--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: grief is as much about regret for what…" description: "\"“grief is as much about regret for what you’ve never had as sadness for what you’ve lost. Anyway, we got through it somehow.”\" — David Nicholls" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/207/david-nicholls-873_death_grief-is-as-much-about-regret-for-what-y_905700.png" --- # grief is as much about regret for what you’ve never had as… ![“grief is as much about regret for what you’ve never had as sadness for what you’ve lost. Anyway, we got through it somehow.” quote by David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/207/david-nicholls-873_death_grief-is-as-much-about-regret-for-what-y_905700.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/207/david-nicholls-873_death_grief-is-as-much-about-regret-for-what-y_905700.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/207/david-nicholls-873_death_grief-is-as-much-about-regret-for-what-y_905700.png) > ““grief is as much about regret for what you’ve never had as sadness for what you’ve lost. Anyway, we got through it somehow.”” [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Grief mixes regret for missed possibilities with sadness for loss, yet we eventually endure it. **In simple terms:** Loss brings both regret and sadness, but we survive. Key Takeaway Accept both feelings and move forward. Themes grief regret acceptance resilience healing Mood somber hopeful Type emotional reflective When to use this quote - personal loss - breakup - death of a pet - career setback Key Concepts emotional processing dual loss coping mechanisms Questions to Reflect On - What unfulfilled hopes accompany your loss? - How can you honor both grief and regret? A Different Perspective Regret can dominate grief, blocking healing. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Grief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief/) [Regret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regret/) [Sadness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sadness/) ## Related quotes > [“grief is as much regret for what we have never had as sorrow for what we have lost. As”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/grief-is-as-much-regret-for-what-we-have-never-had-as-sorrow-for-what/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Grief, regret, pain, and of course anger. Another loss. And when you compare this one loss to the hundreds and maybe thousands that occur…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-valdes/grief-regret-pain-and-of-course-anger-another-loss-and-when-you/) [Natalie Valdes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-valdes/) > [Do not brood over your past mistakes and failures as this will only fill your mind with grief, regret and depression. Do not repeat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/do-not-brood-over-your-past-mistakes-and-failures-as-this-will-only/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“People really could be one way outside, when inside they were torn to shreds, a fine white powder of grief and regret replacing blood…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/people-really-could-be-one-way-outside-when-inside-they-were-torn-to/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [The humiliation that Jane had felt turned to something else--grief perhaps, or regret. Regret that she had not known how to act with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverly-cleary/the-humiliation-that-jane-had-felt-turned-to-something-else-grief/) [Beverly Cleary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverly-cleary/) > [Life is too short for grief. Or regret. Or bullshit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/life-is-too-short-for-grief-or-regret-or-bullshit/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“I do not know this man, I think. He is no one I have ever seen before. My rage towards him is hot as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/i-do-not-know-this-man-i-think-he-is-no-one-i-have-ever-seen-before/) [Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/) > [“The radiance of this beautiful scene shed a cruel light on every past horror, every insult tolerated, every unspoken retort, every gesture of rejection.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-george/the-radiance-of-this-beautiful-scene-shed-a-cruel-light-on-every-past/) [Nina George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-george/) > [“ We must come to grief and regret anyway - and I for one would rather regret the reality than its phantasm, knowledge than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-s-byatt/we-must-come-to-grief-and-regret-anyway-and-i-for-one-would-rather/) [A.S. Byatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-byatt/) > [I don't regret anything that I've turned down, and I don't regret anything that I've done, really.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-frost/i-don-t-regret-anything-that-i-ve-turned-down-and-i-don-t-regret/) [Nick Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-frost/) > [Regret is something you’ve got to just live with, you can’t drink it away. You can’t run away from it. You can’t trick yourself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-bourdain/regret-is-something-you-ve-got-to-just-live-with-you-can-t-drink-it/) [Anthony Bourdain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-bourdain/) > [For this is what you've done to others, don't makes you feel better, you just regret for something you've done to others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asta/for-this-is-what-you-ve-done-to-others-don-t-makes-you-feel-better/) Asta > [I don't regret anything I've ever done; as long as I enjoyed it at the time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-hepburn/i-don-t-regret-anything-i-ve-ever-done-as-long-as-i-enjoyed-it-at-the/) [Katharine Hepburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-hepburn/) > [The best time to review every bad decision you've ever made and every regret you've ever had is between 1:00 