---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: With the subject of work off limits, they…"
description: "\"“With the subject of work off limits, they lapsed into a silence they couldn't recover from, leaving Joanna to wonder how she could feel so lonely in t..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c2/diana-stevan-84198_mental-health_with-the-subject-of-work-off-limits-they_1529039.jpg"
---

#  With the subject of work off limits, they lapsed into a…

![“With the subject of work off limits, they lapsed into a silence they couldn't recover from, leaving Joanna to wonder how she could feel so lonely in the company of the man she loved.” quote by Diana Stevan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c2/diana-stevan-84198_mental-health_with-the-subject-of-work-off-limits-they_1529039.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c2/diana-stevan-84198_mental-health_with-the-subject-of-work-off-limits-they_1529039.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c2/diana-stevan-84198_mental-health_with-the-subject-of-work-off-limits-they_1529039.jpg)

> ““With the subject of work off limits, they lapsed into a silence they couldn't recover from, leaving Joanna to wonder how she could feel so lonely in the company of the man she loved.””

Diana Stevan

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

A relationship can become hollow when work dominates, leaving emotional isolation despite physical closeness.

**In simple terms:** Work can silence intimacy, causing loneliness.

Key Takeaway

Prioritize emotional connection over work.

Themes

loneliness relationships work-life balance

Mood

melancholy reflective

Type

literary emotional

When to use this quote

- marriage
- cohabitation
- career focus
- personal fulfillment

Key Concepts

emotional neglect communication breakdown

Questions to Reflect On

- How can partners keep emotional intimacy alive amid busy schedules?
- What boundaries protect personal connection?

A Different Perspective

If both partners ignore the issue, silence deepens.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Mental health](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mental-health/) [Mental-illness-coping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mental-illness-coping/) [Psychotherapy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychotherapy/) [Silence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silence/)

## Related quotes

> [“He had tricked her. She'd been right not to trust him. Well, it wouldn't happen again. No chance in hell!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-stevan/he-had-tricked-her-she-d-been-right-not-to-trust-him-well-it-wouldn-t/)

Diana Stevan

> [Now and then I think of when we were together. Like when you said you felt so happy you could die. Told myself that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gotye/now-and-then-i-think-of-when-we-were-together-like-when-you-said-you-3/)

[Gotye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gotye/)

> [Paul?” I said. My voice shook a little. “It’s Jo.” Silence. I couldn’t tell what was happening on the other end. Then, very quietly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-caine/paul-i-said-my-voice-shook-a-little-it-s-jo-silence-i-couldn-t-tell/)

[Rachel Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-caine/)

> [Those who had demanded no more than an end to the bombing of North Vietnam and a commitment to negotiations saw their demands being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/those-who-had-demanded-no-more-than-an-end-to-the-bombing-of-north/)

[Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/)

> [“What have you done to it, Monkeyman? - he breathed. - Well, - said Arthur, - nothing in fact. It's just that I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/what-have-you-done-to-it-monkeyman-he-breathed-well-said-arthur/)

[Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/)

> [“She drove me home in silence. Back then, there was always silence. I couldn't speak up, I realize now, because protest requires hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-jackson-taffa/she-drove-me-home-in-silence-back-then-there-was-always-silence-i/)

Deborah Jackson Taffa

> [“If you are feeling bad, don't jump to conclusions. Don't react to people or situations quickly. Sometimes it's best to let them sit and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mequell-w-buck/if-you-are-feeling-bad-don-t-jump-to-conclusions-don-t-react-to/)

Mequell W. Buck

> [“There are two kinds of 'disabled' persons: Those who dwell on what they have lost and those who concentrate on what they have left.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-stephen-szasz/there-are-two-kinds-of-disabled-persons-those-who-dwell-on-what-they/)

[Thomas Stephen Szasz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-stephen-szasz/)

> [“Rough week, right? Listen, every book in your home is one of us saying to you, please hold on until the end. We want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-ellis/rough-week-right-listen-every-book-in-your-home-is-one-of-us-saying/)

[Warren Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-ellis/)

> [“Having completed that emotional collapse, I next bounce off a little vision-quest right as the steady drumbeat accelerates into the Fearing Time: desert monuments…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randolph-crowley/having-completed-that-emotional-collapse-i-next-bounce-off-a-little/)

Randolph Crowley

> [“Sometimes we walk in sunlight with everyone else. Sometimes we live underwater and fight and grow. And sometimes... ...sometimes we fly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-lawson/sometimes-we-walk-in-sunlight-with-everyone-else-sometimes-we-live/)

[Jenny Lawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-lawson/)

> [“You just try to get through the day. The small stuff—waiting on a bus, eating, having a simple conversation—is too much to bear, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-gordon/you-just-try-to-get-through-the-day-the-small-stuff-waiting-on-a-bus/)

Scott Gordon

> [“You can’t be beaten by something you laugh at.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-harnisch/you-can-t-be-beaten-by-something-you-laugh-at/)

[Jonathan Harnisch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-harnisch/)

> [“Mental illness do not designate a set path to failure. It’s simply a chemical or hormone imbalance that causes individuals to accept and process…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/okisha-jackson/mental-illness-do-not-designate-a-set-path-to-failure-it-s-simply-a/)

[Okisha Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/okisha-jackson/)

> [“I have to tell you hon, I don't mind a little teasing now and then, but I'm no masochist and I'm sure as hell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackson-broussard/i-have-to-tell-you-hon-i-don-t-mind-a-little-teasing-now-and-then-but/)

