--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I knew that this sort of love…" description: "\"“I knew that this sort of love, technically, was just a neurotransmitter cocktail designed to make you feel invincible and infinite – beyond language, ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd9/catherine-lacey-3511_love_i-knew-that-this-sort-of-love-technicall_1423715.jpg" --- # I knew that this sort of love, technically, was just a… ![“I knew that this sort of love, technically, was just a neurotransmitter cocktail designed to make you feel invincible and infinite – beyond language, beyond logic – but I also knew that love was as thrilling as it was temporary, a prelude to pain, though I only knew this through reading – which is…” quote by Catherine Lacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd9/catherine-lacey-3511_love_i-knew-that-this-sort-of-love-technicall_1423715.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd9/catherine-lacey-3511_love_i-knew-that-this-sort-of-love-technicall_1423715.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd9/catherine-lacey-3511_love_i-knew-that-this-sort-of-love-technicall_1423715.jpg) > ““I knew that this sort of love, technically, was just a neurotransmitter cocktail designed to make you feel invincible and infinite – beyond language, beyond logic – but I also knew that love was as thrilling as it was temporary, a prelude to pain, though I only knew this through reading – which is to say I had not really learned it yet and may never. That little shimmer in the chest. How simple it seems.”” [Catherine Lacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-lacey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Love is portrayed as a fleeting, chemically driven high that feels limitless yet inevitably leads to pain, highlighting its paradoxical nature. **In simple terms:** Love feels endless but is temporary. Key Takeaway Cherish love’s intensity while staying aware of its fleeting nature. Themes love transience neuroscience paradox Mood bittersweet introspective hopeful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - romantic relationships - creative writing - therapy sessions - self‑reflection - artistic inspiration Key Concepts psychology neurochemistry existentialism Questions to Reflect On - Can love be both a chemical response and a meaningful connection? - How do you balance love’s joy with its inevitable loss? 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I never knew I loved you so much.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-richler/zachariah-zachariah-i-ve-never-been-so-long-away-i-never-felt-so-much/) [Emma Richler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-richler/) > [“It was the voice of someone who had known both amazing joy and intense pain, and who knew that ultimately you can’t really have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brent-hartinger/it-was-the-voice-of-someone-who-had-known-both-amazing-joy-and/) [Brent Hartinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brent-hartinger/) > [“I was trying to explain my situation to myself. My situation was that I was in pain and nobody knew it; even I had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susanna-kaysen/i-was-trying-to-explain-my-situation-to-myself-my-situation-was-that/) [Susanna Kaysen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susanna-kaysen/) > [At least it was instant. At least there wasn't any pain." 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The idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juliet-castle/she-wondered-how-to-mourn-the-death-of-a-son-who-wasn-t-dead-and-yet/) [Juliet Castle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juliet-castle/) > [“They sought the pain they knew so well and called it love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-w-earle-lpc-love-is-not-enough/they-sought-the-pain-they-knew-so-well-and-called-it-love/) [David W. Earle LPC- Love is Not Enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-w-earle-lpc-love-is-not-enough/) ## More by Catherine Lacey > [“Isn’t everyone on the planet or at least everyone on the planet called me stuck between the two impulses of wanting to walk away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-lacey/isn-t-everyone-on-the-planet-or-at-least-everyone-on-the-planet/) [Catherine Lacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-lacey/) > [“...no moment cares, and the ones you wish could stretch out like a hammock for you to lie in, well, those moments leave the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-lacey/no-moment-cares-and-the-ones-you-wish-could-stretch-out-like-a/) [Catherine Lacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-lacey/) > [“The late-afternoon light was thick and orange and she passed four different couples taking photos of themselves on the same cobblestoned block, all their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-lacey/the-late-afternoon-light-was-thick-and-orange-and-she-passed-four/) [Catherine Lacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-lacey/) > [“Every few minutes or so I would remember the look from the man who had wanted fifty cents, and I'd look at that framed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-lacey/every-few-minutes-or-so-i-would-remember-the-look-from-the-man-who/) [Catherine Lacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-lacey/) > [“How someone wants to explain catastrophe