--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I've been asked several times since the…" description: "\"I've been asked several times since the book Love and Trouble came out, \"Are you still sad?\" And I'm not, not in the way I was before. I do feel like i..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4e/claire-dederer-28751_book_i-ve-been-asked-several-times-since-the_1211190.jpg" --- # I've been asked several times since the book Love and… ![“I've been asked several times since the book Love and Trouble came out, "Are you still sad?" And I'm not, not in the way I was before. I do feel like it was a season in hell that I passed through. But now I'm in despair and sad and confused every day because of our political situation. So the…” quote by Claire Dederer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4e/claire-dederer-28751_book_i-ve-been-asked-several-times-since-the_1211190.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4e/claire-dederer-28751_book_i-ve-been-asked-several-times-since-the_1211190.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4e/claire-dederer-28751_book_i-ve-been-asked-several-times-since-the_1211190.jpg) > “I've been asked several times since the book Love and Trouble came out, "Are you still sad?" And I'm not, not in the way I was before. I do feel like it was a season in hell that I passed through. But now I'm in despair and sad and confused every day because of our political situation. So the question is: Is it harder or easier to be sad with a reason?” [Claire Dederer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-dederer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Explores whether sadness feels deeper when justified by external events versus internal moods. **In simple terms:** Sadness can be justified or not. Key Takeaway Acknowledge the source of your emotions. Themes emotion politics mental health Mood somber contemplative Type personal political When to use this quote - political activism - personal coping - creative writing Key Concepts existential psychology Questions to Reflect On - Is your sadness a symptom or a signal? - How does political context shape personal grief? A Different Perspective Justified sadness may linger longer. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Book love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book-love/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Despair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despair/) [Hell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hell/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [The book Love and Trouble is asserting that sexuality lives inside us, and in the culture, and in the people who do things to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-dederer/the-book-love-and-trouble-is-asserting-that-sexuality-lives-inside-us/) [Claire Dederer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-dederer/) > [Throughout the ordeal, I learned that getting mad was easier than being sad. Anger was something I could control. I could settle into an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-giffin/throughout-the-ordeal-i-learned-that-getting-mad-was-easier-than/) [Emily Giffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-giffin/) > [I learned that getting mad was easier than being sad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-giffin/i-learned-that-getting-mad-was-easier-than-being-sad/) [Emily Giffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-giffin/) > [“The truth was that in the end, sad felt better than rage - a lot better. But rage came easier. Sad felt like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-holloway/the-truth-was-that-in-the-end-sad-felt-better-than-rage-a-lot-better/) [Monica Holloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-holloway/) > [Why do we smile? Why do we laugh? Why do we feel alone? Why are we sad and confused? Why do we read poetry?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-alire-s-enz/why-do-we-smile-why-do-we-laugh-why-do-we-feel-alone-why-are-we-sad/) [Benjamin Alire Saenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-alire-s-enz/) > [You can never control who you fall in love with, even when you're in the most sad, confused time of your life. You don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirsten-dunst/you-can-never-control-who-you-fall-in-love-with-even-when-you-re-in-2/) [Kirsten Dunst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirsten-dunst/) > [When I'M Happy =) When I'M sad =( When I'M confused -\_- When I'M excited =) !!!!!! Mixed Emotions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kourtnee-willams/when-i-m-happy-when-i-m-sad-when-i-m-confused-when-i-m-excited-mixed/) [Kourtnee Willams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kourtnee-willams/) > [You Can Never Control Who You Fall In Love Even Your In The Most Sad Confused Times Of Your Life, You Don't Fall With…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-can-never-control-who-you-fall-in-love-even-your-in-the-most-sad/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“You can never control who you fall in love with, even when you’re in the most sad, confused time of your life. ~Kristen Dunst”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-langston/you-can-never-control-who-you-fall-in-love-with-even-when-you-re-in/) [K. Langston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-langston/) > [It's sad how someone can go from being the reason you wake up smiling, to the reason you cry yourself to sleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-sad-how-someone-can-go-from-being-the-reason-you-wake-up-smiling/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I have this thing, I'll get sad. For no reason. I freak out. I'm not sure what exactly happens. I lash out on people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patience/i-have-this-thing-i-ll-get-sad-for-no-reason-i-freak-out-i-m-not-sure/) Patience > [“In her remorse, she was also willing to admit that she was sad for another reason. She no longer had a reason to see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-kirsten-maravel/in-her-remorse-she-was-also-willing-to-admit-that-she-was-sad-for/) [Shawn Kirsten Maravel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-kirsten-maravel/) > [“It was September. In the last days when things are getting sad for no reason.