--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And with each step my heart broke for the…" description: "\"And with each step my heart broke for the person I would never find, the person who'd love me. And then I would remember I had a wife at home who loved..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ea/denis-johnson-2135_alcoholic_and-with-each-step-my-heart-broke-for-th_2994912.png" --- # And with each step my heart broke for the person I would… ![“And with each step my heart broke for the person I would never find, the person who'd love me. And then I would remember I had a wife at home who loved me, or later that my wife had left me and I was terrirfied, or again later that I had a beautiful alcoholic girlfriend who would make me happy…” quote by Denis Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ea/denis-johnson-2135_alcoholic_and-with-each-step-my-heart-broke-for-th_2994912.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ea/denis-johnson-2135_alcoholic_and-with-each-step-my-heart-broke-for-th_2994912.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ea/denis-johnson-2135_alcoholic_and-with-each-step-my-heart-broke-for-th_2994912.png) > “And with each step my heart broke for the person I would never find, the person who'd love me. And then I would remember I had a wife at home who loved me, or later that my wife had left me and I was terrirfied, or again later that I had a beautiful alcoholic girlfriend who would make me happy forever. But every time I entered the place there were veiled faces promising everything and then clarifying quickly into the dull, the usual, looking up at me and making the same mistake.” [Denis Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-johnson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He longs for love, cycles through relationships, and confronts disappointment and hope. **In simple terms:** Search for love, face repeated loss. Key Takeaway Embrace vulnerability despite pain. Themes love loss longing Mood melancholic introspective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - dating - therapy - self‑reflection Key Concepts existentialism psychology Questions to Reflect On - What does love mean after repeated heartbreak? - How can one heal recurring pain? A Different Perspective May romanticize suffering. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alcoholic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alcoholic/) [Alcoholics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alcoholics/) [Beautiful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautiful/) [Faces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) [Girlfriend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/girlfriend/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home/) [Mistake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mistake/) [Same mistakes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/same-mistakes/) [Wife](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wife/) ## Related quotes > [Non-alcoholic to his girlfriend, Ill only drink wine from your lips.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-d-dangoor/non-alcoholic-to-his-girlfriend-ill-only-drink-wine-from-your-lips/) [Robert D Dangoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-d-dangoor/) > [Wise is the one who learns from another´s mistakes. Less wise is the one who learns only from his own mistakes. The fool keeps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/wise-is-the-one-who-learns-from-another-s-mistakes-less-wise-is-the/) [Sri Sri Ravi Shankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/) > [You have to have the kind of personality where you're resilient and you can get up and keep moving and learn what there is.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trip-hawkins/you-have-to-have-the-kind-of-personality-where-you-re-resilient-and/) [Trip Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trip-hawkins/) > [They say you can't study Kabbalah until you are at least 40 years old. You know why? You have to have experienced at least…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/they-say-you-can-t-study-kabbalah-until-you-are-at-least-40-years-old/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [With friends, if you keep making an effort to reach out and you keep getting hurt, you eventually stop trying. But it's much harder…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-spelling/with-friends-if-you-keep-making-an-effort-to-reach-out-and-you-keep/) [Tori Spelling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-spelling/) > [A realist is a man who insists on making the same mistakes his grandfather did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/a-realist-is-a-man-who-insists-on-making-the-same-mistakes-his/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [It's much harder to give up on family.Deep down you want it to work so badly that you keep making the same mistake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-spelling/it-s-much-harder-to-give-up-on-family-deep-down-you-want-it-to-work/) [Tori Spelling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-spelling/) > [We just keep making the same mistakes. We're so primal still in our way of thinking and reacting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-faist/we-just-keep-making-the-same-mistakes-we-re-so-primal-still-in-our/) [Mike Faist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-faist/) > [When I decided that I wanted to go to college, I wanted to be a school teacher for 7th and 8th grade boys because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-cosby/when-i-decided-that-i-wanted-to-go-to-college-i-wanted-to-be-a-school/) [Bill Cosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-cosby/) > [But race is