--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It was terrible, though, when you…" description: "\"“It was terrible, though, when you couldn't tell people things. Olive felt this keenly as the days went by.”\" — elizabeth strout" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8dc/elizabeth-strout-1799_olive_it-was-terrible-though-when-you-couldn-t_1020926.png" --- # It was terrible, though, when you couldn't tell people… ![“It was terrible, though, when you couldn't tell people things. Olive felt this keenly as the days went by.” quote by elizabeth strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8dc/elizabeth-strout-1799_olive_it-was-terrible-though-when-you-couldn-t_1020926.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8dc/elizabeth-strout-1799_olive_it-was-terrible-though-when-you-couldn-t_1020926.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8dc/elizabeth-strout-1799_olive_it-was-terrible-though-when-you-couldn-t_1020926.png) > ““It was terrible, though, when you couldn't tell people things. Olive felt this keenly as the days went by.”” [elizabeth strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. When you can't express yourself, it creates a painful, lingering sorrow. **In simple terms:** Unspoken feelings cause deep pain. Key Takeaway Find ways to voice your thoughts. Themes communication emotions loneliness Mood melancholy empathetic Type literary reflective When to use this quote - confessional writing - therapy sessions - personal letters Key Concepts repression psychological distress relationships Questions to Reflect On - What holds you back from speaking? - How does silence affect your relationships? A Different Perspective Silence can sometimes protect others; it's not always negative. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [“For two days I went about my business. I travelled the globe as always, handing souls to the conveyor belt of eternity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/for-two-days-i-went-about-my-business-i-travelled-the-globe-as-always/) [Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/) > [“School days went along. Some were made up of meanness, brutality, and heartbreak; others were bright and beautiful because of Miss Bernstone and Mr.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/school-days-went-along-some-were-made-up-of-meanness-brutality-and/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [And the days went by like paper in the wind. Everything changed, then changed again. It's hard to find a friend. It's hard to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-petty/and-the-days-went-by-like-paper-in-the-wind-everything-changed-then/) [Tom Petty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-petty/) > [“The days went their way like a phantom caravan. They came out of nowhere, early in the morning, without charm or panache, and in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-days-went-their-way-like-a-phantom-caravan-they-came-out-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [He was not in the house. He did not come back that night. Days went by, and at last she understood that he would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-niffenegger/he-was-not-in-the-house-he-did-not-come-back-that-night-days-went-by/) [Audrey Niffenegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-niffenegger/) > [“As the days went by, my frustration festered like an outhouse during a Jamaican summer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-cormier/as-the-days-went-by-my-frustration-festered-like-an-outhouse-during-a/) [Andrew Cormier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-cormier/) > [“When I was alive, I believed — as you do — that time was at least as real and solid as myself, and probably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-s-beagle/when-i-was-alive-i-believed-as-you-do-that-time-was-at-least-as-real/) [Peter S. Beagle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-s-beagle/) > [How long time is when one is sad! Is it three years or three days since you went away?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugenie-de-guerin/how-long-time-is-when-one-is-sad-is-it-three-years-or-three-days/) [Eugenie de Guerin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugenie-de-guerin/) > [I lost in the second round of the French Open and had 10 days off. I went to the Hard Rock Cafe. It was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-becker/i-lost-in-the-second-round-of-the-french-open-and-had-10-days-off-i/) [Boris Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-becker/) > [As the days went on, I didn't mind the games. In fact, I looked forward to them. That was the easiest part of all.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-kaline/as-the-days-went-on-i-didn-t-mind-the-games-in-fact-i-looked-forward/) [Al Kaline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-kaline/) > [“Tis not love’s going hurts my days, But that it went in little ways”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-st-vincent-millay/tis-not-love-s-going-hurts-my-days-but-that-it-went-in-little-ways/) [Edna St. Vincent Millay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-st-vincent-millay/) > [“Yesterday was one of those days when nothing went right, and I wouldn’t have noticed it if it had.