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/it-was-september-in-the-last-days-when-things-are-getting-sad-for-no/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [If you're feeling really sad, there is only one reason: it's because you're deleting all the reasons you could be feeling good. And if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/if-you-re-feeling-really-sad-there-is-only-one-reason-it-s-because/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) > [Those moods when I become depressed or sad for no reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shit-i-hate/those-moods-when-i-become-depressed-or-sad-for-no-reason/) Shit I Hate ## More by Claire Dederer > [Drinking and taking drugs. I think there was also a sort of druggie or trance-like nature to the way that I used sex as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-dederer/drinking-and-taking-drugs-i-think-there-was-also-a-sort-of-druggie-or/) [Claire Dederer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-dederer/) > [The patchwork nature of the forms are a reflection of sexuality itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-dederer/the-patchwork-nature-of-the-forms-are-a-reflection-of-sexuality-itself/) [Claire Dederer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-dederer/) > [“I had discovered something; there was a pleasure in becoming something new. You could will yourself into a fresh shape. Now all I had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-dederer/i-had-discovered-something-there-was-a-pleasure-in-becoming-something/) [Claire Dederer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-dederer/) > [The book Love and Trouble is asserting that sexuality lives inside us, and in the culture, and in the people who do things to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-dederer/the-book-love-and-trouble-is-asserting-that-sexuality-lives-inside-us/) [Claire Dederer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-dederer/) > [I wish I would have been more of a maker. I wish I would have been more of a writer. 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We’d been dealing with food, planning it buying it growing it storing it cooking it serving it, for years, for decades…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-dederer/food-was-wearisome-we-d-been-dealing-with-food-planning-it-buying-it/) [Claire Dederer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-dederer/) > [Your sexuality belongs to you, and think about your own desire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-dederer/your-sexuality-belongs-to-you-and-think-about-your-own-desire/) [Claire Dederer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-dederer/) > [When I was really sad, I would be like a little kid wiggling a loose tooth or touching a sore spot - there were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-dederer/when-i-was-really-sad-i-would-be-like-a-little-kid-wiggling-a-loose/) [Claire Dederer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-dederer/) > [I think that what I knew as a teenager, and what I rediscovered in my mid-forties, was - aside from the primacy of sexual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-dederer/i-think-that-what-i-knew-as-a-teenager-and-what-i-rediscovered-in-my/) [Claire Dederer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-dederer/) > [“Reality is an easy commodity in the Front Range. There's weather, and there are animals that are thinking about eating you, and there's all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-dederer/reality-is-an-easy-commodity-in-the-front-range-there-s-weather-and/) [Claire Dederer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-dederer/) > [“I carefully lifted out of the pose and spoke up: "Uh, Fran? When I'm doing the pose (camel), I have this feeling in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-dederer/i-carefully-lifted-out-of-the-pose-and-spoke-up-uh-fran-when-i-m/) [Claire Dederer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-dederer/) > [“Yoga is just gymnastics for uncoordinated people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-dederer/yoga-is-just-gymnastics-for-uncoordinated-people/) [Claire Dederer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-dederer/) > [“What if the opposite of good wasn't bad? What if the opposite of good was real?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-dederer/what-if-the-opposite-of-good-wasn-t-bad-what-if-the-opposite-of-good/) [Claire Dederer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-dederer/) [Explore all 19 Claire Dederer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-dederer/) ## More Book quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. 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I should have written more books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/i-don-t-think-i-have-made-as-much-of-my-life-as-i-should-have-i/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. 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