--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Hell is the absence of the people you…" description: "\"Hell is the absence of the people you long for.\" — Emily St. John Mandel" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/463/emily-st-john-mandel-20783_absence_hell-is-the-absence-of-the-people-you-lo_1168504.jpg" --- # Hell is the absence of the people you long for. ![“Hell is the absence of the people you long for.” quote by Emily St. John Mandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/463/emily-st-john-mandel-20783_absence_hell-is-the-absence-of-the-people-you-lo_1168504.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/463/emily-st-john-mandel-20783_absence_hell-is-the-absence-of-the-people-you-lo_1168504.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/463/emily-st-john-mandel-20783_absence_hell-is-the-absence-of-the-people-you-lo_1168504.jpg) > “Hell is the absence of the people you long for.” [Emily St. John Mandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-st-john-mandel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Loss of loved ones feels like an emptiness that no one else can fill **In simple terms:** Missing someone creates a profound void Key Takeaway Cherish relationships while you can Themes loss loneliness longing Mood melancholic hopeful Type literary emotional When to use this quote - grief counseling - memorials - supportive friendships - creative expression Key Concepts Existential emptiness human connection Questions to Reflect On - How do you cope with the emptiness of loss? - What practices help fill the void left by absent loved ones? A Different Perspective The feeling can be overwhelming and hinder daily life ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absence/) [Hell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hell/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) ## Related quotes > [ “Hell \[...\] is the absence of God and the presence of Time.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/hell-is-the-absence-of-god-and-the-presence-of-time/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [How acutely sometimes the presence or absence of people mattered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-cashore/how-acutely-sometimes-the-presence-or-absence-of-people-mattered/) [Kristin Cashore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-cashore/) > [Absence does not so much make the heart grow fonder as give the heart time to integrate what it has not previously absorbed, time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-solomon/absence-does-not-so-much-make-the-heart-grow-fonder-as-give-the-heart/) [Andrew Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-solomon/) > [Sometimes people who had been together for a long time got to imagining that things used to be better, even when they weren't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-addison-allen/sometimes-people-who-had-been-together-for-a-long-time-got-to/) [Sarah Addison Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-addison-allen/) > [“How much strength must one people have? 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As long as Julia wasn't with me...i was alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kahlen-aymes/i-could-be-surrounded-by-a-hundred-people-and-i-d-still-be-alone-as/) [Kahlen Aymes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kahlen-aymes/) > [“People give up on each other long before they give up on themselves, and they do that, too.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-lynn-hope/people-give-up-on-each-other-long-before-they-give-up-on-themselves/) [Donna Lynn Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-lynn-hope/) ## More by Emily St. John Mandel > [“He wished he could somehow go back and find the iPhone people whom he'd jostled on the sidewalk earlier, apologize to them - I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-st-john-mandel/he-wished-he-could-somehow-go-back-and-find-the-iphone-people-whom-he/) [Emily St. John Mandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-st-john-mandel/) > [“All those people,” Clark said to Imaginary Robert, but Imaginary Robert didn’t reply.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-st-john-mandel/all-those-people-clark-said-to-imaginary-robert-but-imaginary-robert/) [Emily St. John Mandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-st-john-mandel/) > [“... every time someone dies you start counting how much time has passed since they've been gone. First you count it in minutes, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-st-john-mandel/every-time-someone-dies-you-start-counting-how-much-time-has-passed/) [Emily St. John Mandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-st-john-mandel/) > [“I've been thinking lately about immortality. What it means to be remembered, what I want to be remembered for, certain questions concerning memory and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-st-john-mandel/i-ve-been-thinking-lately-about-immortality-what-it-means-to-be/) [Emily St. John Mandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-st-john-mandel/) > [“She slipped so easily into the folds of his life”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-st-john-mandel/she-slipped-so-easily-into-the-folds-of-his-life/) [Emily St. John Mandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-st-john-mandel/) > [What I mean to say is, the more you remember, the more you’ve lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-st-john-mandel/what-i-mean-to-say-is-the-more-you-remember-the-more-you-ve-lost/) [Emily St. John Mandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-st-john-mandel/) > [There are certain qualities of light that blur the years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-st-john-mandel/there-are-certain-qualities-of-light-that-blur-the-years/) [Emily St. John Mandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-st-john-mandel/) > [“All three caravans of the Travelling Symphony are labelled as such, THE TRAVELLING SYMPHONY lettered in white on both sides, but the lead caravan…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-st-john-mandel/all-three-caravans-of-the-travelling-symphony-are-labelled-as-such/) [Emily St. John Mandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-st-john-mandel/) > [“A fragment for my friend-- If your soul left this earth I would follow and find you Silent, my starship suspended in night”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-st-john-mandel/a-fragment-for-my-friend-if-your-soul-left-this-earth-i-would-follow/) [Emily St. John Mandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-st-john-mandel/) > [“You remembered.” “Of course,” Clark said. “That’s one thing I like about birthdays, they stay in one place. Same spot on the calendar, year…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-st-john-mandel/you-remembered-of-course-clark-said-that-s-one-thing-i-like-about/) [Emily St. John Mandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-st-john-mandel/) > [“Why did we always say we were going to shoot emails?” “I don’t know. I’ve wondered that too.” “Why couldn’t we just say we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-st-john-mandel/why-did-we-always-say-we-were-going-to-shoot-emails-i-don-t-know-i-ve/) [Emily St. John Mandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-st-john-mandel/) > [“They’ve done what’s expected of them. They want to do something different but it’s impossible now, there’s a mortgage, kids, whatever, they’re trapped.