Jackson Broussard

## More by Diana Stevan

> [“At the time, Margaret had been very angry with God, angry that all she had left of her mother was the promise of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-stevan/at-the-time-margaret-had-been-very-angry-with-god-angry-that-all-she/)

Diana Stevan

> [“He had tricked her. She'd been right not to trust him. Well, it wouldn't happen again. No chance in hell!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-stevan/he-had-tricked-her-she-d-been-right-not-to-trust-him-well-it-wouldn-t/)

Diana Stevan

Explore all 3 Diana Stevan quotes

## More Mental health quotes

> [You practice mindfulness, on the one hand, to be calm and peaceful. On the other hand, as you practice mindfulness and live a life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-practice-mindfulness-on-the-one-hand-to-be-calm-and-peaceful-on/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [But I already saw no great difference between the psyche and spirituality. To amass knowledge without becoming wise is not my idea of progress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-scott-peck/but-i-already-saw-no-great-difference-between-the-psyche-and/)

[M. Scott Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-scott-peck/)

> [If you have time to be mindful, you have time to meditate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ajahn-chah/if-you-have-time-to-be-mindful-you-have-time-to-meditate/)

[Ajahn Chah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ajahn-chah/)

> [Mental health is an issue close to my heart - an issue, indeed, I've covered repeatedly for Channel 4 News.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathy-newman/mental-health-is-an-issue-close-to-my-heart-an-issue-indeed-i-ve/)

[Cathy Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathy-newman/)

> [“Mindfulness is an invitation to change that pattern and to become aware of where we are and how we got here. Mindfulness gives us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maia-duerr/mindfulness-is-an-invitation-to-change-that-pattern-and-to-become/)

[Maia Duerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maia-duerr/)

> [“Good morning,” one of the soldiers said. “I’m Captain Joseph Walker and this is Sergeant James Vanetten. We are members of the One-Hundred-and-First Airborne…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shafter-bailey/good-morning-one-of-the-soldiers-said-i-m-captain-joseph-walker-and/)

[Shafter Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shafter-bailey/)

> [Life is a collection of moments. Mindfulness is beautification of the moments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-ray/life-is-a-collection-of-moments-mindfulness-is-beautification-of-the/)

[Amit Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-ray/)

> [“For example, the sound of the telephone can make us irritated and anxious. That is the sound of the telephone which comes as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/th-ch-nh-t-h-nh/for-example-the-sound-of-the-telephone-can-make-us-irritated-and/)

[Thích Nhất Hạnh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/th-ch-nh-t-h-nh/)

> [Music is almost like a therapy for me. It helps keep me centered and think straight. Before I discovered it, I was walking around,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banks/music-is-almost-like-a-therapy-for-me-it-helps-keep-me-centered-and/)

[Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banks/)

> [“Recognize that your attention is the most valuable thing you can ever own, and you alone have the ultimate power to choose where to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-luckman/recognize-that-your-attention-is-the-most-valuable-thing-you-can-ever/)

[Sol Luckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-luckman/)

> [“What I would say is this: writing poems doesn't make you a poet. … It is only with poetry, for some reason, that everyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-wright/what-i-would-say-is-this-writing-poems-doesn-t-make-you-a-poet-it-is/)

[Franz Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-wright/)

> [“The word ghost sounds like memory. The word therapy means exorcism”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-halse-anderson/the-word-ghost-sounds-like-memory-the-word-therapy-means-exorcism/)

[Laurie Halse Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-halse-anderson/)

> [For years mental health professionals taught people that they could be psychologically healthy without social support, that “unless you love yourself, no one else…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-d-perry/for-years-mental-health-professionals-taught-people-that-they-could/)

[Bruce D. Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-d-perry/)

> [“Blaming therapy, social work and other caring professions for the confabulation of testimony of 'satanic ritual abuse' legitimated a programme of political and social…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-salter/blaming-therapy-social-work-and-other-caring-professions-for-the/)

[Michael Salter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-salter/)

> [Make no mistake: conversion therapy is not about 'praying away the gay.' It's an emotional torture against our most innocent citizens: our children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gavin-newsom/make-no-mistake-conversion-therapy-is-not-about-praying-away-the-gay/)

[Gavin Newsom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gavin-newsom/)

[Browse all 3,803 Mental health quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mental-health/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“With the subject of work off limits, they lapsed into a silence they couldn't recover from, leaving Joanna to wonder how she could feel so lonely in the company of the man she loved.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Diana Stevan"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-stevan/with-the-subject-of-work-off-limits-they-lapsed-into-a-silence-they/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Mental health"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-stevan/with-the-subject-of-work-off-limits-they-lapsed-into-a-silence-they/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c2/diana-stevan-84198_mental-health_with-the-subject-of-work-off-limits-they_1529039.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c2/diana-stevan-84198_mental-health_with-the-subject-of-work-off-limits-they_1529039.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c2/diana-stevan-84198_mental-health_with-the-subject-of-work-off-limits-they_1529039.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“With the subject of work off limits, they lapsed into a silence they couldn't recover from, leaving Joanna…” — Diana Stevan",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Diana Stevan",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-stevan/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“With the subject of work off...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-stevan/with-the-subject-of-work-off-limits-they-lapsed-into-a-silence-they/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-stevan/with-the-subject-of-work-off-limits-they-lapsed-into-a-silence-they/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
