---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am not one who believes that killing…"
description: "\"“I am not one who believes that killing yourself is necessarily a coward's way out. It is my belief that a body'd have to be in a lot of pain in order ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d8/gary-a-braunbeck-57527_coward_i-am-not-one-who-believes-that-killing-y_2994545.jpg"
---

#  I am not one who believes that killing yourself is…

![“I am not one who believes that killing yourself is necessarily a coward's way out. It is my belief that a body'd have to be in a lot of pain in order to think a death the likes of this was preferable to breathing in the air of one more morning.&quot; -From &quot;Matthew in the Morning” quote by Gary A. Braunbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d8/gary-a-braunbeck-57527_coward_i-am-not-one-who-believes-that-killing-y_2994545.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d8/gary-a-braunbeck-57527_coward_i-am-not-one-who-believes-that-killing-y_2994545.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d8/gary-a-braunbeck-57527_coward_i-am-not-one-who-believes-that-killing-y_2994545.jpg)

> ““I am not one who believes that killing yourself is necessarily a coward's way out. It is my belief that a body'd have to be in a lot of pain in order to think a death the likes of this was preferable to breathing in the air of one more morning." -From "Matthew in the Morning””

[Gary A. Braunbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-a-braunbeck/)

## 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 argues that suicide is not always an act of cowardice; it can stem from extreme, unbearable suffering that makes life feel intolerable.

**In simple terms:** Suicide can be driven by intense pain, not just fear.

Key Takeaway

Recognize deep suffering before judging.

Themes

mental health pain suicide judgment

Mood

somber empathetic

Type

reflective cautionary

When to use this quote

- hospital counseling
- support groups
- emergency hotlines
- personal reflection

Key Concepts

existential anguish psychological distress

Questions to Reflect On

- What signs indicate someone is in unbearable pain?
- How can we better support those feeling life is unbearable?

A Different Perspective

Not all who consider suicide are cowardly; some are trapped by overwhelming agony.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Believes Killing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believes-killing-4723524/) [Coward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coward/) [Coward Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coward-way-1387301/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Killing yourself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/killing-yourself/) [Morning Matthew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/morning-matthew-4723525/) [Think Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-death/)

## Related quotes

> [“There’s three ways not to see what you don’t want to,’ she told me. ‘One is the coward’s way and too damned painful. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-vandermeer/there-s-three-ways-not-to-see-what-you-don-t-want-to-she-told-me-one/)

[Jeff VanderMeer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-vandermeer/)

> [“Life is one big fat gamble, and the odds are never in your favor. So you either go for it anyway and toss the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-shalvis/life-is-one-big-fat-gamble-and-the-odds-are-never-in-your-favor-so/)

[Jill Shalvis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-shalvis/)

> [I wouldn't call myself a coward, no way. But being buried alive is something I could never handle. The only way you'd see me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/usher/i-wouldn-t-call-myself-a-coward-no-way-but-being-buried-alive-is/)

[Usher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/usher/)

> [Using a gun is a coward's way to hurt someone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-walters/using-a-gun-is-a-coward-s-way-to-hurt-someone/)

[Ashley Walters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-walters/)

> [“Now he understood clearly that roads do divide, at the crossroad there is a choice, and blinding oneself to it is a form of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-christian-haugaard/now-he-understood-clearly-that-roads-do-divide-at-the-crossroad-there/)

[Erik Christian Haugaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-christian-haugaard/)

> [“Mr. Vesey, though, he didn't like any kind of talk about heaven. He said that was the coward’s way, pining for life in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/mr-vesey-though-he-didn-t-like-any-kind-of-talk-about-heaven-he-said/)

[Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/)

> [A person who issues that charge that someone adheres to the principle "do as I say, not as I do" has three options: produce…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/a-person-who-issues-that-charge-that-someone-adheres-to-the-principle/)

[Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/)

> [So you were going to rescue the Prince! Why did you pretend to run away? To deceive the Witch?" "Not likely! I'm a coward.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-wynne-jones/so-you-were-going-to-rescue-the-prince-why-did-you-pretend-to-run/)

[Diana Wynne Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-wynne-jones/)

> [“Son, hiding the truth is just the coward's way to lie.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeri-smith-ready/son-hiding-the-truth-is-just-the-coward-s-way-to-lie/)

[Jeri Smith-Ready](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeri-smith-ready/)

> [Nothing seems to matter quite as much. I no longer think about death in the concentrated way I once did. I don't know? you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/nothing-seems-to-matter-quite-as-much-i-no-longer-think-about-death/)

[John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/)

> [I think death is part of all of our lives and everything needs to evolve into something else. Anyway, that's my fatalistic attitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-owens/i-think-death-is-part-of-all-of-our-lives-and-everything-needs-to/)

[Rick Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-owens/)

> [I don't want to die. I think death is a greatly overrated experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-mae-brown/i-don-t-want-to-die-i-think-death-is-a-greatly-overrated-experience/)

[Rita Mae Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-mae-brown/)

> [I think about death all the time. I think that's a good thing because we're all going to die, and the only thing we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-gleason/i-think-about-death-all-the-time-i-think-that-s-a-good-thing-because/)

[Steve Gleason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-gleason/)

> [You would think death was an optional extra nowadays. Nobody wants to tick that box.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/you-would-think-death-was-an-optional-extra-nowadays-nobody-wants-to/)

[David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/)

> [When I think of death, I only regret that I will not be able to see this beautiful country anymore unless the Indians are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-o-keeffe/when-i-think-of-death-i-only-regret-that-i-will-not-be-able-to-see/)

[Georgia O'Keeffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-o-keeffe/)