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-st-john-mandel/they-ve-done-what-s-expected-of-them-they-want-to-do-something/) [Emily St. John Mandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-st-john-mandel/) > [“Forever is the most dizzying word in the English language. The idea of staying in one place forever was like standing at the border…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-st-john-mandel/forever-is-the-most-dizzying-word-in-the-english-language-the-idea-of/) [Emily St. John Mandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-st-john-mandel/) > [No one ever thinks they’re awful, even people who really actually are. It’s some sort of survival mechanism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-st-john-mandel/no-one-ever-thinks-they-re-awful-even-people-who-really-actually-are/) [Emily St. John Mandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-st-john-mandel/) > [“Michaela wasn't someone Lilia ever trusted, but there was a certain kinship; she shared Lilia's suspicion that the world might prove, in the end,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-st-john-mandel/michaela-wasn-t-someone-lilia-ever-trusted-but-there-was-a-certain/) [Emily St. John Mandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-st-john-mandel/) [Explore all 30 Emily St. John Mandel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-st-john-mandel/) ## More Absence quotes > [Distance sometimes endears friendship, and absence sweeteneth it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-howell/distance-sometimes-endears-friendship-and-absence-sweeteneth-it/) [James Howell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-howell/) > [The work, the work, the work. This is what the business is all about. This is the fun, the glory, the pleasure. It's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-dusenberry/the-work-the-work-the-work-this-is-what-the-business-is-all-about/) [Phil Dusenberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-dusenberry/) > [Total depravity means the entire absence of holiness, not the highest intensity of sin. A totally depraved man is not as bad as he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-greenough-thayer-shedd/total-depravity-means-the-entire-absence-of-holiness-not-the-highest/) [William Greenough Thayer Shedd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-greenough-thayer-shedd/) > [Local and state governments have outrun the federal government. The EPA has served notice that it will enact a rule requiring CO2 reductions by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-gore/local-and-state-governments-have-outrun-the-federal-government-the/) [Al Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-gore/) > [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/) > [Of all the bewildering things about a new country, the absence of human landmarks is one of the most depressing and disheartening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/of-all-the-bewildering-things-about-a-new-country-the-absence-of/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [Young men have strong passions and tend to gratify them indiscriminately. Of the bodily desires, it is the sexual by which they are most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/young-men-have-strong-passions-and-tend-to-gratify-them/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [It is suggested that in domestic violence at least the presence or absence of a firearm, or of any other type of weapon, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-greenwood/it-is-suggested-that-in-domestic-violence-at-least-the-presence-or/) [Colin Greenwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-greenwood/) > [The absence of God in most spheres of life is perceived to be normal, and even Christians feel it as normal - which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-piper/the-absence-of-god-in-most-spheres-of-life-is-perceived-to-be-normal/) [John Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-piper/) > [Every person needs to take one day away. A day in which one consciously separates the past from the future. 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Ambedkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-r-ambedkar/) [Browse all 2,057 Absence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absence/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Hell is the absence of the people you long for.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Emily St. John Mandel" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-st-john-mandel/hell-is-the-absence-of-the-people-you-long-for/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Absence" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-st-john-mandel/hell-is-the-absence-of-the-people-you-long-for/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/463/emily-st-john-mandel-20783_absence_hell-is-the-absence-of-the-people-you-lo_1168504.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/463/emily-st-john-mandel-20783_absence_hell-is-the-absence-of-the-people-you-lo_1168504.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/463/emily-st-john-mandel-20783_absence_hell-is-the-absence-of-the-people-you-lo_1168504.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Hell is the absence of the people you long for.” — Emily St. John Mandel", "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": "Emily St. John Mandel", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-st-john-mandel/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Hell is the absence of the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-st-john-mandel/hell-is-the-absence-of-the-people-you-long-for/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-st-john-mandel/hell-is-the-absence-of-the-people-you-long-for/#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 } } ] } ```