--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There are no words for so much loss, not…" description: "\"“There are no words for so much loss, not right after it happens.”\" — Brian Francis Slattery" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/553/brian-francis-slattery-42505_death_there-are-no-words-for-so-much-loss-not_483009.jpg" --- # There are no words for so much loss, not right after it… ![“There are no words for so much loss, not right after it happens.” quote by Brian Francis Slattery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/553/brian-francis-slattery-42505_death_there-are-no-words-for-so-much-loss-not_483009.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/553/brian-francis-slattery-42505_death_there-are-no-words-for-so-much-loss-not_483009.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/553/brian-francis-slattery-42505_death_there-are-no-words-for-so-much-loss-not_483009.jpg) > ““There are no words for so much loss, not right after it happens.”” [Brian Francis Slattery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-francis-slattery/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Grief overwhelms language, making it impossible to articulate the depth of loss immediately after it occurs. **In simple terms:** Loss is beyond words at first. Key Takeaway Allow silence, seek support later. Themes grief loss communication Mood somber reflective Type empathic poetic When to use this quote - funeral mourning - personal tragedy - therapy sessions Key Concepts emotional processing trauma silence Questions to Reflect On - How can you support someone who cannot speak their pain? - What non‑verbal ways can you offer comfort? A Different Perspective Words may later help, but immediate expression is limited. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Happens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happens/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Loss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loss/) [Loss Right](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loss-right-4150851/) [Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words/) [Words Loss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words-loss-4117850/) ## Related quotes > [The loss of taste for what is right is loss of all right taste.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-kaspar-lavater/the-loss-of-taste-for-what-is-right-is-loss-of-all-right-taste/) [Johann Kaspar Lavater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-kaspar-lavater/) > [“He was trying to put loss into words, but loss is absence and will always defy expression.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-connolly/he-was-trying-to-put-loss-into-words-but-loss-is-absence-and-will/) [John Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-connolly/) > [I'm at a loss for words. But even my loss is amplified.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/talib-kweli/i-m-at-a-loss-for-words-but-even-my-loss-is-amplified/) [Talib Kweli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/talib-kweli/) > [My mind shrank from the menace sweeping down on us, as children's do from belief in death and misfortune, vainly clinging to the fancy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-pankhurst/my-mind-shrank-from-the-menace-sweeping-down-on-us-as-children-s-do/) [Sylvia Pankhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-pankhurst/) > [“I've been impressed by the extent to which one gets sentenced by one's own sentences. One explores certain things in play and then in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-o-brown/i-ve-been-impressed-by-the-extent-to-which-one-gets-sentenced-by-one/) [Norman O. Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-o-brown/) > [A woman who is careful with her words is a gift to all who know her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lysa-terkeurst/a-woman-who-is-careful-with-her-words-is-a-gift-to-all-who-know-her/) [Lysa TerKeurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysa-terkeurst/) > [“The word for mother, umm, is the root of the words for “source, nation, mercy, first principle, rich harvest; stupid, illiterate, parasite, weak of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-brooks/the-word-for-mother-umm-is-the-root-of-the-words-for-source-nation/) [Geraldine Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/) > [When deeds speak, words are nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-joseph-proudhon/when-deeds-speak-words-are-nothing/) [Pierre-Joseph Proudhon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-joseph-proudhon/) > [Words can only have an effect on you if you choose to listen to them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernajoy-vaal/words-can-only-have-an-effect-on-you-if-you-choose-to-listen-to-them/) [Bernajoy Vaal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernajoy-vaal/) > [“Willa. Ellen. A world in two words.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juliann-garey/willa-ellen-a-world-in-two-words/) [Juliann Garey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juliann-garey/) > [“A word is not filling in the gaps, but the fertilization of silence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/a-word-is-not-filling-in-the-gaps-but-the-fertilization-of-silence/) [Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/) > [“Finxerunt animi, raro et perpauca loquentis. (To action little, less to words inclinded.)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/finxerunt-animi-raro-et-perpauca-loquentis-to-action-little-less-to/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Words can kill you trust towards someone, mind you language people, every reaction had its consequence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/words-can-kill-you-trust-towards-someone-mind-you-language-people/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The words for what I want to say right now don't exist. Everything sounds…so cliché.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelly-crane/the-words-for-what-i-want-to-say-right-now-don-t-exist-everything/) [Shelly Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelly-crane/) > [“I only have two words to say More or Less”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timbur/i-only-have-two-words-to-say-more-or-less/) [TimBur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timbur/) ## More by Brian Francis Slattery > [“You know," she had said, "I believe we are all given at least one moment in our lives when the world reveals itself to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-francis-slattery/you-know-she-had-said-i-believe-we-are-all-given-at-least-one-moment/) [Brian Francis Slattery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-francis-slattery/) > [“He tans into burning while the opening fanfare to "Peaches en Regalia" flows over him, the bugle call for a hippie army that marched…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-francis-slattery/he-tans-into-burning-while-the-opening-fanfare-to-peaches-en-regalia/) [Brian Francis Slattery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-francis-slattery/) > [“Do you see? The story I have to tell is so small, of the people who stayed when everyone else fled.