--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I come from a place where breath, eyes…" description: "\"I come from a place where breath, eyes, and memory are one, a place from which you carry your past like a hair on your head. Where women return to thei..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7e/edwidge-danticat-2559_breaths_i-come-from-a-place-where-breath-eyes-an_2411684.png" --- # I come from a place where breath, eyes, and memory are… ![“I come from a place where breath, eyes, and memory are one, a place from which you carry your past like a hair on your head. Where women return to their children as butterflies or as tears in the eyes of the statues that their daughters pray to” quote by Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7e/edwidge-danticat-2559_breaths_i-come-from-a-place-where-breath-eyes-an_2411684.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7e/edwidge-danticat-2559_breaths_i-come-from-a-place-where-breath-eyes-an_2411684.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7e/edwidge-danticat-2559_breaths_i-come-from-a-place-where-breath-eyes-an_2411684.png) > “I come from a place where breath, eyes, and memory are one, a place from which you carry your past like a hair on your head. Where women return to their children as butterflies or as tears in the eyes of the statues that their daughters pray to” [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage links breath, sight, and memory, suggesting identity is carried like a personal heirloom, and women return to their roots in varied, poignant ways. **In simple terms:** Identity is intertwined with memory and heritage; women reconnect with origins. Key Takeaway Honor and remember your origins. Themes identity memory heritage womanhood Mood nostalgic poignant Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - family traditions - cultural rituals - personal reflection - intergenerational trauma Key Concepts cultural studies psychology literature Questions to Reflect On - What does “breath, eyes, and memory” symbolize for you? - How do you carry your past? A Different Perspective The metaphor may be abstract for some readers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Breath Eyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breath-eyes-969347/) [Breaths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breaths/) [Butterfly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/butterfly/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Daughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/daughter/) [Eye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eye/) [Eyes Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eyes-memory-676595/) [Eyes Statues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eyes-statues-6073192/) [Hair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hair/) [Memories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memories/) [Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) [Memory Place](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory-place-919070/) [Our past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our-past/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Praying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/praying/) [Return](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/return/) [Statues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/statues/) [Tears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tears/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Your past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/your-past/) ## Related quotes > [“Then, as a single snowflake flares and flickers upon voicing its final breath, so two eyes make silent conversation with mine. A face as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-froman/then-as-a-single-snowflake-flares-and-flickers-upon-voicing-its-final/) [Craig Froman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-froman/) > [“How do you react with your body, breath, and eyes? Notice if you react to a person or situation that hurts you by withdrawing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-deida/how-do-you-react-with-your-body-breath-and-eyes-notice-if-you-react/) [David Deida](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-deida/) > [“Imagine failing at a major project, lying to your woman and getting caught, or overhearing her joke about your shortcomings in bed. How do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-deida/imagine-failing-at-a-major-project-lying-to-your-woman-and-getting/) [David Deida](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-deida/) > [She tried to swallow, to take a breath, but her eyes met his, and there was nothing but aching intensity in his gaze. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-lynn/she-tried-to-swallow-to-take-a-breath-but-her-eyes-met-his-and-there/) [J. Lynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-lynn/) > [“Sometimes I don't know if it's my eyes or my memory or both.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niedria-dionne-kenny/sometimes-i-don-t-know-if-it-s-my-eyes-or-my-memory-or-both/) [Niedria Dionne Kenny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niedria-dionne-kenny/) > [“The Old Days, the Lost Days -- in the half-closed eyes of memory (and in fact) they never marched across a calendar; they huddled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/the-old-days-the-lost-days-in-the-half-closed-eyes-of-memory-and-in/) [Beryl Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-markham/) > [We are accustomed to use our eyes only with the memory of what other people before us have thought about the object we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-de-maupassant/we-are-accustomed-to-use-our-eyes-only-with-the-memory-of-what-other/) [Guy de Maupassant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-de-maupassant/) > [Whenever I miss you, I close my eyes, and go back in my memory lane and live those moments again,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/whenever-i-miss-you-i-close-my-eyes-and-go-back-in-my-memory-lane-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“She smiled. First I lost the memory of her eyes, then the memory of her long body. I kept her smile as long as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/she-smiled-first-i-lost-the-memory-of-her-eyes-then-the-memory-of-her/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [Since every building and designed object is made of memory, every place can become a memorial for re-membering our lives and the world around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-lawlor/since-every-building-and-designed-object-is-made-of-memory-every/) [Anthony Lawlor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-lawlor/) > [“In this circumstance the text, which both records their actions and describes the monuments they erected, acts as the primary, indeed sole “memory place”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-a-flower/in-this-circumstance-the-text-which-both-records-their-actions-and/) [Michael A. Flower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-a-flower/) > [Everyday I travel past at least one place we made a memory, one place where we laughed or cried, one place that holds significance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyday-i-travel-past-at-least-one-place-we-made-a-memory-one-place/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Memory is the place where our vanished days secretly gather. ... The past seems to be gone and absent. Yet the grooves in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-o-donohue/memory-is-the-place-where-our-vanished-days-secretly-gather-the-past/) [John O'Donohue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-o-donohue/) > [“You think of a woman, a favorite dress, your old father's breasts the last time you saw him, his breath, brief, the leaf you've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-young-lee/you-think-of-a-woman-a-favorite-dress-your-old-father-s-breasts-the/) [Li-Young Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-young-lee/) > [Nothing twice is usually the same unless we are held by memory, go back there for the same or are in the same place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dena/nothing-twice-is-usually-the-same-unless-we-are-held-by-memory-go/) [Dena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dena/) ## More by Edwidge Danticat > [“Medicare rewards doctors far better for doing procedures than for assessing whether they should be done at all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/medicare-rewards-doctors-far-better-for-doing-procedures-than-for/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [I love the process of cracking the spine for the first time and slowly sinking into a book. 