--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I remember my wife in white. I remember…" description: "\"“I remember my wife in white. I remember her walking toward me on our wedding day, a bouquet of red flowers in her hand, and I remember her turning awa..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/41d/carolyn-parkhurst-14899_grief_i-remember-my-wife-in-white-i-remember-h_301065.jpg" --- # I remember my wife in white. I remember her walking toward… ![“I remember my wife in white. I remember her walking toward me on our wedding day, a bouquet of red flowers in her hand, and I remember her turning away from me in anger, her body stiff as a stone. I remember the sound of her breath as she slept. I remember the way her body felt in my arms. I…” quote by Carolyn Parkhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/41d/carolyn-parkhurst-14899_grief_i-remember-my-wife-in-white-i-remember-h_301065.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/41d/carolyn-parkhurst-14899_grief_i-remember-my-wife-in-white-i-remember-h_301065.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/41d/carolyn-parkhurst-14899_grief_i-remember-my-wife-in-white-i-remember-h_301065.jpg) > ““I remember my wife in white. I remember her walking toward me on our wedding day, a bouquet of red flowers in her hand, and I remember her turning away from me in anger, her body stiff as a stone. I remember the sound of her breath as she slept. I remember the way her body felt in my arms. I remember, always I remember, that she brought solace to my life as well as grief. That for every dark moment we shared between us, there was a moment of such brightness I almost could not bear to look at it head-on. I try to remember the woman she was and not the woman I have built out of spare parts to comfort me in my mourning. And I find, more and more, as the days go by and the balm of my forgiveness washes over the cracked and parched surface of my heart, I find that remembering her as she was is a gift I can give us both.”” [Carolyn Parkhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-parkhurst/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker reflects on remembering his late wife holistically, embracing both joy and sorrow, allowing forgiveness and love to heal his heart. **In simple terms:** Remembering a loved one fully helps heal grief. Key Takeaway Embrace all memories to heal. Themes grief memory forgiveness love healing Mood reflective hopeful Type personal emotional When to use this quote - mourning - therapy sessions - writing memoirs - celebrating anniversaries Key Concepts psychology attachment theory emotional resilience Questions to Reflect On - How can you honor both joy and pain in remembering? - What practices help transform grief into growth? A Different Perspective Memory alone cannot erase pain; it may intensify grief if not balanced. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Grief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief/) [Heart Remembering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart-remembering-1361912/) [Marriage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marriage/) [Remember Wife](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remember-wife-1166685/) [Remembering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remembering/) [Remembering Gift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remembering-gift-2386120/) [Spare parts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spare-parts/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Wedding day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wedding-day/) [White Remember](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white-remember-2875996/) ## Related quotes > [I wasn't remembering the gift that God had given me. I had totally put all that aside. And my daughter was growing up before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oprah-winfrey/i-wasn-t-remembering-the-gift-that-god-had-given-me-i-had-totally-put/) [Oprah Winfrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oprah-winfrey/) > [“Snow White! I remember her story. She was the one with the seven stunted humans looking after her. She cooked and cleaned and one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-wolf/snow-white-i-remember-her-story-she-was-the-one-with-the-seven/) [Sara Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-wolf/) > [The first time I heard 'Jolene,' I was 12 years old, and it was performed by Jack White. I remember watching that video and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-larsen/the-first-time-i-heard-jolene-i-was-12-years-old-and-it-was-performed/) [Samuel Larsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-larsen/) > [Love is a Power, Love is a Prayer and Love is a Peace. I Have met different kind of people, deals with different minds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/love-is-a-power-love-is-a-prayer-and-love-is-a-peace-i-have-met/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [I hope we always together, forever. Every minute I would embrace you. Hopefully every day I hold your hand. I wish every beat of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/innah-delos-angeles/i-hope-we-always-together-forever-every-minute-i-would-embrace-you/) [Innah Delos Angeles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/innah-delos-angeles/) > [\*If you wait for me then I'll come for you Although I've traveled far I always hold a place for you in my heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-wait-for-me-then-i-ll-come-for-you-although-i-ve-traveled-far/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [MARRIAGE, HAPPY, a union which is in full flower when the husband knows what to remember and his wife understands what to forget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/marriage-happy-a-union-which-is-in-full-flower-when-the-husband-knows/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) > [“Q: What's the best way to ensure that you'll always remember your wife's birthday? A: Forget it once.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/various/q-what-s-the-best-way-to-ensure-that-you-ll-always-remember-your-wife/) [Various](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/various/) > [You have to remember: the wife been home all day cleaning asses and feeding faces. Sometimes the opposite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-romano/you-have-to-remember-the-wife-been-home-all-day-cleaning-asses-and/) [Ray Romano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-romano/) > [The best way to remember your wife's birthday is to remember it once.