--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Everyone has a thousand wishes before a…" description: "\"“Everyone has a thousand wishes before a tragedy, but just one afterward.”\" — Fredrik Backman" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df2/fredrik-backman-857_tragedy_everyone-has-a-thousand-wishes-before-a_2474510.jpg" --- # Everyone has a thousand wishes before a tragedy, but just… ![“Everyone has a thousand wishes before a tragedy, but just one afterward.” quote by Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df2/fredrik-backman-857_tragedy_everyone-has-a-thousand-wishes-before-a_2474510.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df2/fredrik-backman-857_tragedy_everyone-has-a-thousand-wishes-before-a_2474510.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df2/fredrik-backman-857_tragedy_everyone-has-a-thousand-wishes-before-a_2474510.jpg) > ““Everyone has a thousand wishes before a tragedy, but just one afterward.”” [Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote reflects that before tragedy people have many hopes, but after a tragedy often only one wish remains, highlighting loss and focus. **In simple terms:** Many wishes before tragedy, one after. Key Takeaway Cherish and prioritize core desires. Themes loss focus priorities Mood somber reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - life planning - counseling - support groups - writing therapy Key Concepts existential reflection grief processing Questions to Reflect On - What core wish survived for you? - How do you cope with loss? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex emotions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Thousand Wishes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thousand-wishes-796921/) [Tragedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tragedy/) [Tragedy Just](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tragedy-just-796922/) [Wish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wish/) [Wishes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wishes/) [Wishes Tragedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wishes-tragedy-796920/) ## Related quotes > [“And that was part of the tragedy: I had just started to know her. I was mourning the relationship that could have blossomed but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sy-montgomery/and-that-was-part-of-the-tragedy-i-had-just-started-to-know-her-i-was/) [Sy Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sy-montgomery/) > [“That was the thing about tragedy. It was just sitting there, keeping you company, waiting. And you had absolutely no idea.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-dicamillo/that-was-the-thing-about-tragedy-it-was-just-sitting-there-keeping/) [Kate DiCamillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-dicamillo/) > [I love Shakespeare. In Shakespeare, tragedy is not just something that's bad. It's something that could be good and is bad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rafe-esquith/i-love-shakespeare-in-shakespeare-tragedy-is-not-just-something-that/) [Rafe Esquith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rafe-esquith/) > [“It’s funny, how you realize things too late. Someone once said to me the tragedy about life is that you understand it backwards. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-macdonald/it-s-funny-how-you-realize-things-too-late-someone-once-said-to-me/) [Marianne Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-macdonald/) > [“Tragedy is just comedy that hasn’t come to fruition. One day we will laugh at this. We will laugh at everything.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/tragedy-is-just-comedy-that-hasn-t-come-to-fruition-one-day-we-will/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [I never did comedy or tragedy. I just live a situation and my mission is to entertain people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajpal-yadav/i-never-did-comedy-or-tragedy-i-just-live-a-situation-and-my-mission/) [Rajpal Yadav](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajpal-yadav/) > [The Irishman sustains himself during brief periods of joy by the knowledge that tragedy is just around the corner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-irishman-sustains-himself-during-brief-periods-of-joy-by-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“But for us the tragedy was but just beginning; as in the case of other wounds the pain was drugged at the moment, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/but-for-us-the-tragedy-was-but-just-beginning-as-in-the-case-of-other/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“This isn't a tragedy. It's just non-fiction.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noelle-howey/this-isn-t-a-tragedy-it-s-just-non-fiction/) [Noelle Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noelle-howey/) > [As a literature student, I put pen to paper in times of devastating tragedy, I just try to make sense of it. Maybe I'll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-kermis/as-a-literature-student-i-put-pen-to-paper-in-times-of-devastating/) [Samuel Kermis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-kermis/) > [“No one really knew what went on in her relationship with Mike. No one even really knew her. Maybe she loved Mike more than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-close/no-one-really-knew-what-went-on-in-her-relationship-with-mike-no-one/) [Jennifer Close](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-close/) > [In fact, most deaths are not tragic. Few people die because of a flaw in character, which is the essential element of tragedy. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-chancellor/in-fact-most-deaths-are-not-tragic-few-people-die-because-of-a-flaw/) [John Chancellor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-chancellor/) > [I had the great idea of using markers to gently color the ants so I could tell them apart, but I learned that this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-benton/i-had-the-great-idea-of-using-markers-to-gently-color-the-ants-so-i/) [Jim Benton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-benton/) > [“Be careful that you do not wait too long. Unspent wishes can be dangerous things.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethan-m-aldridge/be-careful-that-you-do-not-wait-too-long-unspent-wishes-can-be/) [Ethan M. Aldridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethan-m-aldridge/) > [wishes for sons by Lucille Clifton i wish them cramps. i wish them a strange town and the last tampon. I wish them no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucille-clifton/wishes-for-sons-by-lucille-clifton-i-wish-them-cramps-i-wish-them-a/) [Lucille Clifton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucille-clifton/) ## More by Fredrik Backman > [“So she bowed her head and devoted herself to Beartown’s real traditional sports: shame and silence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/so-she-bowed-her-head-and-devoted-herself-to-beartown-s-real/) [Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/) > [“If Peter has learned one thing about human nature during all his years in hockey, it’s that almost everyone regards themselves as a good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/if-peter-has-learned-one-thing-about-human-nature-during-all-his/) [Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/) > [“That’s what parents often do, I think, we persuade ourselves we’re doing everything for the sake of the child. It’s too painful to us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/that-s-what-parents-often-do-i-think-we-persuade-ourselves-we-re/) [Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/) > [“Uve je dobro znao da njeni prijatelji nisu shvatali zbog čega se onda svakog jutra budila sa odlukom da provede dan sa njim. Nije…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/uve-je-dobro-znao-da-njeni-prijatelji-nisu-shvatali-zbog-ega-se-onda/) [Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/) > [“Somebody has one of the worst hairstyles Britt-Marie has ever laid eyes on, as if she’s combed her hair with a terrified animal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/somebody-has-one-of-the-worst-hairstyles-britt-marie-has-ever-laid/) [Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/) > [“Hate can be a deeply stimulating emotion. The world becomes easier to understand and much less terrifying if you divide everything and everyone into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/hate-can-be-a-deeply-stimulating-emotion-the-world-becomes-easier-to/) [Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/) > [“Another morning comes. It always does. Time always moves at the same rate, only feelings have different speeds. Every day can mark a whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/another-morning-comes-it-always-does-time-always-moves-at-the-same/) [Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/) > [“The girl glances at the surface of the desk, which looks as if toddlers have been trying to eat potatoes off it. With pitchforks.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/the-girl-glances-at-the-surface-of-the-desk-which-looks-as-if/) [Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/) > [“Mnogim ljudima je teško da žive sa nekim ko ceni samoću. To neprijatno žulja one koji nisu i sami takvi.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/mnogim-ljudima-je-te-ko-da-ive-sa-nekim-ko-ceni-samo-u-to-neprijatno/) [Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/) > [“But his taste buds are as dysfunctional as the volume control on his voice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/but-his-taste-buds-are-as-dysfunctional-as-the-volume-control-on-his/) [Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/) > [“Throughout their childhood Maya loved her best friend because she wasn’t like any other girl she had met, but life as a teenager seems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/throughout-their-childhood-maya-loved-her-best-friend-because-she/) [Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/) > [“For more than half a century they belonged to one another. She detested the same characteristics in him that last day as she had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/for-more-than-half-a-century-they-belonged-to-one-another-she/) [Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/) > [“His heart is too big.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/his-heart-is-too-big/) [Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/) > [“Back in the days when there were still things to boast about, the city council erected a sign beside the road at the entrance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/back-in-the-days-when-there-were-still-things-to-boast-about-the-city/) [Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/) > [“And after all those hours in the locker room, all those nights on the team bus, all the conversations and all the jokes and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/and-after-all-those-hours-in-the-locker-room-all-those-nights-on-the/) [Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/) [Explore all 320 Fredrik Backman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/) ## More Tragedy quotes > [To believe in love, to be ready to give up anything for it, to be willing to risk your life for it, is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/to-believe-in-love-to-be-ready-to-give-up-anything-for-it-to-be/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) > [Broken by hardships, disappointments and tragedy, people can become discouraged and