--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: How do I stop this misery?” I groaned…" description: "\"“How do I stop this misery?” I groaned, scanning the shelves for a cure. “Don’t go out there,” he said flatly. I contemplated this reasonable observati..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bc/ellen-meloy-26824_misery_how-do-i-stop-this-misery-i-groaned-scan_2169886.jpg" --- # How do I stop this misery?” I groaned, scanning the… ![“How do I stop this misery?” I groaned, scanning the shelves for a cure. “Don’t go out there,” he said flatly. I contemplated this reasonable observation for about sixteen seconds. Move to town. Hang out at the laundromat. Have eight children. Then I melted back into the pinon-juniper forest.” quote by Ellen Meloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bc/ellen-meloy-26824_misery_how-do-i-stop-this-misery-i-groaned-scan_2169886.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bc/ellen-meloy-26824_misery_how-do-i-stop-this-misery-i-groaned-scan_2169886.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bc/ellen-meloy-26824_misery_how-do-i-stop-this-misery-i-groaned-scan_2169886.jpg) > ““How do I stop this misery?” I groaned, scanning the shelves for a cure. “Don’t go out there,” he said flatly. I contemplated this reasonable observation for about sixteen seconds. Move to town. Hang out at the laundromat. Have eight children. Then I melted back into the pinon-juniper forest.”” [Ellen Meloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-meloy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator grapples with despair, seeking escape through mundane or extreme choices, ultimately returning to nature. **In simple terms:** Despair leads to wild or ordinary escapes, but nature remains. Key Takeaway Find balance between action and stillness. Themes despair choice nature escape Mood melancholic contemplative Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - mental health crisis - daily routine - nature retreats - family planning Key Concepts existentialism environmentalism Questions to Reflect On - What does the forest symbolize for you? - When do you choose action over contemplation? A Different Perspective Escapism may avoid confronting underlying issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Groaned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/groaned/) [Misery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misery/) [Misery Groaned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misery-groaned-4642116/) [Stop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stop/) [Stop Misery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stop-misery-2025373/) ## Related quotes > [We do yoga to make life more beautiful.. to stop misery from entering our world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/we-do-yoga-to-make-life-more-beautiful-to-stop-misery-from-entering/) [Sri Sri Ravi Shankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/) > [At least we should learn to understand our fellow beings, for we are powerless to stop their misery, their ignominy, their suffering, their weakness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-walser/at-least-we-should-learn-to-understand-our-fellow-beings-for-we-are/) [Robert Walser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-walser/) > [“He asked if I was happy with you. Nothing of importance.” He groaned after the words rolled from his lips. “Not saying that’s not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-darhower/he-asked-if-i-was-happy-with-you-nothing-of-importance-he-groaned/) [J.M. Darhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-darhower/) > [Edward groaned at his brother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-cullen/edward-groaned-at-his-brother/) [Edward Cullen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-cullen/) > [“A Corsai, a Malchai, and a Sunai walk into a bar— Everyone groaned, including August.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/a-corsai-a-malchai-and-a-sunai-walk-into-a-bar-everyone-groaned/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) > [“Then he groaned 'Food', and I knew there was hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/then-he-groaned-food-and-i-knew-there-was-hope/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [“Hopping over the side of the couch I landed on top of him. "My bones are so heavy! I don't think I can move."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-hamlett/hopping-over-the-side-of-the-couch-i-landed-on-top-of-him-my-bones/) [Nicole Hamlett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-hamlett/) > [“Don't give me any lip. I'll turn you over my knee." His eyes darkened to a cobalt blue. "Actually that sounds like a fantastic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-l-armentrout/don-t-give-me-any-lip-i-ll-turn-you-over-my-knee-his-eyes-darkened-to/) [Jennifer L. Armentrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-l-armentrout/) > [“Jace groaned. 'Baby, you have to stop. I'm more than happy to fuck you any way you want but can we please leave Gabe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-banks/jace-groaned-baby-you-have-to-stop-i-m-more-than-happy-to-fuck-you/) [Maya Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-banks/) > [“She groaned and closed those eyes. “Do not look at me like that. You will make me smile, and I refuse to smile when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenni-james/she-groaned-and-closed-those-eyes-do-not-look-at-me-like-that-you/) [Jenni James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenni-james/) > [“I scowled and stabbed begrudginly at the stack before scooping up a bite with my fork, but it toppled over and plopped into my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/courtney-allison-moulton/i-scowled-and-stabbed-begrudginly-at-the-stack-before-scooping-up-a/) [Courtney Allison Moulton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/courtney-allison-moulton/) > [“You’re beautiful. If you were words on a page, you would be what they call ‘fine print.’” Everyone groaned, except for Jaime, who laughed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-wright/you-re-beautiful-if-you-were-words-on-a-page-you-would-be-what-they/) [Suzanne Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-wright/) > [“This time his growl was sexy instead of adorable. “Sending me to the cop shop with a hard-on. That’s what you’re doing, you know.”