--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You don’t need a reason to leave. Wanting…" description: "\"“You don’t need a reason to leave. Wanting to leave is enough. Leaving doesn’t mean you’re incapable of real love or that you’ll never love anyone else..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ace/cheryl-strayed-605_leaving_you-don-t-need-a-reason-to-leave-wanting_384517.jpg" --- # You don’t need a reason to leave. Wanting to leave is… ![“You don’t need a reason to leave. Wanting to leave is enough. Leaving doesn’t mean you’re incapable of real love or that you’ll never love anyone else again. It doesn’t mean you’re morally bankrupt or psychologically demented or a nymphomaniac. It means you wish to change the terms of one…” quote by Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ace/cheryl-strayed-605_leaving_you-don-t-need-a-reason-to-leave-wanting_384517.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ace/cheryl-strayed-605_leaving_you-don-t-need-a-reason-to-leave-wanting_384517.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ace/cheryl-strayed-605_leaving_you-don-t-need-a-reason-to-leave-wanting_384517.jpg) > ““You don’t need a reason to leave. Wanting to leave is enough. Leaving doesn’t mean you’re incapable of real love or that you’ll never love anyone else again. It doesn’t mean you’re morally bankrupt or psychologically demented or a nymphomaniac. It means you wish to change the terms of one particular relationship. That’s all. Be brave enough to break your own heart.”” [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Leaving a relationship can be a healthy act of self‑care, not a sign of failure. **In simple terms:** Leaving can be self‑care. Key Takeaway Leave when needed for growth. Themes relationships self‑care courage Mood reflective empowering Type advice inspirational When to use this quote - ending a toxic partnership - moving after divorce - changing social circles - career shift Key Concepts psychology boundaries self‑love Questions to Reflect On - What boundaries need redefining? - How will you nurture yourself after leaving? A Different Perspective Leaving may cause grief and social backlash. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Leave Leaving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leave-leaving-1618524/) [Leave Wanting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leave-wanting-464423/) [Leaving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leaving/) [Leaving Doesn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leaving-doesn-855240/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Wanting Leave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wanting-leave-2226102/) ## Related quotes > [You're not a terrible person for wanting to break up with someone you love. You dont need a reason to leave. Wanting to leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dear-sugar/you-re-not-a-terrible-person-for-wanting-to-break-up-with-someone-you/) [Dear Sugar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dear-sugar/) > [Wanting to leave is enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/wanting-to-leave-is-enough/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [Remember: leaving someone doesn't say 'I hate you,' it says I love me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/remember-leaving-someone-doesn-t-say-i-hate-you-it-says-i-love-me/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Leaving someone doesn't mean you stop loving them! You're just wise enough to know that season is over!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/leaving-someone-doesn-t-mean-you-stop-loving-them-you-re-just-wise/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“No, no, no, no. Who are you? What is this? Don't leave. They're leaving. They've left. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/no-no-no-no-who-are-you-what-is-this-don-t-leave-they-re-leaving-they/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [I won't ever leave you, even though you're always leaving me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-niffenegger/i-won-t-ever-leave-you-even-though-you-re-always-leaving-me/) [Audrey Niffenegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-niffenegger/) > [I just remembered when I was an adolescent girl wanting to leave my island and find my calling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lin-manuel-miranda/i-just-remembered-when-i-was-an-adolescent-girl-wanting-to-leave-my/) [Lin-Manuel Miranda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lin-manuel-miranda/) > [Home is a place you grow up wanting to leave, and grow old wanting to get back to](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ed-pearce/home-is-a-place-you-grow-up-wanting-to-leave-and-grow-old-wanting-to/) [John Ed Pearce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ed-pearce/) > [If someones wanting to leave my life please go!!!! I'm not holding anyone back TRUST ME!!! ill be ok ill survive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-someones-wanting-to-leave-my-life-please-go-i-m-not-holding-anyone/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Just because you're leaving, doesn't mean I'm letting you go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/just-because-you-re-leaving-doesn-t-mean-i-m-letting-you-go/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [People never know how special someone is until they leave, but sometimes leaving is what it takes to make that person realize how special…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/people-never-know-how-special-someone-is-until-they-leave-but/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [at a certain moment in social proceedings, I am on FIRE to leave: I have a leaving-FIT.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwendolyn-brooks/at-a-certain-moment-in-social-proceedings-i-am-on-fire-to-leave-i/) [Gwendolyn Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwendolyn-brooks/) > [Leaving doesn't always mean you're not loyal. Sometimes it means you're using your brain..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernajoy-vaal/leaving-doesn-t-always-mean-you-re-not-loyal-sometimes-it-means-you/) [Bernajoy Vaal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernajoy-vaal/) > [“If you leave, my heart goes with you. It belongs to you, like yours belongs to me. Leaving doesn't change that- it only rips…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-j-bell/if-you-leave-my-heart-goes-with-you-it-belongs-to-you-like-yours/) [K.J. Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-j-bell/) > [“leaving. doesn’t mean that you’ve left. –– linger”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/leaving-doesn-t-mean-that-you-ve-left-linger/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Cheryl Strayed > [“She understands that attention is the first and final act of love, and that the ultimate dwindling resource in the human arrangement isn’t cheap…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/she-understands-that-attention-is-the-first-and-final-act-of-love-and/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [“The most terrible and beautiful and interesting things happen in life. For some of you, those things have already happened. Whatever happens to you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/the-most-terrible-and-beautiful-and-interesting-things-happen-in-life/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [Of course you want someone special to love you. A majority of the people who write to me inquire about how they can get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/of-course-you-want-someone-special-to-love-you-a-majority-of-the/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [It's still true that literary works by women, gays, and writers of color are often framed as specific, rather than universal, small rather than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/it-s-still-true-that-literary-works-by-women-gays-and-writers-of/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [My whole life sort of ended when my mom died.