and 3:00 am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-best-time-to-review-every-bad-decision-you-ve-ever-made-and-every/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by David Nicholls > [These days grief seems like walking on a frozen river; most of the time he feels safe enough, but there is always that danger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/these-days-grief-seems-like-walking-on-a-frozen-river-most-of-the/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [“Good God, 'the elusive thing'. She had reached a turning point. She no longer believed that a situation could be made better by writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/good-god-the-elusive-thing-she-had-reached-a-turning-point-she-no/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [Emma was a shocking driver, simultaneously sloppy and petrified, and for the first fifty miles had been absent-mindedly driving with her spectacles on top…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/emma-was-a-shocking-driver-simultaneously-sloppy-and-petrified-and/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [I still find it absurdly difficult to concentrate on a novel if there's a phone or computer to hand; I have taken to locking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/i-still-find-it-absurdly-difficult-to-concentrate-on-a-novel-if-there/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [You've got to stop letting women slip drugs into your mouth, Dex, it's unhygienic. And dangerous. One day it'll be a cyanide capsule.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/you-ve-got-to-stop-letting-women-slip-drugs-into-your-mouth-dex-it-s/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [“He presses two fingers against each eye and attempts to account for this crippling melancholy, but is having trouble with rational thought. It feels…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/he-presses-two-fingers-against-each-eye-and-attempts-to-account-for/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [“Live each day as if it's our last', that was the conventional advice, but really who had the energy for that? What if it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/live-each-day-as-if-it-s-our-last-that-was-the-conventional-advice/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [She was reaching the limits of how much its possible to change a man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/she-was-reaching-the-limits-of-how-much-its-possible-to-change-a-man/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [“How would she fill the days? She had no idea. The trick of it, she told herself, is to be courageous and bold and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/how-would-she-fill-the-days-she-had-no-idea-the-trick-of-it-she-told/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [“What if it rained or you felt a bit glandy? It just wasn't practical. Better by far to simply try and be good and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/what-if-it-rained-or-you-felt-a-bit-glandy-it-just-wasn-t-practical/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [Sometimes, when it is going badly, she wonders if what she believes to be a love of the written word is really just a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/sometimes-when-it-is-going-badly-she-wonders-if-what-she-believes-to/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [The city had defeated her, just like they said it would. Like some overcrowded party, no one had noticed her arrival, and would notice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/the-city-had-defeated-her-just-like-they-said-it-would-like-some/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [Better by far to be good and courageous and bold and to make difference. Not change the world exactly, but the bit around you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/better-by-far-to-be-good-and-courageous-and-bold-and-to-make/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [A screenplay is really an instruction manual, and it can be interpreted in any number of ways. The casting, the choice of location, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/a-screenplay-is-really-an-instruction-manual-and-it-can-be/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [Most of the books and films I love walk a knife edge between romance and cynicism, and I wanted 'One Day' to stay on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/most-of-the-books-and-films-i-love-walk-a-knife-edge-between-romance/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) [Explore all 332 David Nicholls quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) ## More Death quotes > [“He wondered how it was fair that your dying should depend so much on when you were born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/he-wondered-how-it-was-fair-that-your-dying-should-depend-so-much-on/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [I do not want to live at the cost of the life even of a snake. I should let him bite me to death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-to-live-at-the-cost-of-the-life-even-of-a-snake-i/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“It was beautiful. 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Then his eyes turned to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-anthony-torino/what-did-you-see-she-asked-gently-his-brow-furrowed-as-if-he-could/) J. Anthony Torino > [Those whose life is long still strive for gain, and for all mortals all things take second place to money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/those-whose-life-is-long-still-strive-for-gain-and-for-all-mortals/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [“I practice Dying--every night-- But have not learned to, still-- Though Talented--by Mortal bones-- For such a common Skill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-powers/i-practice-dying-every-night-but-have-not-learned-to-still-though/) Alan W. 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