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-henderson/yesterday-was-one-of-those-days-when-nothing-went-right-and-i-wouldn/) Carolyn Henderson > [It's not love's going hurts my days But that it went in little ways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-not-love-s-going-hurts-my-days-but-that-it-went-in-little-ways/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Management interests me at some stage in my life, I have always said that. When that will be I really couldn't tell you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-shearer/management-interests-me-at-some-stage-in-my-life-i-have-always-said/) [Alan Shearer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-shearer/) > [If you held a pistol at my head, I couldn't tell you who they're going to vote for Best Actor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-caine/if-you-held-a-pistol-at-my-head-i-couldn-t-tell-you-who-they-re-going/) [Michael Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-caine/) ## More by elizabeth strout > [By the time they were pulling into the parking lot of the A&P, the mood was fading, the moment gone. Amy could feel it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/by-the-time-they-were-pulling-into-the-parking-lot-of-the-a-p-the/) [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) > [“what young people did not know. They did not know that lumpy, aged, and wrinkled bodies were as needy as their own young, firm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/what-young-people-did-not-know-they-did-not-know-that-lumpy-aged-and/) [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) > [“I said on the phone to my mother, “I think I’m going to write the story of the Burgess kids.” “It’s a good one,”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/i-said-on-the-phone-to-my-mother-i-think-i-m-going-to-write-the-story/) [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) > [“And she learned - freshly, scorchingly - of the privacy of sorrow. It was as though she had been escorted through a door into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/and-she-learned-freshly-scorchingly-of-the-privacy-of-sorrow-it-was/) [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) > [“He looked at the books, and she wanted to say, 'Stop that,' as though he were reading her diary.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/he-looked-at-the-books-and-she-wanted-to-say-stop-that-as-though-he/) [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) > [“The year that followed - was it the happiest year of his own life? He often thought so, even knowing that such a thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/the-year-that-followed-was-it-the-happiest-year-of-his-own-life-he/) [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) > [I have to pay attention to what I have felt and observed, then push these responses to an extreme while keeping the story within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/i-have-to-pay-attention-to-what-i-have-felt-and-observed-then-push/) [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) > [“She could hear in the darkness of her car how his breathing was quicker now; and her own was, too. She wanted to say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/she-could-hear-in-the-darkness-of-her-car-how-his-breathing-was/) [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) > [“Abdikarim shook his head in his darkened room, sweat coming from his face down onto his neck. “No, he cuts my heart. You didn’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/abdikarim-shook-his-head-in-his-darkened-room-sweat-coming-from-his/) [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) > [“she’d have been throwing out clamshells, most likely.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/she-d-have-been-throwing-out-clamshells-most-likely/) [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) > [I like people a lot, but I am not comfortable in literary New York situations. There is deep anxiety and tension around success here.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/i-like-people-a-lot-but-i-am-not-comfortable-in-literary-new-york/) [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) > [The fact of the matter is I always have a really high sense of responsibility to the reader, whether it's a few readers that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/the-fact-of-the-matter-is-i-always-have-a-really-high-sense-of/) [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) > [“Why do you need everyone married?" Christopher has said to him angrily, when Henry has asked about his son's life. "Why can't you just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/why-do-you-need-everyone-married-christopher-has-said-to-him-angrily/) [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) > [“one of those things about getting older was knowing that so many moments weren’t just moments, they were gifts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/one-of-those-things-about-getting-older-was-knowing-that-so-many/) [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) > [I don't think of myself as a fast reader. I just read a lot. When someone else might think, 'I might do the dishes,'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/i-don-t-think-of-myself-as-a-fast-reader-i-just-read-a-lot-when/) [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) [Explore all 205 elizabeth strout quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) ## More Olive quotes > [Just as oil is present in every part of the olive, so love permeates every part of creation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paramahansa-yogananda/just-as-oil-is-present-in-every-part-of-the-olive-so-love-permeates/) [Paramahansa Yogananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paramahansa-yogananda/) > [“Now that Olive was grown, I didn't know what to do with myself. You could build your life around one single thing, like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lee-west/now-that-olive-was-grown-i-didn-t-know-what-to-do-with-myself-you/) [Michael Lee West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lee-west/) > [Maybe some people will not agree, but I like to eat sardines in the morning for breakfast. I think some people will have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-h-murdock/maybe-some-people-will-not-agree-but-i-like-to-eat-sardines-in-the/) [David H. Murdock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-h-murdock/) > [“Olive had great courage. Perhaps it takes courage to raise children.