an issue that I believe this nation cannot afford to ignore right now. We would be making the same mistake that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/but-race-is-an-issue-that-i-believe-this-nation-cannot-afford-to/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [If you aren't making any mistakes, you aren't innovating. If you're making the same mistakes, you aren't learning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/if-you-aren-t-making-any-mistakes-you-aren-t-innovating-if-you-re/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [The kind of approach I take is different from much of experimental philosophy. Although the experimental philosophers and I are certainly in agreement about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-kornblith/the-kind-of-approach-i-take-is-different-from-much-of-experimental/) [Hilary Kornblith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-kornblith/) > [If you're not making mistakes, you're not trying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wynton-marsalis/if-you-re-not-making-mistakes-you-re-not-trying/) [Wynton Marsalis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wynton-marsalis/) > [Just because I've written extensively about race doesn't render me incapable of making the same mistakes as the people I've written about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jemele-hill/just-because-i-ve-written-extensively-about-race-doesn-t-render-me/) [Jemele Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jemele-hill/) > [The critical question about regret is whether experience led to growth and new learning. Some people seem to keep on making the same mistakes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-catherine-bateson/the-critical-question-about-regret-is-whether-experience-led-to/) [Mary Catherine Bateson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-catherine-bateson/) ## More by Denis Johnson > [“You’ve never felt good. Your suffering protects you. Pain is the ransom you have gladly paid not to be free.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-johnson/you-ve-never-felt-good-your-suffering-protects-you-pain-is-the-ransom/) [Denis Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-johnson/) > [“He had laid his head back until his scalp had contacted his spine, that far back, and opened his throat, and a sound rose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-johnson/he-had-laid-his-head-back-until-his-scalp-had-contacted-his-spine/) [Denis Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-johnson/) > [“Everything is arranged," John Robertson told me. Thank God." I forgot to mention that we appear to have one small problem," he said. Okay..."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-johnson/everything-is-arranged-john-robertson-told-me-thank-god-i-forgot-to/) [Denis Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-johnson/) > [Before this moment I'd lived as a mind. Body, heart, soul, intellect, so we care ourselves into parts. But the whole of us, what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-johnson/before-this-moment-i-d-lived-as-a-mind-body-heart-soul-intellect-so/) [Denis Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-johnson/) > [He got right down in the dark between heartbeats, and rested there. And then he saw that another one wasn't going to come. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-johnson/he-got-right-down-in-the-dark-between-heartbeats-and-rested-there-and/) [Denis Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-johnson/) > [I’d been staying at the Holiday Inn with my girlfriend, honestly the most beautiful woman I’d even known, for three days under a phony…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-johnson/i-d-been-staying-at-the-holiday-inn-with-my-girlfriend-honestly-the/) [Denis Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-johnson/) > [“All of this while I left lifted by a strange new medium, a strange element--I now tell you that I was newly buoyant in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-johnson/all-of-this-while-i-left-lifted-by-a-strange-new-medium-a-strange/) [Denis Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-johnson/) > [“He didn’t know what country he was in, but he was at home in the universe.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-johnson/he-didn-t-know-what-country-he-was-in-but-he-was-at-home-in-the/) [Denis Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-johnson/) > [“There's a dizzying thrill in a philosophy that can only be tested by suicide.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-johnson/there-s-a-dizzying-thrill-in-a-philosophy-that-can-only-be-tested-by/) [Denis Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-johnson/) > [I really enjoy writing novels. It's like the ocean. You can just build a boat and take off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-johnson/i-really-enjoy-writing-novels-it-s-like-the-ocean-you-can-just-build/) [Denis Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-johnson/) > [“Who said it? – probably Confucius – “I can’t beat a sculpture from a stone with a sledgehammer; I can’t free the soul of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-johnson/who-said-it-probably-confucius-i-can-t-beat-a-sculpture-from-a-stone/) [Denis Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-johnson/) > [“A bus came. I climbed aboard and sat on the plastic seat while the things of our city turned in the windows like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-johnson/a-bus-came-i-climbed-aboard-and-sat-on-the-plastic-seat-while-the/) [Denis Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-johnson/) > [I knew every raindrop by its name.