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-francis-slattery/do-you-see-the-story-i-have-to-tell-is-so-small-of-the-people-who/) [Brian Francis Slattery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-francis-slattery/) > [“His voice, what he said, remains, and it is here, all of those voices are here, in what I am telling you. If in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-francis-slattery/his-voice-what-he-said-remains-and-it-is-here-all-of-those-voices-are/) [Brian Francis Slattery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-francis-slattery/) > [“Marco smiles, they shake hands, and Robert Blackfeather Sherman sees it again, as he did when Marco knelt before him just a few minutes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-francis-slattery/marco-smiles-they-shake-hands-and-robert-blackfeather-sherman-sees-it/) [Brian Francis Slattery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-francis-slattery/) > [“They could read it on each other, their faces wrinkled pages. Words hiding in the folds of their clothes. She was made of letters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-francis-slattery/they-could-read-it-on-each-other-their-faces-wrinkled-pages-words/) [Brian Francis Slattery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-francis-slattery/) > [“The war was about everything, it was everything, and the question of where it came from was meaningless. There was only the question of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-francis-slattery/the-war-was-about-everything-it-was-everything-and-the-question-of/) [Brian Francis Slattery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-francis-slattery/) > [“There must be something better than this world, and the world must be better than this.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-francis-slattery/there-must-be-something-better-than-this-world-and-the-world-must-be/) [Brian Francis Slattery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-francis-slattery/) > [“These cords that God makes, Reverend Bauxite thought, we stand holding one end while they run taut into the darkness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-francis-slattery/these-cords-that-god-makes-reverend-bauxite-thought-we-stand-holding/) [Brian Francis Slattery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-francis-slattery/) [Explore all 10 Brian Francis Slattery quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-francis-slattery/) ## More Death quotes > [“He wondered how it was fair that your dying should depend so much on when you were born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/he-wondered-how-it-was-fair-that-your-dying-should-depend-so-much-on/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [I do not want to live at the cost of the life even of a snake. I should let him bite me to death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-to-live-at-the-cost-of-the-life-even-of-a-snake-i/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“It was beautiful. He thought he had never seen anything so beautiful in all his life; that, having seen it, he could die content,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/it-was-beautiful-he-thought-he-had-never-seen-anything-so-beautiful/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [Retirement? You're talking about death, right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-altman/retirement-you-re-talking-about-death-right/) [Robert Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-altman/) > [With multiplayer, permanent death, and an ever-changing world to explore and conquer, 'A Valley Without Wind' might be the place you're looking for if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-manuel/with-multiplayer-permanent-death-and-an-ever-changing-world-to/) [Rob Manuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-manuel/) > [“What did you see?” she asked gently. His brow furrowed, as if he could not understand the question. Then his eyes turned to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-anthony-torino/what-did-you-see-she-asked-gently-his-brow-furrowed-as-if-he-could/) [J. Anthony Torino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-anthony-torino/) > [Those whose life is long still strive for gain, and for all mortals all things take second place to money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/those-whose-life-is-long-still-strive-for-gain-and-for-all-mortals/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [“I practice Dying--every night-- But have not learned to, still-- Though Talented--by Mortal bones-- For such a common Skill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-powers/i-practice-dying-every-night-but-have-not-learned-to-still-though/) [Alan W. Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-w-powers/) > [“You must understand the pain and grief of losing someone is nothing more than a function of survival.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-cooper/you-must-understand-the-pain-and-grief-of-losing-someone-is-nothing/) [Steven Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-cooper/) > [I am not a depressive person at all, but I reflect a lot on my life, and life in general, from the perspective of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/i-am-not-a-depressive-person-at-all-but-i-reflect-a-lot-on-my-life/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [“Death is a reality that calls the rest of life and all of our assorted strivings into sharp relief.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/death-is-a-reality-that-calls-the-rest-of-life-and-all-of-our/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [I love life. I love life to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuelle-riva/i-love-life-i-love-life-to-death/) [Emmanuelle Riva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuelle-riva/) > [I think when you’re dying you start looking for important things in the corners. You can’t let anything that seems even semi-important pass, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-crutcher/i-think-when-you-re-dying-you-start-looking-for-important-things-in/) [Chris Crutcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-crutcher/) [Browse all 39,127 Death quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“There are no words for so much loss, not right after it happens.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Brian Francis Slattery" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-francis-slattery/there-are-no-words-for-so-much-loss-not-right-after-it-happens/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Death" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-francis-slattery/there-are-no-words-for-so-much-loss-not-right-after-it-happens/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/553/brian-francis-slattery-42505_death_there-are-no-words-for-so-much-loss-not_483009.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/553/brian-francis-slattery-42505_death_there-are-no-words-for-so-much-loss-not_483009.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/553/brian-francis-slattery-42505_death_there-are-no-words-for-so-much-loss-not_483009.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There are no words for so much loss, not right after it happens.” — Brian Francis Slattery", "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": "Brian Francis Slattery", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-francis-slattery/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“There are no words for so...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-francis-slattery/there-are-no-words-for-so-much-loss-not-right-after-it-happens/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-francis-slattery/there-are-no-words-for-so-much-loss-not-right-after-it-happens/#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 } } ] } ```