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'The pursuit of happiness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/then-what-do-you-want-with-me-the-pursuit-of-happiness/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [I wanted to raise the voice of a lot of the people that I knew growing up, and this was, for the most part,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/i-wanted-to-raise-the-voice-of-a-lot-of-the-people-that-i-knew/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [Creating these messes that go from administration to administration and then you swoop in and clean them up - with that heroic Delta force…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/creating-these-messes-that-go-from-administration-to-administration/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [“Nineteen Thirty-Seven”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/nineteen-thirty-seven/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [“From her experience working with the weak and the sick, she'd learned that the disease you ignore is the one that kills you, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/from-her-experience-working-with-the-weak-and-the-sick-she-d-learned/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [I'm not saying Cubans don't deserve asylum, but if it is a national security issue, there are people who are coming from Cuba on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/i-m-not-saying-cubans-don-t-deserve-asylum-but-if-it-is-a-national/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [“I owe Oprah and that show a tremendous debt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/i-owe-oprah-and-that-show-a-tremendous-debt/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [The greatest gift anyone can give to a writer is time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/the-greatest-gift-anyone-can-give-to-a-writer-is-time/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [I think it is important to reach people through arts and literature, because then you establish a connection that's not an instant crisis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/i-think-it-is-important-to-reach-people-through-arts-and-literature/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [All anyone can hope for is just a tiny bit of love, like a drop in a cup if you can get it, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/all-anyone-can-hope-for-is-just-a-tiny-bit-of-love-like-a-drop-in-a/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [I very much love a physical book myself. I think people who have had this experience of also seeing a book come together, from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/i-very-much-love-a-physical-book-myself-i-think-people-who-have-had/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) [Explore all 161 Edwidge Danticat quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) ## More Breaths quotes > [Don't let a breath escape from your body without Krishna's name. That should be our determination throughout our life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/radhanath-swami/don-t-let-a-breath-escape-from-your-body-without-krishna-s-name-that/) [Radhanath Swami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/radhanath-swami/) > [Jazz is the music of the body. The breath comes through brass. It is the body's breath, and the strings' wails and moans are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/jazz-is-the-music-of-the-body-the-breath-comes-through-brass-it-is/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [Many years ago I was fishing, and as I was reeling in the poor fish, I realised, 'I am killing him - all for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-mccartney/many-years-ago-i-was-fishing-and-as-i-was-reeling-in-the-poor-fish-i/) [Paul McCartney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-mccartney/) > [Aging is like enlightenment at gunpoint. Before I had cancer, I lived my life for my art. After I had cancer, I lived my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-halprin/aging-is-like-enlightenment-at-gunpoint-before-i-had-cancer-i-lived/) [Anna Halprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-halprin/) > [God is greater than anything that man can do or has done. He is not undone by just a train of powder. "Our God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/errol-morris/god-is-greater-than-anything-that-man-can-do-or-has-done-he-is-not/) [Errol Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/errol-morris/) > [One day I was running around playing with my son Connor when afterwards I was sweating, tired and out of breath. I was embarrassed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drew-carey/one-day-i-was-running-around-playing-with-my-son-connor-when/) [Drew Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drew-carey/) > [Dave Wann's recipes from his own experience in Simple Prosperity are a breath of fresh air, and just what we need for a saner…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hazel-henderson/dave-wann-s-recipes-from-his-own-experience-in-simple-prosperity-are/) [Hazel Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hazel-henderson/) > [Poetry should be vital--either stirring our blood by its divine movements or snatching our breath by its divine perfection. 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Follow Coleman Hawkins' improvised lines very carefully. He is using them to tell us something. Pay very close attention. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/listen-to-this-nimit-follow-coleman-hawkins-improvised-lines-very/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [Every body resisted (the slaughterer) in its own fashion, tried to escape and seemed to argue with the Creator to its last breath.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-bashevis-singer/every-body-resisted-the-slaughterer-in-its-own-fashion-tried-to/) [Isaac Bashevis Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-bashevis-singer/) > [We had a dog, Apples. He was 13 years old, toothless, blind and had the worst breath this side of Jabba the Hut. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlee-matlin/we-had-a-dog-apples-he-was-13-years-old-toothless-blind-and-had-the/) [Marlee Matlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlee-matlin/) [Browse all 1,609 Breaths quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breaths/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I come from a place where breath, eyes, and memory are one, a place from which you carry your past like a hair on your head. 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