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steinbeck-john/olive-had-great-courage-perhaps-it-takes-courage-to-raise-children/) steinbeck, John > [Americans who visit Tuscany or Umbria love the landscape: the silvery olive groves, the fields of sunflowers, the vineyards, the stone houses and barns.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-lewis/americans-who-visit-tuscany-or-umbria-love-the-landscape-the-silvery/) [Anthony Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-lewis/) > [“Olive trees grow in the same climate and soil conditions as grapes. The olive oil people have been up in Napa Valley all along,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/olive-trees-grow-in-the-same-climate-and-soil-conditions-as-grapes/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) > [“Olive Oil Olive oilΔ is made from only the green olive fruit. Olive oil may be made by the pressure applied by hand to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruby-parker-puckett/olive-oil-olive-oil-is-made-from-only-the-green-olive-fruit-olive-oil/) [Ruby Parker Puckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruby-parker-puckett/) > [If my cuisine were to be defined by just one taste, it would be that of subtle, aromatic, extra-virgin olive oil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-ducasse/if-my-cuisine-were-to-be-defined-by-just-one-taste-it-would-be-that/) [Alain Ducasse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-ducasse/) > [“He knows his olive trees better than he knows his children.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-helm-ropelato/he-knows-his-olive-trees-better-than-he-knows-his-children/) Rebecca Helm-Ropelato > [Technically, my husband and I are residents of the Alpes-Maritimes, where we are tucked away on our olive farm overlooking the Bay of Cannes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-drinkwater/technically-my-husband-and-i-are-residents-of-the-alpes-maritimes/) [Carol Drinkwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-drinkwater/) > [I do a chimichurri sauce with garlic, parsley, olive oil, and red and black pepper. You just mince the garlic and the parsley and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-gonzalo/i-do-a-chimichurri-sauce-with-garlic-parsley-olive-oil-and-red-and/) [Julie Gonzalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-gonzalo/) > [Good morrow, fair ones; pray you, if you know, Where in the purlieus of this forest stands A sheep-cote fenc'd about with olive trees?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/good-morrow-fair-ones-pray-you-if-you-know-where-in-the-purlieus-of/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Call me not an olive, till thou see me gathered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/call-me-not-an-olive-till-thou-see-me-gathered/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [“olive trees. As I looked closer at them I wondered if they had escaped; their trunks and roots were so gnarled and scarred it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giacomo-giammatteo/olive-trees-as-i-looked-closer-at-them-i-wondered-if-they-had-escaped/) [Giacomo Giammatteo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giacomo-giammatteo/) > [If Olive Oil iS Made from OLIVES… then what iS BABY oil made of!?????? Poor Babies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/syoung/if-olive-oil-is-made-from-olives-then-what-is-baby-oil-made-of-poor/) Syoung Browse all 99 Olive quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It was terrible, though, when you couldn't tell people things. Olive felt this keenly as the days went by.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "elizabeth strout" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/it-was-terrible-though-when-you-couldn-t-tell-people-things-olive/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Olive" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/it-was-terrible-though-when-you-couldn-t-tell-people-things-olive/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8dc/elizabeth-strout-1799_olive_it-was-terrible-though-when-you-couldn-t_1020926.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8dc/elizabeth-strout-1799_olive_it-was-terrible-though-when-you-couldn-t_1020926.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8dc/elizabeth-strout-1799_olive_it-was-terrible-though-when-you-couldn-t_1020926.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It was terrible, though, when you couldn't tell people things. Olive felt this keenly as the days went by.” — elizabeth strout", "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 strout", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“It was terrible, though, when you...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/it-was-terrible-though-when-you-couldn-t-tell-people-things-olive/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/it-was-terrible-though-when-you-couldn-t-tell-people-things-olive/#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 } } ] } ```