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meghan-march/this-time-his-growl-was-sexy-instead-of-adorable-sending-me-to-the/) [Meghan March](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meghan-march/) > [“You’re going to make your lip bleed, biting it like that,” he said. “I’m feeling . . . kind of nervous.” “I can see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerstin-gier/you-re-going-to-make-your-lip-bleed-biting-it-like-that-he-said-i-m/) [Kerstin Gier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerstin-gier/) > [He groaned slightly and winced like Prometheus watching his vulture dropping in for lunch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/he-groaned-slightly-and-winced-like-prometheus-watching-his-vulture/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Ellen Meloy > [There are people who have no engaged conversation with the land whatsoever, no sense of its beauty or extremes or limits and therefore no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-meloy/there-are-people-who-have-no-engaged-conversation-with-the-land/) [Ellen Meloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-meloy/) > [“Everyone will tell you that genealogy serves two purposes: self-knowledge and social status, some sort of pedigree divined from names, locations, and achievements of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-meloy/everyone-will-tell-you-that-genealogy-serves-two-purposes-self/) [Ellen Meloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-meloy/) > [“Breathing, it seemed to me, was a proper attribute for the mountains... mountains that quietly functioned as a single thing with a rhythmic inhale-exhale…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-meloy/breathing-it-seemed-to-me-was-a-proper-attribute-for-the-mountains/) [Ellen Meloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-meloy/) > [“ Homo sapiens have left themselves few places and scant ways to witness other species in their own worlds, an estrangement that leaves us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-meloy/homo-sapiens-have-left-themselves-few-places-and-scant-ways-to/) [Ellen Meloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-meloy/) > [“Each of us possesses five fundamental, enthralling maps to the natural world: sight, touch, taste, hearing, smell. As we unravel the threads that bind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-meloy/each-of-us-possesses-five-fundamental-enthralling-maps-to-the-natural/) [Ellen Meloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-meloy/) > [The complex human eye harvests light. It perceives seven to ten million colors through a synaptic flash: one-tenth of a second from retina to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-meloy/the-complex-human-eye-harvests-light-it-perceives-seven-to-ten/) [Ellen Meloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-meloy/) > [A map, it is said, organizes wonder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-meloy/a-map-it-is-said-organizes-wonder/) [Ellen Meloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-meloy/) > [“I was a lowly puddle of plasma, trading “I am alive” for a vague “I tend to exist” and weeping for joy over the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-meloy/i-was-a-lowly-puddle-of-plasma-trading-i-am-alive-for-a-vague-i-tend/) [Ellen Meloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-meloy/) > [...to slip beneath the surface and soar along the silent bottom of the sea agile and shining in water honeycombed with light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-meloy/to-slip-beneath-the-surface-and-soar-along-the-silent-bottom-of-the/) [Ellen Meloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-meloy/) > [“A cavalry of sweaty but righteous blond gods chased pesky, unkempt people across an annoyingly leaky Mexican border. A grimy cowboy with a headdress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-meloy/a-cavalry-of-sweaty-but-righteous-blond-gods-chased-pesky-unkempt/) [Ellen Meloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-meloy/) > [“ In genealogy you might say that interest lies in the eye of the gene holder. The actual descendants are far more intrigued with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-meloy/in-genealogy-you-might-say-that-interest-lies-in-the-eye-of-the-gene/) [Ellen Meloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-meloy/) > [“This deranged jungle of ironies coinhabits my skull like feathers and fireworks. My heart fills with stones. I am the mad aunt who laughs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-meloy/this-deranged-jungle-of-ironies-coinhabits-my-skull-like-feathers-and/) [Ellen Meloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-meloy/) > [“Its beauty stirs the imagination, and I wonder if the last refuge of all that is truly wild lies not on earth but in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-meloy/its-beauty-stirs-the-imagination-and-i-wonder-if-the-last-refuge-of/) [Ellen Meloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-meloy/) > [“In the