--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: [Deserters], they've given up everything…" description: "\"“[Deserters], they've given up everything. Oaths. Families. When you desert, it breaks you. It leaves you willing to do anything, because you've alread..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/574/brandon-sanderson-112_desert_deserters-they-ve-given-up-everything-oa_1625218.jpg" --- # \[Deserters\], they've given up everything. Oaths. Families… ![“[Deserters], they've given up everything. Oaths. Families. When you desert, it breaks you. It leaves you willing to do anything, because you've already given away everything you could have cared about losing.” quote by Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/574/brandon-sanderson-112_desert_deserters-they-ve-given-up-everything-oa_1625218.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/574/brandon-sanderson-112_desert_deserters-they-ve-given-up-everything-oa_1625218.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/574/brandon-sanderson-112_desert_deserters-they-ve-given-up-everything-oa_1625218.jpg) > ““\[Deserters\], they've given up everything. Oaths. Families. When you desert, it breaks you. It leaves you willing to do anything, because you've already given away everything you could have cared about losing.”” [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Desertion strips one of all ties, leaving a desperate willingness to do anything because nothing remains to lose. **In simple terms:** Desertion empties you, making you vulnerable. Key Takeaway Recognize the cost of abandoning commitments. Themes loyalty desertion identity despair Mood somber introspective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - military service - personal relationships - career changes - activism - spiritual crises Key Concepts psychology existentialism risk Questions to Reflect On - What have you truly lost? - Can loss become a catalyst for growth? A Different Perspective Desertion can also lead to new freedoms and perspectives. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Desert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desert/) [Despair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despair/) [Family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/family/) [Giving up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving-up/) ## Related quotes > [Rebel souls deserters we've been called. Chose a gun and threw away the sun now these towns they all know our names. The death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/five-finger-death-punch/rebel-souls-deserters-we-ve-been-called-chose-a-gun-and-threw-away/) [Five Finger Death Punch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/five-finger-death-punch/) > [Every army in the history of the world has always had some deserters, usually much greater than we have today, because once again every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-hilferty/every-army-in-the-history-of-the-world-has-always-had-some-deserters/) [Bryan Hilferty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-hilferty/) > [As for those deserters, malcontents, radicals, incendiaries, the civil and uncivil disobedients among the young, SDS, PLP, Weathermen I and Weathermen II, the revolutionary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spiro-t-agnew/as-for-those-deserters-malcontents-radicals-incendiaries-the-civil/) [Spiro T. Agnew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spiro-t-agnew/) > [“Because people who decline organized leisure activities are deserters from the great common struggle against boredom, and they deserve neither attention nor helmets.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/because-people-who-decline-organized-leisure-activities-are-deserters/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [I think Bowe Bergdahl, if he deserted, is a hero - I think throughout history we should build monuments to the unknown deserters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/i-think-bowe-bergdahl-if-he-deserted-is-a-hero-i-think-throughout/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [These deserters were our undoing. I shall have a good deal more to say about them before I finally lay down my pen, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christiaan-rudolf-de-wet/these-deserters-were-our-undoing-i-shall-have-a-good-deal-more-to-say/) Christiaan Rudolf de Wet > [In 1694 a law was passed "that every settler who deserted a town for fear of the Indians should forfeit all his rights therein."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/in-1694-a-law-was-passed-that-every-settler-who-deserted-a-town-for/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [On a visit to Cologne in March 1945, after a heavy bombing, I met hundreds and hundreds of deserters who were squatting in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heinrich-b-ll/on-a-visit-to-cologne-in-march-1945-after-a-heavy-bombing-i-met/) [Heinrich Boll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heinrich-b-ll/) > [The environmental movement doesn't have many deserters and has a high level of recruitment. Eventually, there will be open war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-watson/the-environmental-movement-doesn-t-have-many-deserters-and-has-a-high/) [Paul Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-watson/) > [“Of course vindictiveness is an ugly trait and, yes, I do mean to forgive all these nice deserters; I mean, eventually, to say, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leif-enger/of-course-vindictiveness-is-an-ugly-trait-and-yes-i-do-mean-to/) [Leif Enger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leif-enger/) > [Sir" said Mrs. Meade indignantly. "There are NO deserters in the Confederate army." "I beg your pardon," said Rhett with mock humility. "I meant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mitchell/sir-said-mrs-meade-indignantly-there-are-no-deserters-in-the/) [Margaret Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mitchell/) > [ “\[W\]e cease to be soldiers in the army of the upright; we become deserters. They march to battle. We float with the sticks on… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/w-e-cease-to-be-soldiers-in-the-army-of-the-upright-we-become/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [Only the defeated and deserters go to war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/only-the-defeated-and-deserters-go-to-war/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The brave men die in war. It takes great luck or judgment not to be killed. Once, at least, the head has to bow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-giraudoux/the-brave-men-die-in-war-it-takes-great-luck-or-judgment-not-to-be/) [Jean Giraudoux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-giraudoux/) > [“In the early pages of his gorgeous novel Sepharad, Antonio Munoz Molina writes: "Only those of us who have left know what the city…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabih-alameddine/in-the-early-pages-of-his-gorgeous-novel-sepharad-antonio-munoz/) [Rabih Alameddine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabih-alameddine/) ## More by Brandon Sanderson > [“I’ll admit, Jasnah, that I empathize with your skepticism, but I don’t agree with it. I just think you've been looking for God in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/i-ll-admit-jasnah-that-i-empathize-with-your-skepticism-but-i-don-t/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) > [They say a man doesn't know himself until he faces death for the first time. . . I don't know about that. It seems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/they-say-a-man-doesn-t-know-himself-until-he-faces-death-for-the/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) > [“I wasn’t a nerd, mind you, but I’d spent a lot of my youth studying Epics, so I’d had limited experience with social interaction.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/i-wasn-t-a-nerd-mind-you-but-i-d-spent-a-lot-of-my-youth-studying/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) > [“Why, Elend! That’s almost romantic—in a twisted ‘I’m going to make my wife want to kill me’ sort of way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/why-elend-that-s-almost-romantic-in-a-twisted-i-m-going-to-make-my/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) > [“And...how much are we getting paid for achieving the impossible?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/and-how-much-are-we-getting-paid-for-achieving-the-impossible/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) > [“Elantris was the one place where she could remember feeling unconditional acceptance. She had not been a princess, she had been something far better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/elantris-was-the-one-place-where-she-could-remember-feeling/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) > [“Elend smiled. "Oh, come on. You have to admit that you're unusual, Vin. You're like some strange mixture of a noblewoman, a street urchin,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/elend-smiled-oh-come-on-you-have-to-admit-that-you-re-unusual-vin-you/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) > [“That is always how it is, though, isn't it?” Shuden asked. “Those who can least afford extravagance seem to be the ones most determined…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/that-is-always-how-it-is-though-isn-t-it-shuden-asked-those-who-can/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) > [“He says he’s letting the Stormfather judge you,” Moash added. “Jezerezeh, king of Heralds. He says that if you deserve to live, you will….”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/he-says-he-s-letting-the-stormfather-judge-you-moash-added-jezerezeh/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) > [“The stories say the Nightwatcher might be capable of that. . . . Powerful spren. Vast spren.’ ‘Is he calling me vast?’ Syl said,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/the-stories-say-the-nightwatcher-might-be-capable-of-that-powerful/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) > [“But the mark of a great man is one who knows when to set aside the important things in order to accomplish the vital…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/but-the-mark-of-a-great-man-is-one-who-knows-when-to-set-aside-the/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) > [“My life to yours. My breath beecome yours.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/my-life-to-yours-my-breath-beecome-yours/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) > [“If you're always on time, it implies that you never have anything better you should be doing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/if-you-re-always-on-time-it-implies-that-you-never-have-anything/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) > [You are inexperienced. So was I, once. So is every man. The measure of a person is not how much they have lived. .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/you-are-inexperienced-so-was-i-once-so-is-every-man-the-measure-of-a/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) > [“So I should not hate Adolin Kholin for wielding a corpse!