--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What they never tell you about grief is…" description: "\"What they never tell you about grief is that missing someone is the simple part.\" — Gail Caldwell" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffe/gail-caldwell-13660_bereavement_what-they-never-tell-you-about-grief-is_521102.png" --- # What they never tell you about grief is that missing… ![“What they never tell you about grief is that missing someone is the simple part.” quote by Gail Caldwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffe/gail-caldwell-13660_bereavement_what-they-never-tell-you-about-grief-is_521102.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffe/gail-caldwell-13660_bereavement_what-they-never-tell-you-about-grief-is_521102.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffe/gail-caldwell-13660_bereavement_what-they-never-tell-you-about-grief-is_521102.png) > “What they never tell you about grief is that missing someone is the simple part.” [Gail Caldwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-caldwell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Grief’s hardest part is the lingering distrust after loss, not the absence itself. **In simple terms:** Missing someone is easy; coping with loss is harder. Key Takeaway Accept the pain and seek support. Themes grief loss trust healing Mood somber reflective Type personal emotional When to use this quote - bereavement counseling - support groups - personal reflection Key Concepts psychology emotional resilience Questions to Reflect On - How do you honor the memory while moving forward? - What support helps you most? A Different Perspective Grief can also bring unexpected growth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bereavement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bereavement/) [Grief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief/) [Missing someone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/missing-someone/) ## Related quotes > [“Sustained, complicated grief is hard- & yes, potentially dangerous- ANYTHING worthwhile in life holds a certain measure of risk to it- and friends who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-nikole/sustained-complicated-grief-is-hard-yes-potentially-dangerous/) [Ashley Nikole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-nikole/) > [Fresh kicks like a kind full magician he must be missing the simple fact that ima get it you aint with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/new-boyz/fresh-kicks-like-a-kind-full-magician-he-must-be-missing-the-simple/) [New Boyz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/new-boyz/) > [“Suddenly, all I can think about are all the things I don't know about him. All the things I never had time to learn.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-ryan/suddenly-all-i-can-think-about-are-all-the-things-i-don-t-know-about/) [Carrie Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-ryan/) > [...does that not tell you that grief is like life and that there is always somethings unknown beyond it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/does-that-not-tell-you-that-grief-is-like-life-and-that-there-is/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [Do no cheat thy Heart and tell her, 'Grief will pass away.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adelaide-anne-procter/do-no-cheat-thy-heart-and-tell-her-grief-will-pass-away/) [Adelaide Anne Procter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adelaide-anne-procter/) > [Sometimes, missing is more precious than being together. Because we only miss those people who we never want to miss!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-missing-is-more-precious-than-being-together-because-we/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Grief is shameless; it refuses to be ignored. If you let it have its way, it becomes fatal. If you try to remove it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zeina-kassem/grief-is-shameless-it-refuses-to-be-ignored-if-you-let-it-have-its/) [Zeina Kassem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zeina-kassem/) > [It's weird to feel like you miss someone you're not even sure you know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/it-s-weird-to-feel-like-you-miss-someone-you-re-not-even-sure-you-know/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [Missing someone is a part of life, but just because you miss them doesn't mean you need them! Move on with your life, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/missing-someone-is-a-part-of-life-but-just-because-you-miss-them/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Our plans for the future made us laugh and feel close, but those same plans somehow made anything more than temporary between us seem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-dybek/our-plans-for-the-future-made-us-laugh-and-feel-close-but-those-same/) [Stuart Dybek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-dybek/) > [When you lose someone, you don't lose them all at once. You lose them in pieces over time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-birch/when-you-lose-someone-you-don-t-lose-them-all-at-once-you-lose-them/) Simon Birch > [When you are not lying next to me, I wake up feeling like something is missing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenna-bognar/when-you-are-not-lying-next-to-me-i-wake-up-feeling-like-something-is/) [Jenna Bognar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenna-bognar/) > [I only miss you when I'm breathing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-derulo/i-only-miss-you-when-i-m-breathing/) [Jason Derulo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-derulo/) > [Missing