--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Well, anyway, her death changed our lives…" description: "\"Well, anyway, her death changed our lives for the better, because it brought a kind of awareness, a specific sense of purpose and appreciation we hadn'..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/013/elizabeth-berg-853_appreciation_well-anyway-her-death-changed-our-lives_2576726.jpg" --- # Well, anyway, her death changed our lives for the better… ![“Well, anyway, her death changed our lives for the better, because it brought a kind of awareness, a specific sense of purpose and appreciation we hadn't had before. Would I trade that in order to have her back? In a fraction of a millisecond. But I won't ever have her back. So I have taken this…” quote by Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/013/elizabeth-berg-853_appreciation_well-anyway-her-death-changed-our-lives_2576726.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/013/elizabeth-berg-853_appreciation_well-anyway-her-death-changed-our-lives_2576726.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/013/elizabeth-berg-853_appreciation_well-anyway-her-death-changed-our-lives_2576726.jpg) > “Well, anyway, her death changed our lives for the better, because it brought a kind of awareness, a specific sense of purpose and appreciation we hadn't had before. Would I trade that in order to have her back? In a fraction of a millisecond. But I won't ever have her back. So I have taken this, as her great gift to us. But. Do I block her out? Never. Do I think of her? Always. In some part of my brain, I think of her every single moment of every single day.” [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Loss can transform grief into purpose, gratitude, and lasting remembrance. **In simple terms:** Grief can become purpose and gratitude. Key Takeaway Honor loved ones by living purposefully. Themes grief purpose memory Mood reflective hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - memorials - journaling - volunteering - family rituals Key Concepts personal loss healing legacy building Questions to Reflect On - How does remembering her shape your daily actions? - What purpose feels true to her memory? A Different Perspective Pain may linger despite purpose. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Appreciation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/appreciation/) [Appreciation Hadn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/appreciation-hadn-1741915/) [Awareness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/awareness/) [Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/block/) [Brain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brain/) [Changed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/changed/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Death Changed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death-changed-399481/) [Every single day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/every-single-day/) [Fractions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fractions/) [Gratitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gratitude/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [Purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose/) [Purpose Appreciation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose-appreciation-852790/) [Single moment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/single-moment/) [Taken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taken/) [Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Trade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trade/) [Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wells/) ## Related quotes > [If you don't appreciate what you have in life right now, whatever it is, you will never realize your purpose. Without appreciation, you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-myss/if-you-don-t-appreciate-what-you-have-in-life-right-now-whatever-it/) [Caroline Myss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-myss/) > [As long you feel complete, loved and happy with a purpose, and you have the appreciation for every little thing that surrounds you, that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omar-chaparro/as-long-you-feel-complete-loved-and-happy-with-a-purpose-and-you-have/) [Omar Chaparro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omar-chaparro/) > [“Despite wanting me to end her life, after a short while, Mrs Sloan fought back with surprising strength for such a small woman. Being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-wilde/despite-wanting-me-to-end-her-life-after-a-short-while-mrs-sloan/) [Eli Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-wilde/) > [“Those last few years were really hard. Miranda's death-- it changed her.' 'That's not an excuse,' Neily said. 'No, but it's an explanation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-jarzab/those-last-few-years-were-really-hard-miranda-s-death-it-changed-her/) [Anna Jarzab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-jarzab/) > [“My mother's death changed the alchemy of food. Holidays run together now like ungrooved rivers. I forget what they are for. I buy bakery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-weinberger/my-mother-s-death-changed-the-alchemy-of-food-holidays-run-together/) [Florence Weinberger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-weinberger/) > [“One cannot change his current life span but one can change his next life form. The ticket can be changed but death cannot be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/one-cannot-change-his-current-life-span-but-one-can-change-his-next/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [...but it was death that changed. People are still people. Some good, some bad. Death changed, and we don't know what death really means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-maberry/but-it-was-death-that-changed-people-are-still-people-some-good-some/) [Jonathan Maberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-maberry/) > [Andrew Wood's death changed things for a few weeks. I probably got even heavier into drugs after that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/layne-staley/andrew-wood-s-death-changed-things-for-a-few-weeks-i-probably-got/) [Layne Staley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/layne-staley/) > [“Jeffrey never understood how people could think a dead person was just sleeping. Death changed the air, charged it with something thick and unsettling.