--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Sometimes one word can recall a whole…" description: "\"Sometimes one word can recall a whole span of life.\" — Edna O'Brien" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/972/edna-o-brien-2155_language_sometimes-one-word-can-recall-a-whole-sp_2037913.png" --- # Sometimes one word can recall a whole span of life. ![“Sometimes one word can recall a whole span of life.” quote by Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/972/edna-o-brien-2155_language_sometimes-one-word-can-recall-a-whole-sp_2037913.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/972/edna-o-brien-2155_language_sometimes-one-word-can-recall-a-whole-sp_2037913.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/972/edna-o-brien-2155_language_sometimes-one-word-can-recall-a-whole-sp_2037913.png) > “Sometimes one word can recall a whole span of life.” [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A single word can evoke an entire lifetime of memories and emotions. **In simple terms:** One word can summon a whole life. Key Takeaway Pay attention to powerful language. Themes memory language emotion Mood reflective poetic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - personal reflection - writing - therapy - storytelling Key Concepts nostalgia semantic density Questions to Reflect On - What word holds your deepest memory? - How does language shape identity? A Different Perspective Words may be ambiguous and misinterpreted. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ## Related quotes > [Yet a little while, and (the happy hour) will be over, nor ever more shall we be able to recall it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucretius/yet-a-little-while-and-the-happy-hour-will-be-over-nor-ever-more/) [Lucretius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucretius/) > [The federal government has more power to recall a defective stuffed animal who's little glass eye may fall off than to recall contaminated ground…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-schlosser/the-federal-government-has-more-power-to-recall-a-defective-stuffed/) [Eric Schlosser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-schlosser/) > [recollect, v. To recall with additions something not previously known.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/recollect-v-to-recall-with-additions-something-not-previously-known/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [I was read to as a small child, I read on my own as soon as I could, and I recall being more or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/i-was-read-to-as-a-small-child-i-read-on-my-own-as-soon-as-i-could/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [I recall the first time my agent told me to wear clothes specifically chosen for me, I would try and find excuses not to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahar-rahim/i-recall-the-first-time-my-agent-told-me-to-wear-clothes-specifically/) [Tahar Rahim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahar-rahim/) > [One of the best ways to make yourself happy in the present is to recall happy times from the past. Photos are a great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretchen-rubin/one-of-the-best-ways-to-make-yourself-happy-in-the-present-is-to/) [Gretchen Rubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretchen-rubin/) > [A huge amount of our everyday thinking - powerful, creative, and resonant stuff - is done socially: talking to other people, arguing with them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-thompson/a-huge-amount-of-our-everyday-thinking-powerful-creative-and-resonant/) [Clive Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-thompson/) > [The circus doesn't stop. A federal appeals court has postponed the recall election. How stupid are we? Even our recalls get recalled.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/the-circus-doesn-t-stop-a-federal-appeals-court-has-postponed-the/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [It's better to recall something you wish you'd said than something you wish you hadn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-a-clark/it-s-better-to-recall-something-you-wish-you-d-said-than-something/) [Frank A. Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-a-clark/) > [I'm sorry. I don't recall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-m-sorry-i-don-t-recall/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [For someone who loves literature, and all books on principle, being asked to name three titles over a half century of serious reading is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-steinbeck/for-someone-who-loves-literature-and-all-books-on-principle-being/) [Thomas Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-steinbeck/) > [The trials of living and the pangs of disease make even the short span of life too long.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herodotus/the-trials-of-living-and-the-pangs-of-disease-make-even-the-short/) [Herodotus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herodotus/) > [The great thing that strikes you on looking back is how quickly you have come-how very brief is the span of life on this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-great-thing-that-strikes-you-on-looking-back-is-how-quickly-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“We live less than the time it takes to blink an eye, if we measure our lives against eternity...a blink of an eye in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/we-live-less-than-the-time-it-takes-to-blink-an-eye-if-we-measure-our/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) > [A span of life is nothing. But the man who lives that span, he is something. He can fill that tiny span with meaning,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/a-span-of-life-is-nothing-but-the-man-who-lives-that-span-he-is/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) ## More by Edna O'Brien > [... a country encapsulates our childhood and those lanes, byres, fields, flowers, insects, suns, moons and stars are forever reoccurring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/a-country-encapsulates-our-childhood-and-those-lanes-byres-fields/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) > [You have to be lonely to be a writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/you-have-to-be-lonely-to-be-a-writer/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) > [I crossed the room, and what you did was to feel my hair over and over again and in different ways, touch it, with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/i-crossed-the-room-and-what-you-did-was-to-feel-my-hair-over-and-over/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) > [In our deepest moments we say the most inadequate things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/in-our-deepest-moments-we-say-the-most-inadequate-things/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) > [We hide the truer part of ourselves when we love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/we-hide-the-truer-part-of-ourselves-when-we-love/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) > [The vote means nothing to women. We should be armed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/the-vote-means-nothing-to-women-we-should-be-armed/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) > [Movie people are possessed by demons, but a very low form of demons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/movie-people-are-possessed-by-demons-but-a-very-low-form-of-demons/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) > [Ordinary life bypassed me, but I also bypassed it. It couldn't have been any other way.Conventional life and conventional people are not for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/ordinary-life-bypassed-me-but-i-also-bypassed-it-it-couldn-t-have/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) > [History is said to be written by the victors. 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That goes for love too,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/people-liking-you-or-not-liking-you-is-an-accident-and-is-to-do-with/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) > [“tears running down her cheeks and her nose, tears from the cold and the prospect of being absent for weeks.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/tears-running-down-her-cheeks-and-her-nose-tears-from-the-cold-and/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) > [“laughter filling that end of the ward, overflowing, one bringing a chair for Eleanora, another a cup of coffee, marveling that at long last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/laughter-filling-that-end-of-the-ward-overflowing-one-bringing-a/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) > [“Dilly reckons it would be difficult to thread those needles, the eyes so small, especially with her cataracts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/dilly-reckons-it-would-be-difficult-to-thread-those-needles-the-eyes/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) [Explore all 182 Edna O'Brien quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) ## More Language quotes > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) Ted Martinez > [Usually male directors have to use foul language to get the job done. 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Writing is partly about listening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/i-am-attracted-to-looking-at-the-different-things-language-can-mean/) [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) > [What is music? Music is language. A human being wants to express ideas in this language, but not ideas that can be translated into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-webern/what-is-music-music-is-language-a-human-being-wants-to-express-ideas/) [Anton Webern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-webern/) > [You're beautiful, cute, pretty, gorgeous, and fuck.. I ran out of words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raghib-clitso/you-re-beautiful-cute-pretty-gorgeous-and-fuck-i-ran-out-of-words/) [Raghib Clitso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raghib-clitso/) > [The world has a soul and whoever understands that soul can also understand the language of many things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-world-has-a-soul-and-whoever-understands-that-soul-can-also/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“The words for what I want to say right now don't exist. Everything sounds…so cliché.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelly-crane/the-words-for-what-i-want-to-say-right-now-don-t-exist-everything/) [Shelly Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelly-crane/) > [A man cannot speak but he judges himself. 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(To action little, less to words inclinded.)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/finxerunt-animi-raro-et-perpauca-loquentis-to-action-little-less-to/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [For comedy action, I must know the language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sammo-hung/for-comedy-action-i-must-know-the-language/) [Sammo Hung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sammo-hung/) [Browse all 21,951 Language quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Sometimes one word can recall a whole span of life.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Edna O'Brien" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/sometimes-one-word-can-recall-a-whole-span-of-life/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Language" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/sometimes-one-word-can-recall-a-whole-span-of-life/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/972/edna-o-brien-2155_language_sometimes-one-word-can-recall-a-whole-sp_2037913.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/972/edna-o-brien-2155_language_sometimes-one-word-can-recall-a-whole-sp_2037913.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/972/edna-o-brien-2155_language_sometimes-one-word-can-recall-a-whole-sp_2037913.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Sometimes one word can recall a whole span of life.” — Edna O'Brien", "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": "Edna O'Brien", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Sometimes one word can recall a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/sometimes-one-word-can-recall-a-whole-span-of-life/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/sometimes-one-word-can-recall-a-whole-span-of-life/#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 } } ] } ```