--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There will be other lives. There will be…" description: "\"“There will be other lives. There will be other lives for nervous boys with sweaty palms, for bittersweet fumblings in the backseats of cars, for caps ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c07/gabrielle-zevin-626_human-life_there-will-be-other-lives-there-will-be_356975.png" --- # There will be other lives. There will be other lives for… ![“There will be other lives. There will be other lives for nervous boys with sweaty palms, for bittersweet fumblings in the backseats of cars, for caps and gowns in royal blue and crimson, for mothers clasping pretty pearl necklaces around daughters' unlined necks, for your full name read aloud in…” quote by Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c07/gabrielle-zevin-626_human-life_there-will-be-other-lives-there-will-be_356975.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c07/gabrielle-zevin-626_human-life_there-will-be-other-lives-there-will-be_356975.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c07/gabrielle-zevin-626_human-life_there-will-be-other-lives-there-will-be_356975.png) > ““There will be other lives. There will be other lives for nervous boys with sweaty palms, for bittersweet fumblings in the backseats of cars, for caps and gowns in royal blue and crimson, for mothers clasping pretty pearl necklaces around daughters' unlined necks, for your full name read aloud in an auditorium, for brand-new suitcases transporting you to strange new people in strange new lands. And there will be other lives for unpaid debts, for one-night stands, for Prague and Paris, for painful shoes with pointy toes, for indecision and revisions. And there will be other lives for fathers walking daughters down aisles. And there will be other lives for sweet babies with skin like milk. And there will be other lives for a man you don't recognize, for a face in a mirror that is no longer yours, for the funerals of intimates, for shrinking, for teeth that fall out, for hair on your chin, for forgetting everything. Everything. Oh, there are so many lives. How we wish we could live them concurrently instead of one by one by one. We could select the best pieces of each, stringing them together like a strand of pearls. But that's not how it works. A human's life is a beautiful mess.”” [Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life consists of many possible paths; we experience only one, making each choice significant. **In simple terms:** We have many potential lives but live only one. Key Takeaway Embrace the uniqueness of your current life. Themes existentialism choice nostalgia Mood contemplative hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career decisions - relationships - creative projects - personal growth Key Concepts possibility regret identity formation Questions to Reflect On - What would you change if you could live multiple lives? - How can you honor missed possibilities? A Different Perspective Alternative lives are imagined, not lived; regret can arise. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Human life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-life/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Man's Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mans-life/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Royal blue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/royal-blue/) ## Related quotes > [“It is not true we have only one life to love, if we can read, we can live as many lives and as many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-i-hayakawa-2/it-is-not-true-we-have-only-one-life-to-love-if-we-can-read-we-can/) [S.I. Hayakawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-i-hayakawa-2/) > [“It is not true that we have only one life to live; if we can read, we can live us many more lives and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-i-hayakawa-2/it-is-not-true-that-we-have-only-one-life-to-live-if-we-can-read-we/) [S.I. 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All life on earth will be richer if we choose to remember everything we have in common.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/one-life/their-lives-our-lives-all-life-on-earth-will-be-richer-if-we-choose/) One life > [“We all live our lives, but a reader lives a hundred other lives.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-rr-martin/we-all-live-our-lives-but-a-reader-lives-a-hundred-other-lives/) [George RR Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-rr-martin/) > [A man who lives everywhere lives nowhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-man-who-lives-everywhere-lives-nowhere/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [He who loves lives, he who lives works, and he who works has bread.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-stone/he-who-loves-lives-he-who-lives-works-and-he-who-works-has-bread/) [Irving Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-stone/) > [Who loves — lives, who lives - works, and who works has some bread.