--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's hard being left behind. (...) It's…" description: "\"It's hard being left behind. (...) It's hard to be the one who stays.\" — Audrey Niffenegger" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/528/audrey-niffenegger-1298_left-behind_it-s-hard-being-left-behind-it-s-hard-to_1434284.jpg" --- # It's hard being left behind. (...) It's hard to be the one… ![“It's hard being left behind. (...) It's hard to be the one who stays.” quote by Audrey Niffenegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/528/audrey-niffenegger-1298_left-behind_it-s-hard-being-left-behind-it-s-hard-to_1434284.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/528/audrey-niffenegger-1298_left-behind_it-s-hard-being-left-behind-it-s-hard-to_1434284.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/528/audrey-niffenegger-1298_left-behind_it-s-hard-being-left-behind-it-s-hard-to_1434284.jpg) > “It's hard being left behind. (...) It's hard to be the one who stays.” [Audrey Niffenegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-niffenegger/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Being left behind is painful, and staying while others move on is also hard. **In simple terms:** Staying behind hurts. Key Takeaway Find purpose beyond stagnation. Themes loneliness change stasis Mood melancholic hopeful Type emotional motivational When to use this quote - career transitions - family dynamics - personal growth Key Concepts Existentialism social dynamics Questions to Reflect On - What keeps you moving forward? - How to support those left behind? A Different Perspective Stagnation may breed resentment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Left behind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/left-behind/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“It's hard being left behind...It's hard to be the one who stays...Why is love intensified by absence?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-niffenegger/it-s-hard-being-left-behind-it-s-hard-to-be-the-one-who-stays-why-is/) [Audrey Niffenegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-niffenegger/) > [“This way of behaving, this way of feeling, so hysterical, so sad, when someone has died, I don't like at all and would like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/this-way-of-behaving-this-way-of-feeling-so-hysterical-so-sad-when/) [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) > [An article on playwrights in the Daily Mail , listed according to Hard Left, Soft Left, Hard Right, Soft Right and Centre. I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/an-article-on-playwrights-in-the-daily-mail-listed-according-to-hard/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [ From Day One the very existence of \[Camp Bravo\] has been a popcorn hull in the tender gums of the hard left. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-lileks/from-day-one-the-very-existence-of-camp-bravo-has-been-a-popcorn-hull/) [James Lileks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-lileks/) > [The hard left is a very small section of the British population and I myself am not hard left. I am a traditional Labour…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-galloway/the-hard-left-is-a-very-small-section-of-the-british-population-and-i/) [George Galloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-galloway/) > [It's easy to whip up resentment against anything that smacks with authority. Nobody ever organizes over pan handlers. So even if a cop is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-gutfeld/it-s-easy-to-whip-up-resentment-against-anything-that-smacks-with/) [Greg Gutfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-gutfeld/) > [Once in a while, we need the hard Left to pipe up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-jacobson/once-in-a-while-we-need-the-hard-left-to-pipe-up/) [Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/) > [“I know you have feelings left somewhere. But they’re all so hard to reach.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pleasefindthis/i-know-you-have-feelings-left-somewhere-but-they-re-all-so-hard-to/) pleasefindthis > [In hard times, beauty can seem frivolous - but take it away, and all you're left with is hard times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-madonna/in-hard-times-beauty-can-seem-frivolous-but-take-it-away-and-all-you/) [Paul Madonna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-madonna/) > [Dead people I could handle. They were usually beyond hysteria. 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So I left,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dominic-chianese/im-the-kind-of-guy-when-the-marriage-is-breaking-up-who-doesnt-want/) [Dominic Chianese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dominic-chianese/) > [A movie like 'The Last House On The Left' would be very hard to do in Europe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-aja/a-movie-like-the-last-house-on-the-left-would-be-very-hard-to-do-in/) [Alexandre Aja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-aja/) > [Friends are easy to find, but once they left you,it's so hard to forget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gracesel-collado/friends-are-easy-to-find-but-once-they-left-you-it-s-so-hard-to-forget/) [Gracesel Collado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gracesel-collado/) > [“So hard to die.' I don't doubt that it is, but it cannot be much harder than being left behind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/so-hard-to-die-i-don-t-doubt-that-it-is-but-it-cannot-be-much-harder/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) ## More by Audrey Niffenegger > [But you know: you know that if I could have stayed, if I could have gone on, that I would have clutched every second:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-niffenegger/but-you-know-you-know-that-if-i-could-have-stayed-if-i-could-have/) [Audrey Niffenegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-niffenegger/) > [I look at him, look at the book, remember, this book, this moment, the first book I ever loved](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-niffenegger/i-look-at-him-look-at-the-book-remember-this-book-this-moment-the/) [Audrey Niffenegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-niffenegger/) > [“When I was young I didn't understand, but now, I know, how absence can be present, like a damaged nerve, like a dark bird.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-niffenegger/when-i-was-young-i-didn-t-understand-but-now-i-know-how-absence-can/) [Audrey Niffenegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-niffenegger/) > [Everything seems simple until you think about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-niffenegger/everything-seems-simple-until-you-think-about-it/) [Audrey Niffenegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-niffenegger/) > [I place my hands over her ears and tip her head back, and kiss her, and try to put my heart into hers, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-niffenegger/i-place-my-hands-over-her-ears-and-tip-her-head-back-and-kiss-her-and/) [Audrey Niffenegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-niffenegger/) > [“Sister Carmelita says animals don't have souls" "Of course animals have souls, where did she get that idea?" 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Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-niffenegger/what-are-you-doing-nothing-breaking-and-entering-pay-no-attention-to/) [Audrey Niffenegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-niffenegger/) > [I won't ever leave you, even though you're always leaving me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-niffenegger/i-won-t-ever-leave-you-even-though-you-re-always-leaving-me/) [Audrey Niffenegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-niffenegger/) > [“It seems like we're going to collide, and we laugh, and laugh, and nothing can ever be sad, no one can be lost, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-niffenegger/it-seems-like-we-re-going-to-collide-and-we-laugh-and-laugh-and/) [Audrey Niffenegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-niffenegger/) > [“We were royally miserable together.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-niffenegger/we-were-royally-miserable-together/) [Audrey Niffenegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-niffenegger/) > [“No.” Valentina closed her eyes. Of course not. “It’ll be great, Mouse. We’ll have our own apartment, we won’t have to work,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-niffenegger/no-valentina-closed-her-eyes-of-course-not-it-ll-be-great-mouse-we-ll/) [Audrey Niffenegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-niffenegger/) > [“I make books because I love them as objects; because I want to put the pictures and the words together, because I want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-niffenegger/i-make-books-because-i-love-them-as-objects-because-i-want-to-put-the/) [Audrey Niffenegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-niffenegger/) [Explore all 250 Audrey Niffenegger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-niffenegger/) ## More Hard quotes > [You'd be surprised how hard it can often be to translate an action into an idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/you-d-be-surprised-how-hard-it-can-often-be-to-translate-an-action/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [Making the right decision is hard,telling someone your decision is even harder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhishek-tiwari/making-the-right-decision-is-hard-telling-someone-your-decision-is/) [Abhishek Tiwari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhishek-tiwari/) > [It is hard to admit to someone that you love him..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/misherie/it-is-hard-to-admit-to-someone-that-you-love-him/) [Misherie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/misherie/) > [It's a hard thing to describe. 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