--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Desperate love is always the toughest way…" description: "\"Desperate love is always the toughest way to do it.\" — Elizabeth Gilbert" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62d/elizabeth-gilbert-131_desperate_desperate-love-is-always-the-toughest-wa_1472419.jpg" --- # Desperate love is always the toughest way to do it. ![“Desperate love is always the toughest way to do it.” quote by Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62d/elizabeth-gilbert-131_desperate_desperate-love-is-always-the-toughest-wa_1472419.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62d/elizabeth-gilbert-131_desperate_desperate-love-is-always-the-toughest-wa_1472419.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62d/elizabeth-gilbert-131_desperate_desperate-love-is-always-the-toughest-wa_1472419.jpg) > “Desperate love is always the toughest way to do it.” [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Love that feels desperate is often painful and difficult to navigate. **In simple terms:** Desperate love is hard. Key Takeaway Seek healthy, balanced relationships. Themes love desperation relationships growth vulnerability Mood melancholy hopeful Type reflective advice When to use this quote - breakups - new romances - self‑care routines Key Concepts emotional dependency self‑worth attachment styles Questions to Reflect On - What drives you to seek love desperately? - How can you cultivate self‑love first? A Different Perspective Desperation can cloud judgment and lead to unhealthy choices. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Desperate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desperate/) [Desperate love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desperate-love/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) ## Related quotes > [Forgiving is love's toughest work, and love's biggest risk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-b-smedes/forgiving-is-love-s-toughest-work-and-love-s-biggest-risk/) [Lewis B. Smedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/) > [Forgiving is love's toughest work, and love's biggest risk. If you twist it into something it was never meant to be, it can make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-b-smedes/forgiving-is-love-s-toughest-work-and-love-s-biggest-risk-if-you/) [Lewis B. Smedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/) > [I'd always loved movies, but it wasn't some sort of desperate love of celluloid. It was literally like, "I want to write things, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-dunham/i-d-always-loved-movies-but-it-wasn-t-some-sort-of-desperate-love-of/) [Lena Dunham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-dunham/) > [In desperate love, we always invent the characters of our partners, demanding they be what we need of them, and then feeling devastated when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/in-desperate-love-we-always-invent-the-characters-of-our-partners/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [“He was playing a character I had invented, which is somewhat telling. In desperate love, it's always like this, isn't it? In desperate love,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/he-was-playing-a-character-i-had-invented-which-is-somewhat-telling/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [“To love, to live, to feel so much that your world keeps spinning, faster and faster, in that wonderful, chaotic mess of humanity that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophia-whittemore/to-love-to-live-to-feel-so-much-that-your-world-keeps-spinning-faster/) Sophia Whittemore > [“I know you lost your faith in me but I still believe Can I make you understand, can I make you see I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonny-lang/i-know-you-lost-your-faith-in-me-but-i-still-believe-can-i-make-you/) [Jonny Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonny-lang/) > [Single gals aren't all a bunch of Bridget Joneses, desperate for love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-hamilton/single-gals-aren-t-all-a-bunch-of-bridget-joneses-desperate-for-love/) Anita Hamilton > [M. J. Putney has created true magic with this book, the kind that comes when you curl up in a comfortable armchair and let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-asaro/m-j-putney-has-created-true-magic-with-this-book-the-kind-that-comes/) [Catherine Asaro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-asaro/) > [Love is not feeling, child, nor even the passion of lovers, which always seeks only its own gratification. It is the act of caring,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-duncker/love-is-not-feeling-child-nor-even-the-passion-of-lovers-which-always/) [Patricia Duncker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-duncker/) > [“In our hallway, ablaze with welcoming lights, my Lolita peeled off her sweater, shook her gemmed hair, stretched towards me two bare arms, raised…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/in-our-hallway-ablaze-with-welcoming-lights-my-lolita-peeled-off-her/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [Have you ever longed for someone so much, so deeply that you thought you would die? That your heart would just stop beating? I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracey-emin/have-you-ever-longed-for-someone-so-much-so-deeply-that-you-thought/) [Tracey Emin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracey-emin/) > [“I had always pictured her living a tumultuous, wayward life, hard years of bad luck-fits and starts,collapse,regret-and ill advised, desperate love affairs. I had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/i-had-always-pictured-her-living-a-tumultuous-wayward-life-hard-years/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [“His fingers splayed out while my heart slammed against his hand. "How did i ever stay away from you ? I heard this calling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-l-jackson/his-fingers-splayed-out-while-my-heart-slammed-against-his-hand-how/) [A.L. Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-l-jackson/) > [“In retrospect, I'm embarrassed by how little effort on his part it took for me to come back or stay. I was so desperate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-behrendt/in-retrospect-i-m-embarrassed-by-how-little-effort-on-his-part-it/) [Greg Behrendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-behrendt/) ## More by Elizabeth Gilbert > [That's your friend. My husband is my best friend. He's not the mirror that holds up my flaws. He's just the guy who's like,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/that-s-your-friend-my-husband-is-my-best-friend-he-s-not-the-mirror/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [“Not to mention that I have finally arrived at that age where a woman starts to question whether the wisest way to get over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/not-to-mention-that-i-have-finally-arrived-at-that-age-where-a-woman/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [“The Buddha taught that all human suffering is rooted in desire. Don't we all know this to be true? Any of us who have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/the-buddha-taught-that-all-human-suffering-is-rooted-in-desire-don-t/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [ “And while \[we\] do have possibilities that are vast and magnificent and almost infinite in scope, it's important to remember that our choice-rich lives… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/and-while-we-do-have-possibilities-that-are-vast-and-magnificent-and/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [Learn your way around loneliness. Make a map of it. Sit with it, for once in your life. Welcome to the human experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/learn-your-way-around-loneliness-make-a-map-of-it-sit-with-it-for/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [If we never leave our house except to drive to work, do we need to be even remotely aware of this powerful, humbling, extraordinary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/if-we-never-leave-our-house-except-to-drive-to-work-do-we-need-to-be/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [I will tell you why we have these extraordinary minds and souls, Miss Whittaker," he continued, as though he had not heard her. "We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/i-will-tell-you-why-we-have-these-extraordinary-minds-and-souls-miss/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [Both the five-year-olds looked at me with bewilderment and a bit of fearful uncertainty. I had a sudden horrifying image of the woman I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/both-the-five-year-olds-looked-at-me-with-bewilderment-and-a-bit-of/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [“Clearing out all your misery gets you out of the way. You cease being an obstacle, not only to yourself but to anyone else.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/clearing-out-all-your-misery-gets-you-out-of-the-way-you-cease-being/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [The ingredients of both darkness and light are equally present in all of us,...The madness of this planet is largely a result of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/the-ingredients-of-both-darkness-and-light-are-equally-present-in-all/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [I was full of a hot, powerful sadness and would have loved to burst into the comfort of tears, but tried hard not to,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/i-was-full-of-a-hot-powerful-sadness-and-would-have-loved-to-burst/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [“I live in nature where everything is connected, circular. The seasons are circular. The planet is circular, and so is the planet around the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/i-live-in-nature-where-everything-is-connected-circular-the-seasons/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [“His spelling was several degrees beyond arbitrary, and his punctuation brought reason to sigh with unhappiness. But”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/his-spelling-was-several-degrees-beyond-arbitrary-and-his-punctuation/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [Before you realize this truth, say the Yogis, you will always be in despair, a notion nicely expressed in this exasperated line from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/before-you-realize-this-truth-say-the-yogis-you-will-always-be-in/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [I actually have a great deal of respect for antidepressants; I think they can be enormously mighty tools toward recovery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/i-actually-have-a-great-deal-of-respect-for-antidepressants-i-think/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) [Explore all 1,156 Elizabeth Gilbert quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) ## More Desperate quotes > [Marriage is a desperate thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-selden/marriage-is-a-desperate-thing/) [John Selden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-selden/) > [“I was ambitious and desperate to direct my first film, so I capitulated and blew it. Never again. Never fucking