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/my-whole-life-sort-of-ended-when-my-mom-died/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [“And you have to do it no matter what is true. No matter what is hard.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/and-you-have-to-do-it-no-matter-what-is-true-no-matter-what-is-hard/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [“Don’t listen to those people who suggest you should be “over” your daughter’s death by now. The people who squawk the loudest about such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/don-t-listen-to-those-people-who-suggest-you-should-be-over-your/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [“. . . there was the actual doing it, quickly followed by the grim realization of what it meant to do it, followed by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/there-was-the-actual-doing-it-quickly-followed-by-the-grim/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [“The sky didn't wonder where it was.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/the-sky-didn-t-wonder-where-it-was/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [He was the most ordinary man in all the world, and yet in her memory he'd become luminous, like the prince in a fairy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/he-was-the-most-ordinary-man-in-all-the-world-and-yet-in-her-memory/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [Love is our essential nutrient. Without it, life has little meaning. It's the best thing we have to give and the most valuable thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/love-is-our-essential-nutrient-without-it-life-has-little-meaning-it/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [“I never believed the boys were angry. I believed they were hurt and anger was the safest manifestation of their sorrow. It was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/i-never-believed-the-boys-were-angry-i-believed-they-were-hurt-and/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [“It’s wrong that this is required of you. It’s wrong that your son died. It will always be wrong.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/it-s-wrong-that-this-is-required-of-you-it-s-wrong-that-your-son-died/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [“Your ultimatum is simple. It’s fair. And it’s stating your own intentions, not what you hope theirs will be.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/your-ultimatum-is-simple-it-s-fair-and-it-s-stating-your-own/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [“We aren't poor," my mother said, again and again. "Because we're rich in love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/we-aren-t-poor-my-mother-said-again-and-again-because-we-re-rich-in/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) [Explore all 450 Cheryl Strayed quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) ## More Leaving quotes > [The writings of latter-day prophets clearly teach that the sorrows and sufferings endured by Adam and Eve upon their leaving the Garden of Eden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-k-judd/the-writings-of-latter-day-prophets-clearly-teach-that-the-sorrows/) [Daniel K Judd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-k-judd/) > [Leaving North Korea is not like leaving any other country. It is more like leaving another universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-hyeon-seo/leaving-north-korea-is-not-like-leaving-any-other-country-it-is-more/) [Lee Hyeon-seo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-hyeon-seo/) > [A man could be a lover and defender of the wilderness without ever in his lifetime leaving the boundaries of asphalt, powerlines, and right-angled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/a-man-could-be-a-lover-and-defender-of-the-wilderness-without-ever-in/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [The rich people are apparently leaving America. They're giving up their citizenship. These great lovers of America who made their money in this country-when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/the-rich-people-are-apparently-leaving-america-they-re-giving-up/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [Conservatism is not about leaving people behind. Conservatism is about empowering people to catch up, to give them the tools at their disposable that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/conservatism-is-not-about-leaving-people-behind-conservatism-is-about/) [Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/) > [There are times when we can feel destiny close around us like a fist around a doorknob. Sure, we can resist. But a knob…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/there-are-times-when-we-can-feel-destiny-close-around-us-like-a-fist/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [Our world is drowning in a sea of self-centeredness. You can make yourself quite unique right away by leaving this ocean of selfishness and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bytheway/our-world-is-drowning-in-a-sea-of-self-centeredness-you-can-make/) [John Bytheway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bytheway/) > [After a few mouthfuls of moon-flavored air, even the stubbornly drowsy can find themselves wide-eyed.. All the normal noises of life were gone, leaving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-d-wilson/after-a-few-mouthfuls-of-moon-flavored-air-even-the-stubbornly-drowsy/) [N.D. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-d-wilson/) > [In my former life I was in insider, as much as anybody else. And I knew what it's like, and I still know what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/in-my-former-life-i-was-in-insider-as-much-as-anybody-else-and-i-knew/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [I'd always wanted to do a film than TV show because film is always where my heart has been. I like diving into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shailene-woodley/i-d-always-wanted-to-do-a-film-than-tv-show-because-film-is-always/) [Shailene Woodley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shailene-woodley/) > [“I have such great love for you, little one. Such great love.” “I love you just as much, Hunter. I thought I’d die when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-anderson/i-have-such-great-love-for-you-little-one-such-great-love-i-love-you/) [Catherine Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-anderson/) > [“I may be the one leaving, but you’re the one giving up everything and walking away.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loni-flowers/i-may-be-the-one-leaving-but-you-re-the-one-giving-up-everything-and/) [Loni Flowers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loni-flowers/) > [It's interesting, I don't really think too much about being a role model or leaving a legacy or whatever. It's just not how I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-alcott/it-s-interesting-i-don-t-really-think-too-much-about-being-a-role/) [Dylan Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-alcott/) > [It's true that an offer from Manchester United was on the table - I was really close to leaving Inter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-perisic/it-s-true-that-an-offer-from-manchester-united-was-on-the-table-i-was/) [Ivan Perisic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-perisic/) > [I would have had a clause in my contract; I would've definitely put some fine print in my contract that said, "If the president…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-budden/i-would-have-had-a-clause-in-my-contract-i-would-ve-definitely-put/) [Joe Budden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-budden/) [Browse all 3,420 Leaving quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leaving/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“You don’t need a reason to leave. 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