--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I didn’t understand grief. I thought…" description: "\"“I didn’t understand grief. I thought grief was something that happened when someone you love dies, not when they are still alive.”\" — Cheri Davies" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a71/cheri-davies-71614_alzheimers_i-didn-t-understand-grief-i-thought-grie_1796890.jpg" --- # I didn’t understand grief. I thought grief was something… ![“I didn’t understand grief. I thought grief was something that happened when someone you love dies, not when they are still alive.” quote by Cheri Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a71/cheri-davies-71614_alzheimers_i-didn-t-understand-grief-i-thought-grie_1796890.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a71/cheri-davies-71614_alzheimers_i-didn-t-understand-grief-i-thought-grie_1796890.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a71/cheri-davies-71614_alzheimers_i-didn-t-understand-grief-i-thought-grie_1796890.jpg) > ““I didn’t understand grief. I thought grief was something that happened when someone you love dies, not when they are still alive.”” [Cheri Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheri-davies/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Grief can arise while loved ones are still alive, not only after death. **In simple terms:** Grief isn’t limited to loss by death. Key Takeaway Acknowledge ongoing emotional pain. Themes grief relationships emotions Mood empathetic somber Type psychological inspirational When to use this quote - counseling sessions - support groups - personal reflection - writing therapy Key Concepts attachment theory psychology compassion Questions to Reflect On - What triggers grief in living relationships? - How can we support those grieving without loss? A Different Perspective Grief may be dismissed as over‑reaction. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alzheimers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alzheimers/) [Anticipatory-grief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anticipatory-grief-9458/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Grief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief/) [Grief Happened](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief-happened-1995125/) [Grief Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief-thought-1199026/) [Grieving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grieving/) [The-grief-experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/the-grief-experience-186887/) [Thought Grief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought-grief-1245519/) [Understand Grief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understand-grief-269952/) ## Related quotes > [“As my life changed in that non-descript doctor’s office, everything around me remained the same. 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Mourning, the act of dealing with grief, required…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/until-now-i-had-been-able-only-to-grieve-not-mourn-grief-was-passive/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“I wanted to tell you that I was so sad I felt as if I might be happy, or in love, simply because such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-adrian/i-wanted-to-tell-you-that-i-was-so-sad-i-felt-as-if-i-might-be-happy/) [Chris Adrian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-adrian/) > [This is your body, your greatest gift, pregnant with wisdom you do not hear, grief you thought was forgotten, and joy you have never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-woodman/this-is-your-body-your-greatest-gift-pregnant-with-wisdom-you-do-not/) [Marion Woodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-woodman/) > [“Sometimes my sadness and my anger still feel as hard as ice; that's how I saw them for a long time, in fact. Sadness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katy-regnery/sometimes-my-sadness-and-my-anger-still-feel-as-hard-as-ice-that-s/) [Katy Regnery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katy-regnery/) > [Our lives ... are but a little while, so let them run as sweetly as you can, and give no thought to grief from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euripides/our-lives-are-but-a-little-while-so-let-them-run-as-sweetly-as-you/) [Euripides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euripides/) > [“The stability I had previously taken for granted was replaced by the pain that arrived when you learn that and you love is going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisa-renee-lee/the-stability-i-had-previously-taken-for-granted-was-replaced-by-the/) [Marisa Renee Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisa-renee-lee/) > [“I always thought of grief as a blow that took everything out of you. And it is like that. But it stays, past that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-scott/i-always-thought-of-grief-as-a-blow-that-took-everything-out-of-you/) [Elizabeth Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-scott/) > [“So it is the old meat after all, no matter how old. Because if memory exists outside of the flesh it wont be memory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/so-it-is-the-old-meat-after-all-no-matter-how-old-because-if-memory/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [“Understand there’s no right or wrong way to grieve, including anticipatory grief. It’s like the ocean. It ebbs and it flows. There can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-arcuri/understand-there-s-no-right-or-wrong-way-to-grieve-including/) [Dana Arcuri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-arcuri/) > [“Because if memory exists outside of the flesh it won't be memory because it won't know what it remembers so when she became not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/because-if-memory-exists-outside-of-the-flesh-it-won-t-be-memory/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [“But here’s what grieving people wish others would understand: grief is incredibly, relentlessly lonely. It really makes a huge difference to be reminded that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-guthrie/but-here-s-what-grieving-people-wish-others-would-understand-grief-is/) [Nancy Guthrie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-guthrie/) ## More by Cheri Davies > [“I’m bound together now in both sadness and hope. I feel grief every day, even if it’s a whisper in the background of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheri-davies/i-m-bound-together-now-in-both-sadness-and-hope-i-feel-grief-every/) [Cheri Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheri-davies/) > [“My life changed in a single moment and became two distinct segments, before October 2018 and after. Alzheimer’s permeates every facet of my life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheri-davies/my-life-changed-in-a-single-moment-and-became-two-distinct-segments/) [Cheri Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheri-davies/) > [“As my life changed in that non-descript doctor’s office, everything around me remained the same. 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Jeff, I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-camhi/from-care-for-the-carer-an-alzheimer-s-memoir-is-there-a-cure-jane/) [Jeff Camhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-camhi/) > [“How's Mother?" "In and out." As I said it I wondered which was the bad way: in or out? Was she lost when she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percival-everett/how-s-mother-in-and-out-as-i-said-it-i-wondered-which-was-the-bad-way/) [Percival Everett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percival-everett/) [Browse all 43 Alzheimers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alzheimers/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I didn’t understand grief. 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