--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He had visited his family the evening…" description: "\"“He had visited his family the evening before, eaten dinner with Renee and Chris, his grandson, in the pretence that everything was ordinary, but in fa..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2e/david-guterson-8456_colon-cancer_he-had-visited-his-family-the-evening-be_2937278.jpg" --- # He had visited his family the evening before, eaten dinner… ![“He had visited his family the evening before, eaten dinner with Renee and Chris, his grandson, in the pretence that everything was ordinary, but in fact to service his end-game ruse. He was going over the mountains, he'd said, to hunt for quail in willow canyons, he had no particular canyons in…” quote by David Guterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2e/david-guterson-8456_colon-cancer_he-had-visited-his-family-the-evening-be_2937278.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2e/david-guterson-8456_colon-cancer_he-had-visited-his-family-the-evening-be_2937278.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2e/david-guterson-8456_colon-cancer_he-had-visited-his-family-the-evening-be_2937278.jpg) > ““He had visited his family the evening before, eaten dinner with Renee and Chris, his grandson, in the pretence that everything was ordinary, but in fact to service his end-game ruse. He was going over the mountains, he'd said, to hunt for quail in willow canyons, he had no particular canyons in mind, he intended to return on Thursday evening, though possibly, if the hunting was good, he would return on Friday or Saturday. The lie was open-ended so that his family wouldn't start worrying until he'd been dead for as long as a week - so none would miss or seek him where he rotted silently in the sage. Ben imagined how it might be otherwise, his cancer a pestilent force in their lives, or a pall descending over them like ice, just as they'd begun to emerge from the pall of Rachel's death. The last thing they needed was for Ben to tell hem of his terminal colon cancer.”” [David Guterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-guterson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A man fabricates a death to spare family grief, using a hunting trip as cover. **In simple terms:** He lies about a hunt to hide his terminal illness. Key Takeaway Consider honesty versus protecting loved ones. Themes family illness deception Mood somber empathetic Type fiction philosophical When to use this quote - health disclosures - family communication - end‑of‑life planning Key Concepts mortality ethical dilemma Questions to Reflect On - When is truth essential? - How would you support a terminal patient? A Different Perspective Deception may cause deeper pain later. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Colon cancer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/colon-cancer/) [Death and dying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death-and-dying/) [Family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/family/) ## Related quotes > [When I visited my family in Virginia, I tracked down my seventh-grade best friend and sat in TGI Fridays near a mall for hours,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenna-wortham/when-i-visited-my-family-in-virginia-i-tracked-down-my-seventh-grade/) [Jenna Wortham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenna-wortham/) > [“I prefer the mountains." He said it quietly,neutrally. 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