--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The night before I left home, there was…" description: "\"“The night before I left home, there was the wake in our kitchen as was the custom for anyone going so far away. The kitchen was full of people, two me..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9df/edna-o-brien-2155_left-home_the-night-before-i-left-home-there-was-t_888630.png" --- # The night before I left home, there was the wake in our… ![“The night before I left home, there was the wake in our kitchen as was the custom for anyone going so far away. The kitchen was full of people, two men left their flash lamps lit” quote by Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9df/edna-o-brien-2155_left-home_the-night-before-i-left-home-there-was-t_888630.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9df/edna-o-brien-2155_left-home_the-night-before-i-left-home-there-was-t_888630.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9df/edna-o-brien-2155_left-home_the-night-before-i-left-home-there-was-t_888630.png) > ““The night before I left home, there was the wake in our kitchen as was the custom for anyone going so far away. The kitchen was full of people, two men left their flash lamps lit”” [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 farewell gathering highlights the mix of anxiety and solidarity before a long departure, showing how community rituals ease uncertainty. **In simple terms:** Friends gather before a big change, offering support. Key Takeaway Lean on community during transitions. Themes departure community ritual anxiety support Mood nostalgic reflective Type literary emotional When to use this quote - moving away - family gatherings - farewell parties - starting new jobs Key Concepts Rituals social bonds transition anxiety Questions to Reflect On - How does communal support shape personal resolve? - What rituals help you face change? A Different Perspective The comfort may mask deeper personal doubts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Home Wake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home-wake-1124159/) [Lamps Lit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lamps-lit-794770/) [Left Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/left-home/) [Men Left](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men-left-756943/) [Night Left](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night-left-1124160/) ## Related quotes > [Home is in my hair, my lips, my arms, my thighs, my feet and my hands. I am my own home. And when I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diriye-osman/home-is-in-my-hair-my-lips-my-arms-my-thighs-my-feet-and-my-hands-i/) [Diriye Osman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diriye-osman/) > [Children are not vessels to be filled but lamps to be lit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinmayananda-saraswati/children-are-not-vessels-to-be-filled-but-lamps-to-be-lit/) [Chinmayananda Saraswati](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinmayananda-saraswati/) > [“On Westminster Bridge, Arthur was struck by the brightness of the streetlamps running across like a formation of stars. They shone white against the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-moore/on-westminster-bridge-arthur-was-struck-by-the-brightness-of-the/) [Graham Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-moore/) > [The lamps are lit, the fires burn bright. The house is full of life and light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/the-lamps-are-lit-the-fires-burn-bright-the-house-is-full-of-life-and/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [But at night, when the library lamps are lit, the outside world disappears and nothing but the space of books remains in existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-manguel/but-at-night-when-the-library-lamps-are-lit-the-outside-world/) [Alberto Manguel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-manguel/) > [“The lamps were lit, and a good fire crackled in the great stone fireplace. There was a discreet chink of china, the brightness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-hill/the-lamps-were-lit-and-a-good-fire-crackled-in-the-great-stone/) [Susan Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-hill/) > [“She thinks of the way they stood together near the bathroom, how it seemed like they'd been on the brink of something, of everything,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-e-smith/she-thinks-of-the-way-they-stood-together-near-the-bathroom-how-it/) [Jennifer E. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-e-smith/) > [“the night after you left i woke up so broken the only place to put the pieces were the bags under my eyes”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupi-kaur/the-night-after-you-left-i-woke-up-so-broken-the-only-place-to-put/) [Rupi Kaur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupi-kaur/) > [“The night I left home I felt that I had been tricked or trapped into going - and not even by Mrs Winterson, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/the-night-i-left-home-i-felt-that-i-had-been-tricked-or-trapped-into/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“You were the one choice I made for myself. And that one choice was taken away from me, because the night I realized I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annette-k-larsen/you-were-the-one-choice-i-made-for-myself-and-that-one-choice-was/) [Annette K. Larsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annette-k-larsen/) > [“The night before I left my mother, I wrote a letter. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esmeralda-santiago/the-night-before-i-left-my-mother-i-wrote-a-letter/) [Esmeralda Santiago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esmeralda-santiago/) > [Last night you left me and slept your own deep sleep. Tonight you turn and turn. I say, 'You and I will be together…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/last-night-you-left-me-and-slept-your-own-deep-sleep-tonight-you-turn/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [Not a single star will be left in the night. The night will not be left. I will die and, with me, the weight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/not-a-single-star-will-be-left-in-the-night-the-night-will-not-be/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [“On that night I was left with only the truth that nothing of our personality survives after death, that in the end all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-shteyngart/on-that-night-i-was-left-with-only-the-truth-that-nothing-of-our/) [Gary Shteyngart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-shteyngart/) > [“There was always a big party on the night before anyone left for the States. They called it an American wake, because the whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cole-moreton/there-was-always-a-big-party-on-the-night-before-anyone-left-for-the/) [Cole Moreton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cole-moreton/) ## 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. Fiction, by contrast, is largely the work of injured bystanders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/history-is-said-to-be-written-by-the-victors-fiction-by-contrast-is/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) > [“A healer! The beauty of the word a balm. In a mounting astonishment she hears how this man heals with his own blood, pricks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/a-healer-the-beauty-of-the-word-a-balm-in-a-mounting-astonishment-she/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) > [“If I could feel like myself I’d thank God but I don’t feel and never will.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/if-i-could-feel-like-myself-i-d-thank-god-but-i-don-t-feel-and-never/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) > [...people liking you or not liking you is an accident and is to do with them and not you. 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 Left Home quotes > [I left home at 21 to go and play for Munich and was immediately able to perform at a high standard. It was totally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-gotze/i-left-home-at-21-to-go-and-play-for-munich-and-was-immediately-able/) [Mario Gotze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-gotze/) > [“May I ask what you have in your black leather bag with gold buckles?" "Everything." They were climbing a narrow staircase. Rhoda stopped to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-sendak/may-i-ask-what-you-have-in-your-black-leather-bag-with-gold-buckles/) [Maurice Sendak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-sendak/) > [I genuinely haven't really had a rebellious phase. I think it's just because of the way I was brought up. I think it's because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-watson/i-genuinely-haven-t-really-had-a-rebellious-phase-i-think-it-s-just/) [Emma Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-watson/) > [I left my home when I was 13 years old, I was a professional at 17, and I've been playing basketball since.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-calderon/i-left-my-home-when-i-was-13-years-old-i-was-a-professional-at-17-and/) [Jose Calderon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-calderon/) > [I left home at 18, but I still voted in Kentucky. Every holiday, I came home to Kentucky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-mcgrath/i-left-home-at-18-but-i-still-voted-in-kentucky-every-holiday-i-came/) [Amy McGrath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-mcgrath/) > [I left home because I was hungry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/red-skelton/i-left-home-because-i-was-hungry/) [Red Skelton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/red-skelton/) > [I left home when I was 17 with Joe Williams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-edwards/i-left-home-when-i-was-17-with-joe-williams/) [David Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-edwards/) > [Do I have the mental strength? I left home when I was 13 years old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-mancini/do-i-have-the-mental-strength-i-left-home-when-i-was-13-years-old/) [Roberto Mancini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-mancini/) > [I left home to go to college, and then I moved back home. I moved back for three years from 21 to 24.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-ferrell/i-left-home-to-go-to-college-and-then-i-moved-back-home-i-moved-back/) [Will Ferrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-ferrell/) > [I had not set out to achieve something. I had left my home to act and am still acting in films.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atul-kulkarni/i-had-not-set-out-to-achieve-something-i-had-left-my-home-to-act-and/) [Atul Kulkarni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atul-kulkarni/) > [So much of my sense of who I am is tied to mothering. When they left home, I fell into a huge, empty, black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-lange/so-much-of-my-sense-of-who-i-am-is-tied-to-mothering-when-they-left/) [Jessica Lange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-lange/) > [I do not agree with Thomas Wolfe... about anything. You can go home again as long as you don't expect home to be what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-burr/i-do-not-agree-with-thomas-wolfe-about-anything-you-can-go-home-again/) [Raymond Burr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-burr/) > [I watched my children grow up, then they left home and had their own children. You miss them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-taylor/i-watched-my-children-grow-up-then-they-left-home-and-had-their-own/) [Phil Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-taylor/) > [I left my home, and it was the most beautiful country in the world in my eyes, and I was always happy in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vlade-divac/i-left-my-home-and-it-was-the-most-beautiful-country-in-the-world-in/) [Vlade Divac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vlade-divac/) > [I have left my home, my family, and my job, and I am raising my voice. To do otherwise would betray those who languish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamal-khashoggi/i-have-left-my-home-my-family-and-my-job-and-i-am-raising-my-voice-to/) [Jamal Khashoggi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamal-khashoggi/) [Browse all 72 Left Home quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/left-home/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The night before I left home, there was the wake in our kitchen as was the custom for anyone going so far away. 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