hallowed tradition of squishy doughball liberals, I believe that science, reason, kindness, and understanding—maybe a little food—can set the world right. B”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-meloy/in-the-hallowed-tradition-of-squishy-doughball-liberals-i-believe/) [Ellen Meloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-meloy/) > [“My geography savors a delicious paradox: Home - a grounding - found in unearthly beauty. The predominant colors are blue, emerald, and terra-cotta. Every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-meloy/my-geography-savors-a-delicious-paradox-home-a-grounding-found-in/) [Ellen Meloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-meloy/) [Explore all 21 Ellen Meloy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-meloy/) ## More Misery quotes > [A lesser complaint: hair extensions. There are moments on 'All My Children' when half the women actors, young and old, seem to be afflicted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/a-lesser-complaint-hair-extensions-there-are-moments-on-all-my/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [Half the misery of human life might be extinguished if men would alleviate the general curse they lie under by mutual offices of compassion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/half-the-misery-of-human-life-might-be-extinguished-if-men-would/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [“Where there is doubt (shanka), there is misery. The moment one begins to doubt the knowledge that, 'I am Chandubhai,' misery arises. Once one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/where-there-is-doubt-shanka-there-is-misery-the-moment-one-begins-to/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [“I hereby propose the term “miserize”, as a verb for misery – referring to “to cause misery”.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/i-hereby-propose-the-term-miserize-as-a-verb-for-misery-referring-to/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [There's never any ebb in human misery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-nottage/there-s-never-any-ebb-in-human-misery/) [Lynn Nottage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-nottage/) > [Money can't buy happiness. But it sure makes misery easier to live with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/money-can-t-buy-happiness-but-it-sure-makes-misery-easier-to-live-with/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It is thus only this personal feeling of misery that we get rid of by acts of pity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/it-is-thus-only-this-personal-feeling-of-misery-that-we-get-rid-of-by/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [The vast majority of people are born, grow up, struggle and go through life in misery and failure, not realizing that it would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/the-vast-majority-of-people-are-born-grow-up-struggle-and-go-through/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > ["Spirituality" wrongly understood or pursued is a major source of human misery and rebellion against God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallas-willard/spirituality-wrongly-understood-or-pursued-is-a-major-source-of-human/) [Dallas Willard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallas-willard/) > [Get away from me misery, get away from me loneliness, get away from me fake bitches I can't take the phoniness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kanye-west/get-away-from-me-misery-get-away-from-me-loneliness-get-away-from-me/) [Kanye West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kanye-west/) > [You see misery, you see misfortune, you see pain, you see suffering. It's all part of the fatalistic way of looking at life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/you-see-misery-you-see-misfortune-you-see-pain-you-see-suffering-it-s/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [Another step had her backed up against the wall, and he braced his arms on both sides of her. "I'm beginning to look forward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johanna-lindsey/another-step-had-her-backed-up-against-the-wall-and-he-braced-his/) [Johanna Lindsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johanna-lindsey/) > [“Misery only added to the cumulative experience of the adventure that would ultimately sculpt me into a stronger, more resilient human being.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyle-rohrig/misery-only-added-to-the-cumulative-experience-of-the-adventure-that/) [Kyle Rohrig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyle-rohrig/) > [If you try to control everything, and then worry about the things you can't control, you are setting yourself up for a lifetime of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suman-rai/if-you-try-to-control-everything-and-then-worry-about-the-things-you/) [Suman Rai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suman-rai/) > [“All our misery comes from wanting at all costs to go on being Tom, Dick, or Harry, year in, year out. This body of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-ferdinand-celine/all-our-misery-comes-from-wanting-at-all-costs-to-go-on-being-tom/) [Louis-Ferdinand Celine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-ferdinand-celine/) [Browse all 2,835 Misery quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misery/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“How do I stop this misery?” I groaned, scanning the shelves for a cure. “Don’t go out there,” he said flatly. I contemplated this reasonable observation for about sixteen seconds. Move to town. Hang out at the laundromat. Have eight children. 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