--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We have in America \"The Big Two-Hearted…" description: "\"“We have in America \"The Big Two-Hearted River\" tradition: taking your wounds to the wilderness for a cure, a conversation, a rest, whatever. And as is..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3bc/edward-hoagland-14156_nature_we-have-in-america-the-big-two-hearted-r_1250444.jpg" --- # We have in America "The Big Two-Hearted River" tradition… ![“We have in America "The Big Two-Hearted River" tradition: taking your wounds to the wilderness for a cure, a conversation, a rest, whatever. And as is in the Hemingway story, if your wounds aren't too bad, it works. But this isn't Michigan (or Faulkner's Big Woods in Mississippi for that matter)…” quote by Edward Hoagland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3bc/edward-hoagland-14156_nature_we-have-in-america-the-big-two-hearted-r_1250444.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3bc/edward-hoagland-14156_nature_we-have-in-america-the-big-two-hearted-r_1250444.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3bc/edward-hoagland-14156_nature_we-have-in-america-the-big-two-hearted-r_1250444.jpg) > ““We have in America "The Big Two-Hearted River" tradition: taking your wounds to the wilderness for a cure, a conversation, a rest, whatever. And as is in the Hemingway story, if your wounds aren't too bad, it works. But this isn't Michigan (or Faulkner's Big Woods in Mississippi for that matter). This is Alaska.”” [Edward Hoagland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hoagland/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Seeking healing in nature mirrors the practice of confronting personal pain through isolation and reflection. **In simple terms:** Nature can heal wounds if they aren't too severe. Key Takeaway Use wilderness for recovery. Themes nature healing solitude tradition Mood contemplative reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal crisis - mental health recovery - creative inspiration - stress relief Key Concepts Ecopsychology therapeutic wilderness self‑reflection Questions to Reflect On - What wounds could you bring to nature? - How does solitude change your perspective? A Different Perspective Works only when wounds are manageable; not a substitute for medical care. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Hemingway Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hemingway-story-3938213/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Rest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rest-hemingway-3939717/) [Story Wounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story-wounds-3939716/) [Taking Wounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taking-wounds-3939715/) [Wounds Wilderness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wounds-wilderness-3939714/) ## Related quotes > [It was like hiking into a Hemingway story; everything was sepia-toned and bristling with subtext.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-what/it-was-like-hiking-into-a-hemingway-story-everything-was-sepia-toned/) [Leslie What](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-what/) > [That's five friends, one each for Jesu's wounds, and Godric bears their mark still on what's left of him as in their time they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/that-s-five-friends-one-each-for-jesu-s-wounds-and-godric-bears-their/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [Nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature... what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his action. If you know these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bernbach/nothing-is-so-powerful-as-an-insight-into-human-nature-what/) [William Bernbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bernbach/) > [The history of mankind interests us only as it exhibits a steady gain of truth and right, in the incessant conflict which it records…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-history-of-mankind-interests-us-only-as-it-exhibits-a-steady-gain/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“It is not the force of the wind, but the depth of the roots.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/it-is-not-the-force-of-the-wind-but-the-depth-of-the-roots/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... 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That was their greatest conceit. 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I used to rather deliberately risk my life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hoagland/when-i-was-18-i-worked-with-the-ringling-brothers-circus-taking-care/) [Edward Hoagland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hoagland/) > [Henry David Thoreau, who never earned much of a living or sustained a relationship with any woman that wasn't brotherly -- who lived mostly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hoagland/henry-david-thoreau-who-never-earned-much-of-a-living-or-sustained-a/) [Edward Hoagland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hoagland/) > [There is a time of life somewhere between the sullen fugues of adolescence and the retrenchments of middle age when human nature becomes so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hoagland/there-is-a-time-of-life-somewhere-between-the-sullen-fugues-of/) [Edward Hoagland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hoagland/) > [The zest for life of those unusual men and women who make a great zealous success of living is due more often in good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hoagland/the-zest-for-life-of-those-unusual-men-and-women-who-make-a-great/) [Edward Hoagland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hoagland/) > [Sophistication" is another word for that inventive mix of tolerance, resilience, and resourcefulness city people develop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hoagland/sophistication-is-another-word-for-that-inventive-mix-of-tolerance/) [Edward Hoagland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hoagland/) > [The novelist screws up his courage in order to invest another two or three years in another attempt to float a boat of original…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hoagland/the-novelist-screws-up-his-courage-in-order-to-invest-another-two-or/) [Edward Hoagland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hoagland/) > [Once I climbed into a mountain lion's cage and she bounded at me and put her paw on my face, but she kept her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hoagland/once-i-climbed-into-a-mountain-lion-s-cage-and-she-bounded-at-me-and/) [Edward Hoagland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hoagland/) > [Poetry is engendered in solitude, so what better meter for it than the clip of a buckskin horse?