someone and barely having the control to not text them every second that you have free time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/missing-someone-and-barely-having-the-control-to-not-text-them-every/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Sometimes it is the person closest to us who must travel the furthest distance to be our friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-it-is-the-person-closest-to-us-who-must-travel-the-furthest/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Gail Caldwell > [“The other thing I know now, is that we survive grief merely and surely by outlasting it. The ongoing fact of the narrative eclipses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-caldwell/the-other-thing-i-know-now-is-that-we-survive-grief-merely-and-surely/) [Gail Caldwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-caldwell/) > [The only education in grief that any of us ever gets is a crash course.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-caldwell/the-only-education-in-grief-that-any-of-us-ever-gets-is-a-crash-course/) [Gail Caldwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-caldwell/) > [Maybe this is the point: to embrace the core sadness of life without toppling headlong into it, or assuming it will define your days.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-caldwell/maybe-this-is-the-point-to-embrace-the-core-sadness-of-life-without/) [Gail Caldwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-caldwell/) > [The real hell of this," he told her, "is that you're going to get through it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-caldwell/the-real-hell-of-this-he-told-her-is-that-you-re-going-to-get-through/) [Gail Caldwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-caldwell/) > [I'd confused need with love and love with sacrifice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-caldwell/i-d-confused-need-with-love-and-love-with-sacrifice/) [Gail Caldwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-caldwell/) > [Grief doesn't necessarily make you noble. Sometimes it just makes you crazy, or primitive with fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-caldwell/grief-doesn-t-necessarily-make-you-noble-sometimes-it-just-makes-you/) [Gail Caldwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-caldwell/) > [You can’t change the tale so that you turned left one day instead of right, or didn’t make the mistake that might have saved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-caldwell/you-can-t-change-the-tale-so-that-you-turned-left-one-day-instead-of/) [Gail Caldwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-caldwell/) > [“From the first winter afternoon in the Harvard ball fields, "Oh no--I need you" had become an admission and a clarion call--the tenet of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-caldwell/from-the-first-winter-afternoon-in-the-harvard-ball-fields-oh-no-i/) [Gail Caldwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-caldwell/) > [“Most of us wander in and out of one another's lives until not death, but distance, does us part--time and space and the heart's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-caldwell/most-of-us-wander-in-and-out-of-one-another-s-lives-until-not-death/) [Gail Caldwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-caldwell/) > [“Everything about death is a cliché until you're in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-caldwell/everything-about-death-is-a-clich-until-you-re-in-it/) [Gail Caldwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-caldwell/) > [memory is both the curse of grief and the eventual talisman against it; what at first seems unbearable becomes the succor that can outlast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-caldwell/memory-is-both-the-curse-of-grief-and-the-eventual-talisman-against/) [Gail Caldwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-caldwell/) > [“Counting on each other became automatic. When I found a sweater in Texas I wanted, I learned to buy two, which was easier than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-caldwell/counting-on-each-other-became-automatic-when-i-found-a-sweater-in/) [Gail Caldwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-caldwell/) > [I know now that we never get over great losses; we absorb them, and they carve us into different, often kinder, creatures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-caldwell/i-know-now-that-we-never-get-over-great-losses-we-absorb-them-and/) [Gail Caldwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-caldwell/) > [The flaw is the thing we love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-caldwell/the-flaw-is-the-thing-we-love/) [Gail Caldwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-caldwell/) > [“I know now that we never get over great losses; we absorb them, and they carve us into different, often kinder, creatures. ...We tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-caldwell/i-know-now-that-we-never-get-over-great-losses-we-absorb-them-and-2/) [Gail Caldwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-caldwell/) [Explore all 49 Gail Caldwell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-caldwell/) ## More Bereavement quotes > [“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/) > [“When we understand the illusory nature of life and the profound power of eternal love, which enables us to create miracles and experience the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-barbara-apollon/when-we-understand-the-illusory-nature-of-life-and-the-profound-power/) [Susan Barbara Apollon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-barbara-apollon/) > [When