--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I read obituaries I always note the…" description: "\"When I read obituaries I always note the age of the deceased. Automatically I relate this figure to my own age. Four years to go, I think. Nine more ye..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12e/don-delillo-294_age_when-i-read-obituaries-i-always-note-the_1140841.jpg" --- # When I read obituaries I always note the age of the… ![“When I read obituaries I always note the age of the deceased. Automatically I relate this figure to my own age. Four years to go, I think. Nine more years. Two years and I'm dead. The power of numbers is never more evident than when we use them to speculate on the time of our dying.” quote by Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12e/don-delillo-294_age_when-i-read-obituaries-i-always-note-the_1140841.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12e/don-delillo-294_age_when-i-read-obituaries-i-always-note-the_1140841.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12e/don-delillo-294_age_when-i-read-obituaries-i-always-note-the_1140841.jpg) > “When I read obituaries I always note the age of the deceased. Automatically I relate this figure to my own age. Four years to go, I think. Nine more years. Two years and I'm dead. The power of numbers is never more evident than when we use them to speculate on the time of our dying.” [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Contemplating mortality through age statistics reveals how numbers make death feel imminent and personal. **In simple terms:** Numbers make death feel close. Key Takeaway Use age awareness to live fully now. Themes mortality reflection statistics Mood thoughtful serious Type philosophical existential When to use this quote - health checkups - life planning - legacy projects - mindfulness practice Key Concepts existentialism psychology time perception Questions to Reflect On - How does thinking about your remaining years affect your priorities? - What actions can you take now to honor your future self? A Different Perspective Focusing on death can cause anxiety or fatalism. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Age Deceased](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age-deceased-3179376/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Deceased](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deceased/) [Dying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dying/) [Figures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/figures/) [Four](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/four/) [Nine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nine/) [Notes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/notes/) [Numbers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/numbers/) [Read Obituaries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/read-obituaries-1592121/) [Relate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relate/) [Think Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-years-1330330/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Time Dying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-dying-413970/) [Two](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two/) [Two years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two-years/) [Use](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/use/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) [Years Dead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years-dead-1413331/) ## Related quotes > [“It had been a couple of years and I was neither dead, nor undead, which I ranked as an achievement.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-henwick/it-had-been-a-couple-of-years-and-i-was-neither-dead-nor-undead-which/) [Mark Henwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-henwick/) > [I've had a wonderful life. 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When the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/the-plane-had-lost-power-in-all-three-engines-dropped-from-thirty/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“Grass: I live in a great steel tower that reflects the blazing sun. People catch fire just walking by. The more bodies that pile…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/grass-i-live-in-a-great-steel-tower-that-reflects-the-blazing-sun/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“What people discard could make a nation”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/what-people-discard-could-make-a-nation/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“Marriage is something we make from available materials. In this sense it’s improvised, it’s almost offhand. 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