/) > [You dont have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ewshycrazyness/you-dont-have-to-see-the-whole-staircase-just-take-the-first-step/) [EwshyCrazyness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ewshycrazyness/) > [“And the stairs. Oh, the stairs. The staircase in our third-floor walk-up was the steepest, hardest, metal-est staircase I have ever encountered in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mindy-kaling/and-the-stairs-oh-the-stairs-the-staircase-in-our-third-floor-walk-up/) [Mindy Kaling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mindy-kaling/) > [Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase. -NeSha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/faith-is-taking-the-first-step-even-when-you-don-t-see-the-whole/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [...To which mystical land does an unfinished staircase lead?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pam-mu-oz-ryan/to-which-mystical-land-does-an-unfinished-staircase-lead/) [Pam Munoz Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pam-mu-oz-ryan/) > [“Are you really going to carry me up those stairs?" "Yeah." Gennie cast a look at the winding staircase and tightened her hold. "I'd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/are-you-really-going-to-carry-me-up-those-stairs-yeah-gennie-cast-a/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [“Wherever there is art, there is a staircase over there where you can ascend to the high places!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/wherever-there-is-art-there-is-a-staircase-over-there-where-you-can/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Faith is taking the first step even when you can't see the whole staircase.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/faith-is-taking-the-first-step-even-when-you-can-t-see-the-whole/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/take-the-first-step-in-faith-you-don-t-have-to-see-the-whole/) [Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/) > [Though the elevator only goes to the top floor, there is always a staircase to the roof.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shubham-joshi/though-the-elevator-only-goes-to-the-top-floor-there-is-always-a/) [Shubham Joshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shubham-joshi/) > [I've always had this in a kind of worst-case dark imagination. I want to know what the dark form in the window is. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-unger/i-ve-always-had-this-in-a-kind-of-worst-case-dark-imagination-i-want/) [Lisa Unger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-unger/) Browse all 77 Staircase quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Fifteen and a half years as incontestable, a continent he'd never visit, a staircase he'd never climb.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anthony Doerr" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-doerr/fifteen-and-a-half-years-as-incontestable-a-continent-he-d-never/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Staircase" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-doerr/fifteen-and-a-half-years-as-incontestable-a-continent-he-d-never/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ba/anthony-doerr-886_staircase_fifteen-and-a-half-years-as-incontestabl_1727148.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ba/anthony-doerr-886_staircase_fifteen-and-a-half-years-as-incontestabl_1727148.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ba/anthony-doerr-886_staircase_fifteen-and-a-half-years-as-incontestabl_1727148.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Fifteen and a half years as incontestable, a continent he'd never visit, a staircase he'd never climb.” — Anthony Doerr", "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": "Anthony Doerr", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-doerr/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Fifteen and a half years as...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-doerr/fifteen-and-a-half-years-as-incontestable-a-continent-he-d-never/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-doerr/fifteen-and-a-half-years-as-incontestable-a-continent-he-d-never/#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 } } ] } ```