--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: People sometimes say that sorrow is…" description: "\"“People sometimes say that sorrow is mental but longing is physical. One is a wound, the other an amputated limb, a withered petal compared to a snappe..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b0/fredrik-backman-857_grief_people-sometimes-say-that-sorrow-is-ment_1380896.jpg" --- # People sometimes say that sorrow is mental but longing is… ![“People sometimes say that sorrow is mental but longing is physical. One is a wound, the other an amputated limb, a withered petal compared to a snapped stem. Anything that grows closely enough to what it loves will eventually share the same roots. We can talk about loss, we can treat it and give…” quote by Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b0/fredrik-backman-857_grief_people-sometimes-say-that-sorrow-is-ment_1380896.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b0/fredrik-backman-857_grief_people-sometimes-say-that-sorrow-is-ment_1380896.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b0/fredrik-backman-857_grief_people-sometimes-say-that-sorrow-is-ment_1380896.jpg) > ““People sometimes say that sorrow is mental but longing is physical. One is a wound, the other an amputated limb, a withered petal compared to a snapped stem. Anything that grows closely enough to what it loves will eventually share the same roots. We can talk about loss, we can treat it and give it time, but biology still forces us to live according to certain rules: plants that are split down the middle don’t heal, they die.”” [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 contrasts emotional sorrow with physical longing, likening love‑based loss to a wound that can heal versus an amputated limb that cannot, emphasizing that deep connections bind us to inevitable pain and mortality. **In simple terms:** Love‑based loss feels like a deep wound that can heal, unlike physical loss that feels like a missing limb. Key Takeaway Accept that some losses are unhealable and seek support. Themes love loss healing biology mortality Mood sad reflective hopeful Type philosophical emotional literary When to use this quote - relationship breakup - death of a loved one - plant care - personal healing - support groups Key Concepts attachment theory psychosomatic pain grief biological determinism Questions to Reflect On - How do you differentiate between emotional and physical grief? - Can acceptance change the way you experience loss? A Different Perspective Healing may be possible through emotional processing, even if the physical metaphor suggests permanence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Grief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief/) [Longing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/longing/) [Longing Physical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/longing-physical-4783197/) [Mental Longing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mental-longing-4783198/) [Nostalgia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nostalgia/) [Sorrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sorrow/) [Sorrow Mental](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sorrow-mental-4783199/) ## Related quotes > [“Haunted by the longing to feel something real, deep and magical; I searched for a shared ecstasy... that's when you came along.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lebo-grand/haunted-by-the-longing-to-feel-something-real-deep-and-magical-i/) [Lebo Grand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lebo-grand/) > [“Life is a collection of memories and feelings. Mawkish sentimentally urges us to engage in artistic overtures, we yearn to share with other people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kilroy-j-oldster/life-is-a-collection-of-memories-and-feelings-mawkish-sentimentally/) [Kilroy J. Oldster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kilroy-j-oldster/) > [You don't know why, but you know you have to go home. It's an eternal longing. It's Marvell's drop of dew wanting to go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/you-don-t-know-why-but-you-know-you-have-to-go-home-it-s-an-eternal/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [“I walk with a dual longing for life and for death.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-lee-houghton/i-walk-with-a-dual-longing-for-life-and-for-death/) [Melissa Lee-Houghton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-lee-houghton/) > [“…The truth: dreaming is lonely the further away the closer to this one time No one has held me for so long Days stitch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angkarn-chanthathip/the-truth-dreaming-is-lonely-the-further-away-the-closer-to-this-one/) [Angkarn Chanthathip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angkarn-chanthathip/) > [The orgasm has replaced the Cross as the focus of longing and the image of fulfillment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-muggeridge/the-orgasm-has-replaced-the-cross-as-the-focus-of-longing-and-the/) [Malcolm Muggeridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-muggeridge/) > [“How sad, he thought, that desire found new objects but did not abate, that when it came to longing there was no end.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allegra-goodman/how-sad-he-thought-that-desire-found-new-objects-but-did-not-abate/) [Allegra Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allegra-goodman/) > [If we really face our sadness, we find it speaks with the voice of our deepest longing. And if we face it a little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kingsley/if-we-really-face-our-sadness-we-find-it-speaks-with-the-voice-of-our/) [Peter Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kingsley/) > [To show a longing for anything that one cannot have, for instance, is not a clever position.