you lose your parents, the sadness doesn't go away. It just changes. It hits you sideways sometimes instead of head-on. Like now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-you-lose-your-parents-the-sadness-doesn-t-go-away-it-just/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A man is not completely born until he is dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/a-man-is-not-completely-born-until-he-is-dead/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“It is the capacity to feel consuming grief and pain and despair that also allows me to embrace love and joy and beauty with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-white/it-is-the-capacity-to-feel-consuming-grief-and-pain-and-despair-that/) [Anna White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-white/) > [“Sometimes, there was no getting over it. Sometimes, you lived with the empty place inside of you until you imploded on it, loss as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caitlin-kittredge/sometimes-there-was-no-getting-over-it-sometimes-you-lived-with-the/) [Caitlin Kittredge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caitlin-kittredge/) > [Grief that is dazed and speechless is out of fashion: the modern woman mourns her husband loudly and tells you the whole story of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/grief-that-is-dazed-and-speechless-is-out-of-fashion-the-modern-woman/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [I bow in reverence before the emotions of every melted heart…The more intense the delight in their presence, the more poignant the impression of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-martineau/i-bow-in-reverence-before-the-emotions-of-every-melted-heart-the-more/) [James Martineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-martineau/) > [“her skilled use of her body, especially her eyes and hands, when communicating with people enabled millions sense she was a conduit between royalty,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-walter/her-skilled-use-of-her-body-especially-her-eyes-and-hands-when/) Tony Walter > [I can remember certain Manchester United defeats the way most people remember family bereavements or great political events. The four-nil drubbing by Barcelona, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-dunne/i-can-remember-certain-manchester-united-defeats-the-way-most-people/) Tom Dunne > [Farewell is said by the living, in life, every day. It is said with love and friendship, with the affirmation that the memories are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/farewell-is-said-by-the-living-in-life-every-day-it-is-said-with-love/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I used to feel afraid of the future, always assuming the worst. But now I've realized that my worst fears have already happened, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berrien/i-used-to-feel-afraid-of-the-future-always-assuming-the-worst-but-now/) [Elizabeth Berrien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berrien/) > [“Loss pushes us to difficult places where we have not been before. We often question whether or not we have the courage and stamina…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-barbara-apollon/loss-pushes-us-to-difficult-places-where-we-have-not-been-before-we/) [Susan Barbara Apollon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-barbara-apollon/) > [“He stood for a moment, bereavement a sudden, small tear in his soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-gabaldon/he-stood-for-a-moment-bereavement-a-sudden-small-tear-in-his-soul/) [Diana Gabaldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-gabaldon/) > [Thou, Everlasting Strength, hast set Thyself forth to bear our burdens. May we bear Thy cross, and bearing that; find there is nothing else…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/thou-everlasting-strength-hast-set-thyself-forth-to-bear-our-burdens/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) [Browse all 263 Bereavement quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bereavement/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What they never tell you about grief is that missing someone is the simple part.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gail Caldwell" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-caldwell/what-they-never-tell-you-about-grief-is-that-missing-someone-is-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bereavement" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-caldwell/what-they-never-tell-you-about-grief-is-that-missing-someone-is-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffe/gail-caldwell-13660_bereavement_what-they-never-tell-you-about-grief-is_521102.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffe/gail-caldwell-13660_bereavement_what-they-never-tell-you-about-grief-is_521102.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffe/gail-caldwell-13660_bereavement_what-they-never-tell-you-about-grief-is_521102.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What they never tell you about grief is that missing someone is the simple part.” — Gail Caldwell", "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": "Gail Caldwell", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-caldwell/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "What they never tell you about...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-caldwell/what-they-never-tell-you-about-grief-is-that-missing-someone-is-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-caldwell/what-they-never-tell-you-about-grief-is-that-missing-someone-is-the/#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 } } ] } ```