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-stone/who-loves-lives-who-lives-works-and-who-works-has-some-bread/) [Irving Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-stone/) > [Terms don't define our lives; our lives define our terms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-harris/terms-don-t-define-our-lives-our-lives-define-our-terms/) [Joshua Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-harris/) > [For he who lives more lives than one more deaths than one must die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/for-he-who-lives-more-lives-than-one-more-deaths-than-one-must-die/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [He who lives not to others, lives little to himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/he-who-lives-not-to-others-lives-little-to-himself/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) ## More by Gabrielle Zevin > [“He didn't break my heart. No one can break your heart except you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/he-didn-t-break-my-heart-no-one-can-break-your-heart-except-you/) [Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/) > [People are capable of great, great change during the span of one lifetime. And women even more than men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/people-are-capable-of-great-great-change-during-the-span-of-one/) [Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/) > [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/) > [He kissed me, though not in a sexy way. Gentle. 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We couldn’t breathe or walk or eat. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/it-is-lucky-she-thinks-that-we-don-t-feel-all-the-love-inside-us/) [Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/) > [“Real love' is not just instinct, but intent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/real-love-is-not-just-instinct-but-intent/) [Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/) > [Hi there," squeaked a precocious little voice, "you are speaking to Chloe Fusakawa, and I have just learned how to answer the phone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/hi-there-squeaked-a-precocious-little-voice-you-are-speaking-to-chloe/) [Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/) > [“Well, I’m warning you. I could be a bad book with a good jacket.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/well-i-m-warning-you-i-could-be-a-bad-book-with-a-good-jacket/) [Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/) > [“A place ain’t a place without a bookstore,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/a-place-ain-t-a-place-without-a-bookstore/) [Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/) [Explore all 425 Gabrielle Zevin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/) ## More Human life quotes > [Entertainment is a sacred pursuit when done well. When done well, it raises the quality of human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/entertainment-is-a-sacred-pursuit-when-done-well-when-done-well-it/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“Conception is the beginning of human life. 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Art is an organ of human life, transmitting man's reasonable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/art-is-not-a-pleasure-a-solace-or-an-amusement-art-is-great-matter/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I free slaves because I believe we are all created equal. I just can't think of anything that has a higher purpose than putting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-williams/i-free-slaves-because-i-believe-we-are-all-created-equal-i-just-can-t/) [Virginia Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-williams/) > [Human life consists of doing certain things ... to take part in the life of the community; to be able to talk about subjects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amartya-sen/human-life-consists-of-doing-certain-things-to-take-part-in-the-life/) [Amartya Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amartya-sen/) > [There seems to be a kind of order in the universe…in the movement of the stars and the turning of the Earth and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/there-seems-to-be-a-kind-of-order-in-the-universe-in-the-movement-of/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) > [I think we are not spend our life as it pick.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ankit-narwal/i-think-we-are-not-spend-our-life-as-it-pick/) ANKIT NARWAL > [“Whenever I think about ancient cultures nostalgia seizes me. 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Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-s-smith/) > [“You finally fell in love, I see,” said Salo. “Only an Earthling year ago,” said Constant. “It took us that long to realize that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/you-finally-fell-in-love-i-see-said-salo-only-an-earthling-year-ago/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [In these years we are witnessing the gigantic spectacle of innumerable human lives wandering about lost in their own labyrinths, through not having anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/in-these-years-we-are-witnessing-the-gigantic-spectacle-of/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) [Browse all 2,309 Human life quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-life/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“There will be other lives. There will be other lives for nervous boys with sweaty palms, for bittersweet fumblings in the backseats of cars, for caps and gowns in royal blue and crimson, for mothers clasping pretty pearl necklaces around daughters' unlined necks, for your full name read aloud in an auditorium, for brand-new suitcases transporting you to strange new people in strange new lands. And there will be other lives for unpaid debts, for one-night stands, for Prague and Paris, for painful shoes with pointy toes, for indecision and revisions. And there will be other lives for fathers walking daughters down aisles. And there will be other lives for sweet babies with skin like milk. And there will be other lives for a man you don't recognize, for a face in a mirror that is no longer yours, for the funerals of intimates, for shrinking, for teeth that fall out, for hair on your chin, for forgetting everything. Everything. Oh, there are so many lives. 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