## More by Gary A. Braunbeck

> [“Love isn't a smiling bride who holds a colorful bouquet and gazes lovingly at her husband; it's a corpse-littered battlefield where the walking wounded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-a-braunbeck/love-isn-t-a-smiling-bride-who-holds-a-colorful-bouquet-and-gazes/)

[Gary A. Braunbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-a-braunbeck/)

> [“A life lived in loneliness is no life at all." -"Mail-Order Annie”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-a-braunbeck/a-life-lived-in-loneliness-is-no-life-at-all-mail-order-annie/)

[Gary A. Braunbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-a-braunbeck/)

> [“You love them all the more for their concern, but wish they'd get it through their heads that there are some people who don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-a-braunbeck/you-love-them-all-the-more-for-their-concern-but-wish-they-d-get-it/)

[Gary A. Braunbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-a-braunbeck/)

> [“Can you understand what it's like to miss something so terribly that you'll accept even the shadow of its memory to keep your heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-a-braunbeck/can-you-understand-what-it-s-like-to-miss-something-so-terribly-that/)

[Gary A. Braunbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-a-braunbeck/)

> [“Take my advice - if you expect no kindness, then you won't be disappointed when none is given; but, Lord, are you all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-a-braunbeck/take-my-advice-if-you-expect-no-kindness-then-you-won-t-be/)

[Gary A. Braunbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-a-braunbeck/)

[Explore all 6 Gary A. Braunbeck quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-a-braunbeck/)

## More Coward quotes

> [Only a coward will use a gun to protect and get respect for themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuel-jal/only-a-coward-will-use-a-gun-to-protect-and-get-respect-for-themselves/)

[Emmanuel Jal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuel-jal/)

> [“The Coward will run away from danger, only to strike in the dark. The Heroine will run through the dark, even though she knows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-a-cleinman/the-coward-will-run-away-from-danger-only-to-strike-in-the-dark-the/)

[David A. Cleinman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-a-cleinman/)

> [“A thousand times a coward and not once a dead man”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suad-amiry/a-thousand-times-a-coward-and-not-once-a-dead-man/)

[Suad Amiry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suad-amiry/)

> [Boasting and bravado may exist in the breast even of the coward, if he is successful through a mere lucky hit; but a just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thucydides/boasting-and-bravado-may-exist-in-the-breast-even-of-the-coward-if-he/)

[Thucydides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thucydides/)

> [“It is true that only a coward can be brave, as a man who feels no fear has conquered nothing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conn-david-iggulden/it-is-true-that-only-a-coward-can-be-brave-as-a-man-who-feels-no-fear/)

[Conn &amp; David Iggulden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conn-david-iggulden/)

> [If you're a generous person, when you get money and fame, you're going to be more generous. If you're a sharer, you're going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-harvey/if-you-re-a-generous-person-when-you-get-money-and-fame-you-re-going/)

[Steve Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-harvey/)

> [Where is the coward that would not dare to fight for such a land as Scotland?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-scott/where-is-the-coward-that-would-not-dare-to-fight-for-such-a-land-as/)

[Walter Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-scott/)

> [“To stand at the very moment when all seems lost is the point of insanity for the coward, but it is the home of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/to-stand-at-the-very-moment-when-all-seems-lost-is-the-point-of/)

[Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/)

> [My advice to you, if you should ever be in a hold up, is to line up with the cowards and save your bravery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/my-advice-to-you-if-you-should-ever-be-in-a-hold-up-is-to-line-up/)

[O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/)

> [People who keep dogs are cowards who haven't got the guts to bite people themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-strindberg/people-who-keep-dogs-are-cowards-who-haven-t-got-the-guts-to-bite/)

[August Strindberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-strindberg/)

> [Is there cowardice with the acknowledgement of fear?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/is-there-cowardice-with-the-acknowledgement-of-fear/)

[Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/)

> [It is the disease of cowards, who do not have the courage to speak upfront and so talk behind one's back... Watch out against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/it-is-the-disease-of-cowards-who-do-not-have-the-courage-to-speak/)

[Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/)

> [If our principles are right, why should we be cowards?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucretia-mott/if-our-principles-are-right-why-should-we-be-cowards/)

[Lucretia Mott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucretia-mott/)

> [I found from working on the film that I am a bigot, at times. And that I am also a coward, at times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terrence-howard/i-found-from-working-on-the-film-that-i-am-a-bigot-at-times-and-that/)

[Terrence Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terrence-howard/)

> [A coward is the kindest animal; 'Tis the most forgiving creature in a fight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/a-coward-is-the-kindest-animal-tis-the-most-forgiving-creature-in-a/)

[John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/)

[Browse all 1,331 Coward quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coward/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“I am not one who believes that killing yourself is necessarily a coward's way out. It is my belief that a body'd have to be in a lot of pain in order to think a death the likes of this was preferable to breathing in the air of one more morning.\" -From \"Matthew in the Morning”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Gary A. Braunbeck"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-a-braunbeck/i-am-not-one-who-believes-that-killing-yourself-is-necessarily-a/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Coward"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-a-braunbeck/i-am-not-one-who-believes-that-killing-yourself-is-necessarily-a/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d8/gary-a-braunbeck-57527_coward_i-am-not-one-who-believes-that-killing-y_2994545.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d8/gary-a-braunbeck-57527_coward_i-am-not-one-who-believes-that-killing-y_2994545.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d8/gary-a-braunbeck-57527_coward_i-am-not-one-who-believes-that-killing-y_2994545.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I am not one who believes that killing yourself is necessarily a coward's way out. It is my belief that a…” — Gary A. Braunbeck",
                "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": "Gary A. Braunbeck",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-a-braunbeck/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“I am not one who believes...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-a-braunbeck/i-am-not-one-who-believes-that-killing-yourself-is-necessarily-a/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-a-braunbeck/i-am-not-one-who-believes-that-killing-yourself-is-necessarily-a/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