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-joseph-cossman-2/the-best-way-to-remember-your-wife-s-birthday-is-to-remember-it-once/) [E Joseph Cossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-joseph-cossman-2/) > [The best way to remember your wife's birthday is to forget it once.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-best-way-to-remember-your-wife-s-birthday-is-to-forget-it-once/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We appreciate what techniques are becoming slaves of/ year what we are aware that, in 1990 there were I remember 100 telephone number /…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/we-appreciate-what-techniques-are-becoming-slaves-of-year-what-we-are/) [Mak\_786](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mak-786/) > [The most effective way to remember your wife's birthday is to forget it once.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-most-effective-way-to-remember-your-wife-s-birthday-is-to-forget-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [MARRIAGE, SUCCESSFUL, one in which the husband knows when to remember and a wife knows what to forget;](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/marriage-successful-one-in-which-the-husband-knows-when-to-remember/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) > [The most effective way to remember your wife's birthday is to forget it once... You know what I did before I married? Anything I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henny-youngman/the-most-effective-way-to-remember-your-wife-s-birthday-is-to-forget/) [Henny Youngman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henny-youngman/) ## More by Carolyn Parkhurst > [“Anyway, I thought, it's wishful thinking, all this talk of ghosts. If the dead wandered among us, their spirits still present on this earth,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-parkhurst/anyway-i-thought-it-s-wishful-thinking-all-this-talk-of-ghosts-if-the/) [Carolyn Parkhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-parkhurst/) > [“Walking out of the store with my parrot & sushi, I feel hideous, like everything I've done must be written on my skin. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-parkhurst/walking-out-of-the-store-with-my-parrot-sushi-i-feel-hideous-like/) [Carolyn Parkhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-parkhurst/) > [“That's the fundamental flaw in the illusion that writers like to maintain, the idea that we can craft anything approaching the truth. No matter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-parkhurst/that-s-the-fundamental-flaw-in-the-illusion-that-writers-like-to/) [Carolyn Parkhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-parkhurst/) > [How can it be, I wondered, that we can be lying in bed next to a person we love wholly and helplessly, a person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-parkhurst/how-can-it-be-i-wondered-that-we-can-be-lying-in-bed-next-to-a-person/) [Carolyn Parkhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-parkhurst/) > [“This is happening; this is not fiction. And the thing about life? It doesn't have texture at all. Go ahead, feel the space around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-parkhurst/this-is-happening-this-is-not-fiction-and-the-thing-about-life-it/) [Carolyn Parkhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-parkhurst/) > [The conclusion I have reached is that, above all, dogs are witnesses. They are allowed access to our most private moments. They are there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-parkhurst/the-conclusion-i-have-reached-is-that-above-all-dogs-are-witnesses/) [Carolyn Parkhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-parkhurst/) > [It's true, isn't it, that each of us has two hearts? The secret heart, curled behind like a fist, living gnarled and shrunken beneath…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-parkhurst/it-s-true-isn-t-it-that-each-of-us-has-two-hearts-the-secret-heart/) [Carolyn Parkhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-parkhurst/) > [“Go on,"Lexy said. "What do you want to be today?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-parkhurst/go-on-lexy-said-what-do-you-want-to-be-today/) [Carolyn Parkhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-parkhurst/) > [The simplest thing that can be said about any person, any relationship, is that it's not simple at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-parkhurst/the-simplest-thing-that-can-be-said-about-any-person-any-relationship/) [Carolyn Parkhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-parkhurst/) > [“The unexpected thing, the miraculous thing, is when a car that's been shattered in a crash, that's been left in the rain to rust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-parkhurst/the-unexpected-thing-the-miraculous-thing-is-when-a-car-that-s-been/) [Carolyn Parkhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-parkhurst/) > [What's it like, Lexy? You wake up and you feel - what? Heaviness, an ache inside, a weight, yes. A soft crumpling of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-parkhurst/what-s-it-like-lexy-you-wake-up-and-you-feel-what-heaviness-an-ache/) [Carolyn Parkhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-parkhurst/) > [Perhaps she saw before her a lifetime of walking on the ruined earth and chose instead a single moment in the air.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-parkhurst/perhaps-she-saw-before-her-a-lifetime-of-walking-on-the-ruined-earth/) [Carolyn Parkhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-parkhurst/) > [“And sitting here now, with all of Lexy's dreams in my lap, I realize there are things about her I will never know. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-parkhurst/and-sitting-here-now-with-all-of-lexy-s-dreams-in-my-lap-i-realize/) [Carolyn Parkhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-parkhurst/) > [“You are my finest knight”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-parkhurst/you-are-my-finest-knight/) [Carolyn Parkhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-parkhurst/) > [“All I wanted for the rest of my life was to keep making her laugh like that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-parkhurst/all-i-wanted-for-the-rest-of-my-life-was-to-keep-making-her-laugh/) [Carolyn Parkhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-parkhurst/) [Explore all 45 Carolyn Parkhurst quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-parkhurst/) ## More Grief quotes > [“...they had lived, they'd lived intensely. But no matter how deeply you live, it comes to this in the end: one of you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-morton/they-had-lived-they-d-lived-intensely-but-no-matter-how-deeply-you/) [Brian Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-morton/) > [“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/) > [You felt a deep sorrow, the kind of melancholy you feel when you're in a beautiful place and the sun is going down](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thrity-umrigar/you-felt-a-deep-sorrow-the-kind-of-melancholy-you-feel-when-you-re-in/) [Thrity Umrigar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thrity-umrigar/) > [... how much of our inner substance is it good for us to give to public griefs? The whole modern tendency to agonize over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bogan/how-much-of-our-inner-substance-is-it-good-for-us-to-give-to-public/) [Louise Bogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bogan/) > [You dont choose your life; it chooses you. Theres no point asking why life has reserved certain joys or griefs, you just accept them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/you-dont-choose-your-life-it-chooses-you-theres-no-point-asking-why/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“When we learn to attribute meaning to the events in our lives, we connect with our Higher Purpose, Higher Wisdom, or Source; we become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-barbara-apollon/when-we-learn-to-attribute-meaning-to-the-events-in-our-lives-we/) [Susan Barbara Apollon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-barbara-apollon/) > [Only to have a grief equal to all these tears!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/only-to-have-a-grief-equal-to-all-these-tears/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [Nowadays most people wear black most of the time anyway: go to a literary party and one would imagine everyone there was in perpetual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fay-weldon/nowadays-most-people-wear-black-most-of-the-time-anyway-go-to-a/) [Fay Weldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fay-weldon/) > [Suppressed grief suffocates, it rages within the breast, and is forced to multiply its strength.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/suppressed-grief-suffocates-it-rages-within-the-breast-and-is-forced/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [That Woman is in love with her own grief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/that-woman-is-in-love-with-her-own-grief/) [Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/) > [Short time seems long in sorrow's sharp sustaining.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/short-time-seems-long-in-sorrow-s-sharp-sustaining/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [These days grief seems like walking on a frozen river; most of the time he feels safe enough, but there is always that danger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/these-days-grief-seems-like-walking-on-a-frozen-river-most-of-the/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [“You've been my beacon of light in my storm of grief, and I don't know if I could live without you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-ashley/you-ve-been-my-beacon-of-light-in-my-storm-of-grief-and-i-don-t-know/) [Katie Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-ashley/) > [Ancient eyes had stared at me, filled with ancient grief. And something more. Something so alien and unexpected that I'd almost burst into tears.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/ancient-eyes-had-stared-at-me-filled-with-ancient-grief-and-something/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [Meanwhile, the trees were just as green as before; the birds sang and the sun shone as clearly now as ever. The familiar surroundings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/meanwhile-the-trees-were-just-as-green-as-before-the-birds-sang-and/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) [Browse all 8,012 Grief quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I remember my wife in white. I remember her walking toward me on our wedding day, a bouquet of red flowers in her hand, and I remember her turning away from me in anger, her body stiff as a stone. I remember the sound of her breath as she slept. I remember the way her body felt in my arms. I remember, always I remember, that she brought solace to my life as well as grief. That for every dark moment we shared between us, there was a moment of such brightness I almost could not bear to look at it head-on. I try to remember the woman she was and not the woman I have built out of spare parts to comfort me in my mourning. And I find, more and more, as the days go by and the balm of my forgiveness washes over the cracked and parched surface of my heart, I find that remembering her as she was is a gift I can give us both.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Carolyn Parkhurst" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-parkhurst/i-remember-my-wife-in-white-i-remember-her-walking-toward-me-on-our/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Grief" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-parkhurst/i-remember-my-wife-in-white-i-remember-her-walking-toward-me-on-our/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/41d/carolyn-parkhurst-14899_grief_i-remember-my-wife-in-white-i-remember-h_301065.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/41d/carolyn-parkhurst-14899_grief_i-remember-my-wife-in-white-i-remember-h_301065.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/41d/carolyn-parkhurst-14899_grief_i-remember-my-wife-in-white-i-remember-h_301065.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I remember my wife in white. I remember her walking toward me on our wedding day, a bouquet of red flowers…” — Carolyn Parkhurst", "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": "Carolyn Parkhurst", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-parkhurst/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I remember my wife in white....", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-parkhurst/i-remember-my-wife-in-white-i-remember-her-walking-toward-me-on-our/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-parkhurst/i-remember-my-wife-in-white-i-remember-her-walking-toward-me-on-our/#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 } } ] } ```