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/so-i-should-not-hate-adolin-kholin-for-wielding-a-corpse/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) [Explore all 1,238 Brandon Sanderson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) ## More Desert quotes > [I have inside me the winds, the deserts, the oceans, the stars, and everything created in the universe. We were all made by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/i-have-inside-me-the-winds-the-deserts-the-oceans-the-stars-and/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“And now you will ask me about the musicians that played for the jackalope wives. Well, if you can find a place where they’ve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-vernon/and-now-you-will-ask-me-about-the-musicians-that-played-for-the/) [Ursula Vernon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-vernon/) > [Some people are like ants. Give them a warm day and a piece of ground and they start digging. There the similarity ends. Ants…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-borland/some-people-are-like-ants-give-them-a-warm-day-and-a-piece-of-ground/) [Hal Borland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-borland/) > [I do spend a lot of weekends on the road. I have to pace myself. It can be pretty busy, but I'm not out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-sinise/i-do-spend-a-lot-of-weekends-on-the-road-i-have-to-pace-myself-it-can/) [Gary Sinise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-sinise/) > [I did not support Operation Desert Fox.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janeane-garofalo/i-did-not-support-operation-desert-fox/) [Janeane Garofalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janeane-garofalo/) > [“The cactus thrives in the desert while the fern thrives in the wetland. The fool will try to plant them in the same flowerbox.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/the-cactus-thrives-in-the-desert-while-the-fern-thrives-in-the/) [Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/) > [I am sympathetic to developing countries’ concerns: because of our emissions it’s their crops that will disappear; because of our inaction, it’s their fields…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kerry/i-am-sympathetic-to-developing-countries-concerns-because-of-our/) [John F. Kerry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kerry/) > [Use every man according to his desert and who should 'scape whipping? Use them after your own honor and dignity, the less they deserve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/use-every-man-according-to-his-desert-and-who-should-scape-whipping/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [There is nothing in the desert and no man needs nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david/there-is-nothing-in-the-desert-and-no-man-needs-nothing/) [David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david/) > [Who’s to say that it takes something like a drug to mess with your perception of reality? How did Hitler deceive a nation? How…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-dekker/who-s-to-say-that-it-takes-something-like-a-drug-to-mess-with-your/) [Ted Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-dekker/) > [God hath work to do in this world; and to desert it because of its difficulties and entanglements, is to cast off His authority.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-owen/god-hath-work-to-do-in-this-world-and-to-desert-it-because-of-its/) [John Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-owen/) > [“If you build a road in the desert and then leave it to its fate, the desert sands will swallow that road! The same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/if-you-build-a-road-in-the-desert-and-then-leave-it-to-its-fate-the/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Hulkamania is like a single grain of sand in the Sahara desert that is Nacho Madness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/macho-man-randy-savage/hulkamania-is-like-a-single-grain-of-sand-in-the-sahara-desert-that/) [Macho Man Randy Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/macho-man-randy-savage/) > [“The Estate of Solemnity By right, it reigns in its places- in long beards Of spanish moss hanging from a live oak On a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pattiann-rogers/the-estate-of-solemnity-by-right-it-reigns-in-its-places-in-long/) [Pattiann Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pattiann-rogers/) > [The earth itself assures us it is a living entity. Deep below surface one can hear its slow pulse, feel its vibrant rhythm. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-waters/the-earth-itself-assures-us-it-is-a-living-entity-deep-below-surface/) [Frank Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-waters/) [Browse all 1,675 Desert quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desert/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“[Deserters], they've given up everything. Oaths. Families. When you desert, it breaks you. It leaves you willing to do anything, because you've already given away everything you could have cared about losing.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Brandon Sanderson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/deserters-they-ve-given-up-everything-oaths-families-when-you-desert/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Desert" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/deserters-they-ve-given-up-everything-oaths-families-when-you-desert/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/574/brandon-sanderson-112_desert_deserters-they-ve-given-up-everything-oa_1625218.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/574/brandon-sanderson-112_desert_deserters-they-ve-given-up-everything-oa_1625218.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/574/brandon-sanderson-112_desert_deserters-they-ve-given-up-everything-oa_1625218.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“[Deserters], they've given up everything. Oaths. Families. When you desert, it breaks you. It leaves you…” — Brandon Sanderson", "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": "Brandon Sanderson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“[Deserters], they've given up everything. Oaths....", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/deserters-they-ve-given-up-everything-oaths-families-when-you-desert/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/deserters-they-ve-given-up-everything-oaths-families-when-you-desert/#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 } } ] } ```