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-johnson/i-knew-every-raindrop-by-its-name/) [Denis Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-johnson/) > [“To find the people who've became truly sane, seek among those who've managed to do without sanity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-johnson/to-find-the-people-who-ve-became-truly-sane-seek-among-those-who-ve/) [Denis Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-johnson/) > [“eventually these encounters forced him to acknowledge the reality of fate, and the truth inherent in things of the imagination.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-johnson/eventually-these-encounters-forced-him-to-acknowledge-the-reality-of/) [Denis Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-johnson/) [Explore all 183 Denis Johnson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-johnson/) ## More Alcoholic quotes > [“I'm an alcoholic, Tara.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaci-burton/i-m-an-alcoholic-tara/) [Jaci Burton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaci-burton/) > [“Alcoholism is a choice... not a life sentence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-norman/alcoholism-is-a-choice-not-a-life-sentence/) David Norman > [If you decide on having an alcoholic at your party, make sure it's a large gathering. This way, until the alcoholic begins removing their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-sedaris/if-you-decide-on-having-an-alcoholic-at-your-party-make-sure-it-s-a/) [Amy Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sedaris/) > [I started drinking when I was like 15, and by the time I was 19 everybody knew I was an alcoholic. So I would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felipe-esparza/i-started-drinking-when-i-was-like-15-and-by-the-time-i-was-19/) [Felipe Esparza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felipe-esparza/) > [Booze is my escape from reality,If your a drinker,You understand,I'm a Alcoholic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becka-miller/booze-is-my-escape-from-reality-if-your-a-drinker-you-understand-i-m/) [Becka Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/becka-miller/) > [There are plenty of alcoholics who can be magnificent when drunk: it does not make them any less alcoholic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-bengis/there-are-plenty-of-alcoholics-who-can-be-magnificent-when-drunk-it/) [Ingrid Bengis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingrid-bengis/) > [“Medical research has revealed that in about one-tenth of the population, the liver processes alcohol differently, releasing a chemical messenger that creates the craving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaylie-jones/medical-research-has-revealed-that-in-about-one-tenth-of-the/) [Kaylie Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaylie-jones/) > [“The alcoholic retains the ability to condemn his addiction and advise those not subject to it to avoid succumbing to the liquid poison. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pitigrilli/the-alcoholic-retains-the-ability-to-condemn-his-addiction-and-advise/) [Pitigrilli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pitigrilli/) > [When a woman drinks it's as if an animal were drinking, or a child. Alcoholism is scandalous in a woman, and a female alcoholic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marguerite-duras/when-a-woman-drinks-it-s-as-if-an-animal-were-drinking-or-a-child/) [Marguerite Duras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marguerite-duras/) > [In Stratford you either turn into an alcoholic or you better write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-plummer/in-stratford-you-either-turn-into-an-alcoholic-or-you-better-write/) [Christopher Plummer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-plummer/) > [I don't like the word 'alcoholic'. I like to think of myself as an advanced drinker.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-handler/i-don-t-like-the-word-alcoholic-i-like-to-think-of-myself-as-an/) [Chelsea Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-handler/) > [Because I know I'm an addict, and I know I'm an alcoholic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-lee-curtis/because-i-know-i-m-an-addict-and-i-know-i-m-an-alcoholic/) [Jamie Lee Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-lee-curtis/) > [Rumor had it that he was homosexual; in reality, in recent years, he was simply a garden-variety alcoholic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-houellebecq/rumor-had-it-that-he-was-homosexual-in-reality-in-recent-years-he-was/) [Michel Houellebecq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-houellebecq/) > [More than most people, the alcoholic leads a double life. He is very much the actor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-w/more-than-most-people-the-alcoholic-leads-a-double-life-he-is-very/) [Bill W](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-w/) > [“He’s downed four drinks in the short time it took for me to get myself together and find him. Either he’s shaken by something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-ee/he-s-downed-four-drinks-in-the-short-time-it-took-for-me-to-get/) [Susan Ee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-ee/) [Browse all 303 Alcoholic quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alcoholic/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "And with each step my heart broke for the person I would never find, the person who'd love me. And then I would remember I had a wife at home who loved me, or later that my wife had left me and I was terrirfied, or again later that I had a beautiful alcoholic girlfriend who would make me happy forever. 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