again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-ferguson/i-was-ambitious-and-desperate-to-direct-my-first-film-so-i/) [Craig Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-ferguson/) > [“I am a desperate romantic. I love the idea of random collisions of the heart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-thompson/i-am-a-desperate-romantic-i-love-the-idea-of-random-collisions-of-the/) [Jessica Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-thompson/) > [Worship isn't destructive, Martin. I know that. I don't. I only know it's the core of his life. What else has he got? He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-shaffer/worship-isn-t-destructive-martin-i-know-that-i-don-t-i-only-know-it-s/) [Peter Shaffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-shaffer/) > [“Really? I'm trying to place you. It seems like we've met before." Did I just issue him a pick up line? Fantastic, I've now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-mcguire/really-i-m-trying-to-place-you-it-seems-like-we-ve-met-before-did-i/) [Jamie McGuire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-mcguire/) > [Never be desperate. Get rid of your insecurities. Know your worth. Believe in yourself and go get what you want.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/never-be-desperate-get-rid-of-your-insecurities-know-your-worth/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“She was stupid and lonely. So desperate to be touched and loved with a good love. I need you, don't leave me, you're all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucian-bane/she-was-stupid-and-lonely-so-desperate-to-be-touched-and-loved-with-a/) [Lucian Bane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucian-bane/) > [You mostly know that you want to be funny, know that you have the desire. It's not like people who grow up beautiful and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tina-fey/you-mostly-know-that-you-want-to-be-funny-know-that-you-have-the/) [Tina Fey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tina-fey/) > [I had to smile when stories emerged questioning whether I was gay. Obviously I knew I wasn't but people were curiously desperate to suggest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-radcliffe/i-had-to-smile-when-stories-emerged-questioning-whether-i-was-gay/) [Daniel Radcliffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-radcliffe/) > [The World Health Organisation has a lot of its medical experts sitting in Geneva while hospitals in Africa have no drugs and desperate patients…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-hanson/the-world-health-organisation-has-a-lot-of-its-medical-experts/) [Pauline Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-hanson/) > [There, in the center of that silence was not eternity but the death of time and a loneliness so profound the word itself had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/there-in-the-center-of-that-silence-was-not-eternity-but-the-death-of/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [I know it's a film and all of that, and it's a Hollywood film, but it kind of feels like this sometimes, when you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-marber/i-know-it-s-a-film-and-all-of-that-and-it-s-a-hollywood-film-but-it/) [Patrick Marber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-marber/) > [“you think I"m that desperate?" "The raging hard-on jabbing at me says yes." ~Creed/Annika”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-croft/you-think-i-m-that-desperate-the-raging-hard-on-jabbing-at-me-says/) [Sydney Croft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-croft/) > [Along with a livable wage, many parents are desperate for quality affordable child care.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirsten-gillibrand/along-with-a-livable-wage-many-parents-are-desperate-for-quality/) [Kirsten Gillibrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirsten-gillibrand/) > [As a player, if a club is desperate to sign you, then you can benefit from that. Desperate clubs are prepared to pay more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diego-forlan/as-a-player-if-a-club-is-desperate-to-sign-you-then-you-can-benefit/) [Diego Forlan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diego-forlan/) [Browse all 1,618 Desperate quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desperate/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Desperate love is always the toughest way to do it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Elizabeth Gilbert" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/desperate-love-is-always-the-toughest-way-to-do-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Desperate" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/desperate-love-is-always-the-toughest-way-to-do-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62d/elizabeth-gilbert-131_desperate_desperate-love-is-always-the-toughest-wa_1472419.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62d/elizabeth-gilbert-131_desperate_desperate-love-is-always-the-toughest-wa_1472419.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62d/elizabeth-gilbert-131_desperate_desperate-love-is-always-the-toughest-wa_1472419.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Desperate love is always the toughest way to do it.” — Elizabeth Gilbert", "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": "Elizabeth Gilbert", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Desperate love is always the toughest...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/desperate-love-is-always-the-toughest-way-to-do-it/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/desperate-love-is-always-the-toughest-way-to-do-it/#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 } } ] } ```