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hoagland/poetry-is-engendered-in-solitude-so-what-better-meter-for-it-than-the/) [Edward Hoagland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hoagland/) > [There often seems to be a playfulness to wise people, as if either their equanimity has as its source this playfulness or the playfulness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hoagland/there-often-seems-to-be-a-playfulness-to-wise-people-as-if-either/) [Edward Hoagland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hoagland/) > [The question of whether it's God's green earth is not at center stage, except in the sense that if so, one is reminded with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hoagland/the-question-of-whether-it-s-god-s-green-earth-is-not-at-center-stage/) [Edward Hoagland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hoagland/) > [Many people have believed that they were Chosen, but none more baldly than the Texans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hoagland/many-people-have-believed-that-they-were-chosen-but-none-more-baldly/) [Edward Hoagland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hoagland/) > [Animals used to provide a lowlife way to kill and get away with it, as they do still, but, more intriguingly, for some people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hoagland/animals-used-to-provide-a-lowlife-way-to-kill-and-get-away-with-it-as/) [Edward Hoagland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hoagland/) > [Silence is exhilarating at first - as noise is - but there is a sweetness to silence outlasting exhilaration, akin to the sweetness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hoagland/silence-is-exhilarating-at-first-as-noise-is-but-there-is-a-sweetness/) [Edward Hoagland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hoagland/) > [Men greet each other with a sock on the arm, women with a hug, and the hug wears better in the long run.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hoagland/men-greet-each-other-with-a-sock-on-the-arm-women-with-a-hug-and-the/) [Edward Hoagland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hoagland/) > [Man is different from animals in that he speculates, a high-risk activity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hoagland/man-is-different-from-animals-in-that-he-speculates-a-high-risk/) [Edward Hoagland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hoagland/) [Explore all 47 Edward Hoagland quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hoagland/) ## More Nature quotes > [It is indeed a surprising and fortunate fact that nature can be expressed by relatively low-order mathematical functions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-carnap/it-is-indeed-a-surprising-and-fortunate-fact-that-nature-can-be/) [Rudolf Carnap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-carnap/) > [Remember that your natural state is joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/remember-that-your-natural-state-is-joy/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Put on my J's and dance the whole night away Im naughty by nature like Im hip-hop hooray With my hands in the sky,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/put-on-my-j-s-and-dance-the-whole-night-away-im-naughty-by-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Borrow trouble for yourself, if that's your nature, but don't lend it to your neighbours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/borrow-trouble-for-yourself-if-that-s-your-nature-but-don-t-lend-it/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [There is no human nature, since there is no god to conceive it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/there-is-no-human-nature-since-there-is-no-god-to-conceive-it/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [“Men mistook measurement for understanding. And they always had to put themselves at the center of everything. That was their greatest conceit. The earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/men-mistook-measurement-for-understanding-and-they-always-had-to-put/) [Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/) > [“She was, he knew- and had known very early, he supposed- one of those rare and always lovely humans whose moral nature was so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-williams/she-was-he-knew-and-had-known-very-early-he-supposed-one-of-those/) [John Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-williams/) > [“When the water covers the earth the sun will vanish the darkess and the cold will come.When the last dragon and the last Elf…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/silvana-de-mari/when-the-water-covers-the-earth-the-sun-will-vanish-the-darkess-and/) [Silvana de Mari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/silvana-de-mari/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [“It is not the force of the wind, but the depth of the roots.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/it-is-not-the-force-of-the-wind-but-the-depth-of-the-roots/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [The history of mankind interests us only as it exhibits a steady gain of truth and right, in the incessant conflict which it records…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-history-of-mankind-interests-us-only-as-it-exhibits-a-steady-gain/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature... what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his action. If you know these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bernbach/nothing-is-so-powerful-as-an-insight-into-human-nature-what/) [William Bernbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bernbach/) > [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) [Browse all 47,383 Nature quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We have in America \"The Big Two-Hearted River\" tradition: taking your wounds to the wilderness for a cure, a conversation, a rest, whatever. 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