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/jeffrey-never-understood-how-people-could-think-a-dead-person-was/) [Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/) > [Sure, every young person dreams about being famous, but nobody wants to be famous - unless they're Zsa Zsa Gabor - every single moment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ritter/sure-every-young-person-dreams-about-being-famous-but-nobody-wants-to/) [John Ritter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ritter/) > [I may not be the special one for You but You are the only one for me,I may not be the one You thinks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ankit/i-may-not-be-the-special-one-for-you-but-you-are-the-only-one-for-me/) [Ankit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ankit/) > [The factor most ignored in discussing interstellar flight is the kinetic energy that must be invested in the ship to make its tons of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-factor-most-ignored-in-discussing-interstellar-flight-is-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The odor of bowel wind is known to every human, but the fragrance of book glue has crossed only a fraction of mortal nostrils.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-odor-of-bowel-wind-is-known-to-every-human-but-the-fragrance-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I have a way to photograph. You work with space, you have a camera, you have a frame, and then a fraction of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastiao-salgado/i-have-a-way-to-photograph-you-work-with-space-you-have-a-camera-you/) [Sebastiao Salgado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastiao-salgado/) > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) ## More by Elizabeth Berg > [Never be afraid of doing the thing you know in your heart is right, even if others don't agree.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/never-be-afraid-of-doing-the-thing-you-know-in-your-heart-is-right/) [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) > [“I think the reason we're cruel sometimes is that we're afraid we're going to like something.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/i-think-the-reason-we-re-cruel-sometimes-is-that-we-re-afraid-we-re/) [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) > [If there were a category in the Olympics for laundry, my mother would have been a gold-medal winner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/if-there-were-a-category-in-the-olympics-for-laundry-my-mother-would/) [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) > [“If you say something over and over again, it begins to lose it's meaning... Say anything enough times and it becomes gibberish.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/if-you-say-something-over-and-over-again-it-begins-to-lose-it-s/) [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) > [“You know, sometimes marriage is iron. Sometimes it’s tissue paper. And I think the times it’s tissue paper are when you need to keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/you-know-sometimes-marriage-is-iron-sometimes-it-s-tissue-paper-and-i/) [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) > [“It's not that he doesn't smile; it's that if his smile were something you drew, you'd erase it, thinking, Wrong.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/it-s-not-that-he-doesn-t-smile-it-s-that-if-his-smile-were-something/) [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) > [People say you should give until it hurts. I say you should give until it stops hurting. Know what I mean?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/people-say-you-should-give-until-it-hurts-i-say-you-should-give-until/) [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) > [“I should have said “powder room.” That would evoke the image of me sitting before a beautiful gold mirror, a vase of fresh flowers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/i-should-have-said-powder-room-that-would-evoke-the-image-of-me/) [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) > [Sometimes the best reading comes just by accident. Someone talks about a book, or you're just wandering the stacks in the library, and you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/sometimes-the-best-reading-comes-just-by-accident-someone-talks-about/) [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) > [“I don’t think Martha’s so bad. I think I want her for a friend instead of you. When I look at her magazine, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/i-don-t-think-martha-s-so-bad-i-think-i-want-her-for-a-friend-instead/) [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) > [\*We give so little when it's in us always to give so much more. It's bothering to listen with an open heart to someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/we-give-so-little-when-it-s-in-us-always-to-give-so-much-more-it-s/) [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) > [We're not just writers; we're readers probably more than anything else. That's how you learn how to write and how you learn to appreciate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/we-re-not-just-writers-we-re-readers-probably-more-than-anything-else/) [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) > [I