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/to-show-a-longing-for-anything-that-one-cannot-have-for-instance-is/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [I can negate everything of that part of me that lives on vague nostalgias, except this desire for unity, this longing to solve, this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/i-can-negate-everything-of-that-part-of-me-that-lives-on-vague/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Longing is like a seed that wrestles in the ground](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/longing-is-like-a-seed-that-wrestles-in-the-ground/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [It (taking photographs) is all about longingwithout longing-no pictures at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anders-petersen/it-taking-photographs-is-all-about-longingwithout-longing-no-pictures/) [Anders Petersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anders-petersen/) > [Could it be in longing we are most ourselves?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-young-lee/could-it-be-in-longing-we-are-most-ourselves/) [Li-Young Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-young-lee/) > [Sometimes it has to do with other longings that are much more existential. Sometimes you go elsewhere not because you are not liking the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-perel/sometimes-it-has-to-do-with-other-longings-that-are-much-more/) [Esther Perel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-perel/) > [“Longing for you is the sweetest anticipation I’ve ever known.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cari-quinn/longing-for-you-is-the-sweetest-anticipation-i-ve-ever-known/) [Cari Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cari-quinn/) ## 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 Grief quotes > [“...they had lived, they'd lived intensely. But no matter how deeply you live, it comes to this in the end: one of you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-morton/they-had-lived-they-d-lived-intensely-but-no-matter-how-deeply-you/) [Brian Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-morton/) > [“You must understand the pain and grief of losing someone is nothing more than a function of survival.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-cooper/you-must-understand-the-pain-and-grief-of-losing-someone-is-nothing/) [Steven Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-cooper/) > [You felt a deep sorrow, the kind of melancholy you feel when you're in a beautiful place and the sun is going down](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thrity-umrigar/you-felt-a-deep-sorrow-the-kind-of-melancholy-you-feel-when-you-re-in/) [Thrity Umrigar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thrity-umrigar/) > [... how much of our inner substance is it good for us to give to public griefs? The whole modern tendency to agonize over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bogan/how-much-of-our-inner-substance-is-it-good-for-us-to-give-to-public/) [Louise Bogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bogan/) > [You dont choose your life; it chooses you. Theres no point asking why life has reserved certain joys or griefs, you just accept them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/you-dont-choose-your-life-it-chooses-you-theres-no-point-asking-why/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“When we learn to attribute meaning to the events in our lives, we connect with our Higher Purpose, Higher Wisdom, or Source; we become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-barbara-apollon/when-we-learn-to-attribute-meaning-to-the-events-in-our-lives-we/) [Susan Barbara Apollon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-barbara-apollon/) > [Only to have a grief equal to all these tears!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/only-to-have-a-grief-equal-to-all-these-tears/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [Nowadays most people wear black most of the time anyway: go to a literary party and one would imagine everyone there was in perpetual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fay-weldon/nowadays-most-people-wear-black-most-of-the-time-anyway-go-to-a/) [Fay Weldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fay-weldon/) > [Suppressed grief suffocates, it rages within the breast, and is forced to multiply its strength.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/suppressed-grief-suffocates-it-rages-within-the-breast-and-is-forced/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [That Woman is in love with her own grief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/that-woman-is-in-love-with-her-own-grief/) [Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/) > [Short time seems long in sorrow's sharp sustaining.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/short-time-seems-long-in-sorrow-s-sharp-sustaining/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [These days grief seems like walking on a frozen river; most of the time he feels safe enough, but there is always that danger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/these-days-grief-seems-like-walking-on-a-frozen-river-most-of-the/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [“You've been my beacon of light in my storm of grief, and I don't know if I could live without you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-ashley/you-ve-been-my-beacon-of-light-in-my-storm-of-grief-and-i-don-t-know/) [Katie Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-ashley/) > [Ancient eyes had stared at me, filled with ancient grief. And something more. Something so alien and unexpected that I'd almost burst into tears.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/ancient-eyes-had-stared-at-me-filled-with-ancient-grief-and-something/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [Meanwhile, the trees were just as green as before; the birds sang and the sun shone as clearly now as ever. The familiar surroundings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/meanwhile-the-trees-were-just-as-green-as-before-the-birds-sang-and/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) [Browse all 8,012 Grief quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“People sometimes say that sorrow is mental but longing is physical. One is a wound, the other an amputated limb, a withered petal compared to a snapped stem. 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