isn't important--that's what I know now. When shit happens, it doesn't really matter what asshole is responsible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-lacey/how-someone-wants-to-explain-catastrophe-isn-t-important-that-s-what/) [Catherine Lacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-lacey/) > [“Eventually she got out of bed, took a long shower, gargling and spitting mouthfuls of water, then screaming, just a little and quietly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-lacey/eventually-she-got-out-of-bed-took-a-long-shower-gargling-and/) [Catherine Lacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-lacey/) > [“I couldn't decide how to feel about what he was saying, whether it was all nonsense or just more evidence that I would never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-lacey/i-couldn-t-decide-how-to-feel-about-what-he-was-saying-whether-it-was/) [Catherine Lacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-lacey/) > [“She missed his nothing. It had felt like something.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-lacey/she-missed-his-nothing-it-had-felt-like-something/) [Catherine Lacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-lacey/) > [“I wasn't sure if it was safe for me to be sharing time and space with other people, who all seemed so much gentler…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-lacey/i-wasn-t-sure-if-it-was-safe-for-me-to-be-sharing-time-and-space-with/) [Catherine Lacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-lacey/) > [“Why were we never together anymore, just alone in each other's vicinity?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-lacey/why-were-we-never-together-anymore-just-alone-in-each-other-s-vicinity/) [Catherine Lacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-lacey/) > [“And I began to believe that you could exchange your life, send it back for a different model, and I knew that wasn’t really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-lacey/and-i-began-to-believe-that-you-could-exchange-your-life-send-it-back/) [Catherine Lacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-lacey/) > [“I thought that if I could ever do a background check on myself, I knew exactly what I'd do with it. I wouldn't even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-lacey/i-thought-that-if-i-could-ever-do-a-background-check-on-myself-i-knew/) [Catherine Lacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-lacey/) > [“ We have reached a point as a culture, where the predominant view of romantic partnership is no longer about survival or wealth or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-lacey/we-have-reached-a-point-as-a-culture-where-the-predominant-view-of/) [Catherine Lacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-lacey/) > [“There was at least one morning I was certain, though only for a few hours, that everything that could ever really happen to me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-lacey/there-was-at-least-one-morning-i-was-certain-though-only-for-a-few/) [Catherine Lacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-lacey/) > [“I closed my eyes, tried to get as far away from myself as I could.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-lacey/i-closed-my-eyes-tried-to-get-as-far-away-from-myself-as-i-could/) [Catherine Lacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-lacey/) [Explore all 129 Catherine Lacey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-lacey/) ## More Love quotes > [Whatever meaning 'Annie's Song' had for me on a personal level, there was also a larger context. 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Emilie Cady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-emilie-cady/) > [I fell in love with social work, and that was my undoing as a poet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-rakosi/i-fell-in-love-with-social-work-and-that-was-my-undoing-as-a-poet/) [Carl Rakosi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-rakosi/) > [You cant be controlling in improv.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-walsh/you-cant-be-controlling-in-improv/) [Matt Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-walsh/) > [Everyone needs someone to love, and I choose you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-needs-someone-to-love-and-i-choose-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I think, here's what I've realized from interviewing people, and I've been very open about my Catholicism and my love of Christ and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-mohr/i-think-here-s-what-i-ve-realized-from-interviewing-people-and-i-ve/) [Jay Mohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-mohr/) > [“To be loved by a man, truly loved, made a woman feel as if she could burst. 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Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-c-wolfe/) [Browse all 233,035 Love quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I knew that this sort of love, technically, was just a neurotransmitter cocktail designed to make you feel invincible and infinite – beyond language, beyond logic – but I also knew that love was as thrilling as it was temporary, a prelude to pain, though I only knew this through reading – which is to say I had not really learned it yet and may never. That little shimmer in the chest. 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