thought of the priest who'd told me that many religions hold that it is easier to be closely connected to people we love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/i-thought-of-the-priest-who-d-told-me-that-many-religions-hold-that/) [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) > [“How is it that we dare to honk at others in traffic, when we know nothing about where they have just come from or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/how-is-it-that-we-dare-to-honk-at-others-in-traffic-when-we-know/) [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) > [The truth is, we usually only show our unhappiness to another woman. I suppose this is one of our problems. And yet it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/the-truth-is-we-usually-only-show-our-unhappiness-to-another-woman-i/) [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) [Explore all 350 Elizabeth Berg quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) ## More Appreciation quotes > [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Gratitude isn't just a feeling, it's an action. Expressing gratitude by writing in a journal, taking a photo, or shooting a video creates a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-kaplan/gratitude-isn-t-just-a-feeling-it-s-an-action-expressing-gratitude-by/) [Janice Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-kaplan/) > [Time can but make her beauty over again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/time-can-but-make-her-beauty-over-again/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [The writings of latter-day prophets clearly teach that the sorrows and sufferings endured by Adam and Eve upon their leaving the Garden of Eden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-k-judd/the-writings-of-latter-day-prophets-clearly-teach-that-the-sorrows/) [Daniel K Judd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-k-judd/) > [Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world and one of the most natural things of the world that has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/wine-is-one-of-the-most-civilized-things-in-the-world-and-one-of-the/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [A very small percentage of the people in this world will actually experience and live today. So many people will be stuck on another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-maraboli/a-very-small-percentage-of-the-people-in-this-world-will-actually/) [Steve Maraboli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-maraboli/) > [Stop chasing the things you want and embrace all that you already have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/stop-chasing-the-things-you-want-and-embrace-all-that-you-already-have/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Appreciation is the purest vibration that exists on the planet today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-hicks/appreciation-is-the-purest-vibration-that-exists-on-the-planet-today/) [Esther Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-hicks/) > [“My thank-yous always come out rather labored. I often don't give them at all. People do what they're supposed to do and then wait…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/my-thank-yous-always-come-out-rather-labored-i-often-don-t-give-them/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [“Like gratitude, authentic appreciation in the workplace is a realisation that can be nurtured and accessed with daily mindful practice. By and large, people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-dines/like-gratitude-authentic-appreciation-in-the-workplace-is-a/) [Christopher Dines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-dines/) > [Think of your mind, your emotions, and your spirit as the ultimate garden. The way to ensure a bountiful, nourishing harvest is to plant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/think-of-your-mind-your-emotions-and-your-spirit-as-the-ultimate/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) > [“Recognize and appreciate little things, and enjoy what Life has to offer”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-nikko-caharian-iii/recognize-and-appreciate-little-things-and-enjoy-what-life-has-to/) [Cesar Nikko Caharian III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-nikko-caharian-iii/) > [Men, when it comes to women, value diamonds and put no stock into copper. Diamonds are rare. You can find copper anywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enhance-dreams/men-when-it-comes-to-women-value-diamonds-and-put-no-stock-into/) [Enhance Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enhance-dreams/) > [“Everything we perceive to be solid and static is made up of almost entirely empty space.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-p-kauffman/everything-we-perceive-to-be-solid-and-static-is-made-up-of-almost/) [Joseph P. Kauffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-p-kauffman/) > [Be very slow to believe that you are wiser than all others; it is a fatal but common error. Where one has been saved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/be-very-slow-to-believe-that-you-are-wiser-than-all-others-it-is-a/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) [Browse all 2,528 Appreciation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/appreciation/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Well, anyway, her death changed our lives for the better, because it brought a kind of awareness, a specific sense of purpose and appreciation we hadn't had before. Would I trade that in order to have her back? In a fraction of a millisecond. But I won't ever have her back. So I have taken this, as her great gift to us. But. Do I block her out? Never. Do I think of her? Always. 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