cynical. But lives can also be mended. Put back together well, they won't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-goodier/broken-by-hardships-disappointments-and-tragedy-people-can-become/) [Steve Goodier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-goodier/) > [It is a tragedy that we live in a world where physical courage is so common, and moral courage is so rare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-monet/it-is-a-tragedy-that-we-live-in-a-world-where-physical-courage-is-so/) [Claude Monet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-monet/) > [Divorce isn't such a tragedy. A tragedy's staying in an unhappy marriage, teaching your children the wrong things about love. Nobody ever died of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-weiner/divorce-isn-t-such-a-tragedy-a-tragedy-s-staying-in-an-unhappy/) [Jennifer Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-weiner/) > [“That's tragic, also unfortunate, and often illegal. More importantly, it's also unnecessary.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-eastham/that-s-tragic-also-unfortunate-and-often-illegal-more-importantly-it/) [Chad Eastham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chad-eastham/) > [The Kennedys have always represented a certain royal quality, Camelot, and they represent a great deal of integrity and strength and perseverance; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-slater/the-kennedys-have-always-represented-a-certain-royal-quality-camelot/) [Christian Slater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-slater/) > [“It isn't the big troubles in life that require character. Anybody can rise to a crisis and face a crushing tragedy with courage, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-webster/it-isn-t-the-big-troubles-in-life-that-require-character-anybody-can/) [Jean Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-webster/) > [The compensations of calamity are made apparent to the understanding also, after long intervals of time. A fever, a mutilation, a cruel disappointment, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-compensations-of-calamity-are-made-apparent-to-the-understanding/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ME AND YOU When I hold a rose, I see the soft, velvety petals and smile, because tucked between those precious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-schroeder/the-difference-between-me-and-you-when-i-hold-a-rose-i-see-the-soft/) [Lisa Schroeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-schroeder/) > [The greatest tragedies were written by the Greeks and Shakespeare...neither knew chocolate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-boynton/the-greatest-tragedies-were-written-by-the-greeks-and-shakespeare/) [Sandra Boynton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-boynton/) > [“In theater, that's the whole thing about Greek tragedy. You take the audience through the—like, the realest shit, the tearing out the eyes or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/riley-redgate/in-theater-that-s-the-whole-thing-about-greek-tragedy-you-take-the/) [Riley Redgate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/riley-redgate/) > [Out of tragedy, people often unite in pain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-biden/out-of-tragedy-people-often-unite-in-pain/) [Ashley Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-biden/) > [In tragedy every moment is eternity; in comedy, eternity is a moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-fry/in-tragedy-every-moment-is-eternity-in-comedy-eternity-is-a-moment/) [Christopher Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-fry/) > [“This is the tragedy of almost every civilization—that its soul is in its faith, and seldom survives philosophy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/this-is-the-tragedy-of-almost-every-civilization-that-its-soul-is-in/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [Instead of weeping when a tragedy occurs in a songbird's life, it sings away its grief. I believe we could well follow the pattern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/instead-of-weeping-when-a-tragedy-occurs-in-a-songbird-s-life-it/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) [Browse all 3,091 Tragedy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tragedy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Everyone has a thousand wishes before a tragedy, but just one afterward.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Fredrik Backman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/everyone-has-a-thousand-wishes-before-a-tragedy-but-just-one-afterward/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Tragedy" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/everyone-has-a-thousand-wishes-before-a-tragedy-but-just-one-afterward/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df2/fredrik-backman-857_tragedy_everyone-has-a-thousand-wishes-before-a_2474510.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df2/fredrik-backman-857_tragedy_everyone-has-a-thousand-wishes-before-a_2474510.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df2/fredrik-backman-857_tragedy_everyone-has-a-thousand-wishes-before-a_2474510.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Everyone has a thousand wishes before a tragedy, but just one afterward.” — Fredrik Backman", "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": "Fredrik Backman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Everyone has a thousand wishes before...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/everyone-has-a-thousand-wishes-before-a-tragedy-but-just-one-afterward/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/everyone-has-a-thousand-wishes-before-a-tragedy-but-just-one-afterward/#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 } } ] } ```