--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am writing this book because we're all…" description: "\"I am writing this book because we're all going to die - In the loneliness of my own life, my father dead, my brother dead, my mother faraway, my sister..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/619/jack-kerouac-182_attention_i-am-writing-this-book-because-we-re-all_2276093.jpg" --- # I am writing this book because we're all going to die - In… ![“I am writing this book because we're all going to die - In the loneliness of my own life, my father dead, my brother dead, my mother faraway, my sister and my wife far away, nothing here but my own tragic hands that once were guarded by a world, a sweet attention, that now are left to guide and…” quote by Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/619/jack-kerouac-182_attention_i-am-writing-this-book-because-we-re-all_2276093.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/619/jack-kerouac-182_attention_i-am-writing-this-book-because-we-re-all_2276093.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/619/jack-kerouac-182_attention_i-am-writing-this-book-because-we-re-all_2276093.jpg) > “I am writing this book because we're all going to die - In the loneliness of my own life, my father dead, my brother dead, my mother faraway, my sister and my wife far away, nothing here but my own tragic hands that once were guarded by a world, a sweet attention, that now are left to guide and disappear their own way into the common dark of all our deaths, sleeping in me raw bed, alone and stupid: with just this one pride and consolation: my broke heart in the general despair and opened up inwards to the Lord, I made a supplication in this dream” [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author reflects on personal loss and existential loneliness, seeking solace in faith amid pervasive death and isolation. **In simple terms:** Facing death and solitude, he finds comfort in prayer and inner strength. Key Takeaway Turn to inner faith when overwhelmed by loss. Themes loneliness grief faith existentialism solace Mood somber reflective Type personal existential When to use this quote - writing a memoir - grieving a loved one - seeking meaning after loss - contemplating mortality Key Concepts mortality spiritual yearning psychological isolation Questions to Reflect On - How does faith help you process grief? - What practical steps can complement spiritual solace? A Different Perspective The narrative may romanticize suffering, overlooking practical coping strategies. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) [Away Tragic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/away-tragic-5294017/) [Bed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bed/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Broke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/broke/) [Brother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brother/) [Common](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common/) [Consolation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consolation/) [Dark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dark/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Despair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despair/) [Die Loneliness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/die-loneliness-480563/) [Disappear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disappear/) [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Far away](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/far-away/) [Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father/) [Guarded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guarded/) [Guides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guides/) [Hands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hands/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Heart broke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart-broke/) [Loneliness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loneliness/) [Lord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lord/) [Made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made/) [Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother/) [My brother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/my-brother/) [My sister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/my-sister/) [My wife](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/my-wife/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Pride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pride/) [Pride Consolation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pride-consolation-5294016/) [Sleep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sleep/) [Sleeping in](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sleeping-in/) [Stupid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stupid/) [Supplication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/supplication/) [Sweet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sweet/) [Tragic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tragic/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Wife](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wife/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Mandarin ducks mate for life and will die of loneliness if separated from their chosen mate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/mandarin-ducks-mate-for-life-and-will-die-of-loneliness-if-separated/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I took one of my hands in the other, tried to imagine what it would feel like if it was another person's hand holding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/i-took-one-of-my-hands-in-the-other-tried-to-imagine-what-it-would/) [Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/) > [We are all born alone and die alone. The loneliness is definitely part of the journey of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenova-chen/we-are-all-born-alone-and-die-alone-the-loneliness-is-definitely-part/) [Jenova Chen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenova-chen/) > [There are moments when, without Internet, even the non-solitaries would die from loneliness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-malfatti/there-are-moments-when-without-internet-even-the-non-solitaries-would/) [Jean-Paul Malfatti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-malfatti/) > [I am Manuel. I have lived in the loneliness which is common to all men, but the difference is that I have known it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-branch-cabell/i-am-manuel-i-have-lived-in-the-loneliness-which-is-common-to-all-men/) [James Branch Cabell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-branch-cabell/) > [When the Gauls laid waste Rome, they found the senators clothed in their robes, and seated in stern tranquillity in their curule chairs; in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/when-the-gauls-laid-waste-rome-they-found-the-senators-clothed-in/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [It's not about supplication, it's about power. It's not about asking, it's about demanding. It's not about convincing those who are currently in power,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberle-williams-crenshaw/it-s-not-about-supplication-it-s-about-power-it-s-not-about-asking-it/) [Kimberle Williams Crenshaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberle-williams-crenshaw/) > [The great thing in prayer is to feel that we are putting our supplications into the bosom of omnipotent love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-murray/the-great-thing-in-prayer-is-to-feel-that-we-are-putting-our/) [Andrew Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-murray/) > [My fervent supplications to that Almighty Being who rules over the universe; who presides in the councils of nations; and whose providential aid can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/my-fervent-supplications-to-that-almighty-being-who-rules-over-the/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [It is God’s will through His wonderful grace, that the prayers of His saints should be one of the great principal means of carrying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-edwards/it-is-god-s-will-through-his-wonderful-grace-that-the-prayers-of-his/) [Jonathan Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-edwards/) > [We ought to be as earnest and frequent in our prayers of thanksgiving when the cupboard is full as we would be in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-bridges/we-ought-to-be-as-earnest-and-frequent-in-our-prayers-of-thanksgiving/) [Jerry Bridges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-bridges/) > [I'm gonna abandon my spirit to them, which is actually what I attempt to do. You work yourself up into that state and you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lee-roth/i-m-gonna-abandon-my-spirit-to-them-which-is-actually-what-i-attempt/) [David Lee Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lee-roth/) > [The reason so many people do not pray is because of its cost. The cost is not so much in the sweat of agonizing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-chadwick/the-reason-so-many-people-do-not-pray-is-because-of-its-cost-the-cost/) [Samuel Chadwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-chadwick/) > [Shane lowered his glasses on his nose and gave me his version of a severe stare. I leaned a little toward Luther. "Is this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilona-andrews/shane-lowered-his-glasses-on-his-nose-and-gave-me-his-version-of-a/) [Ilona Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilona-andrews/) > [As we look upon that agony and those tearful prayers, let us not only look with thankfulness; but let that kneeling Saviour teach us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-maclaren/as-we-look-upon-that-agony-and-those-tearful-prayers-let-us-not-only/) [Alexander MacLaren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-maclaren/) ## More by Jack Kerouac > [Bein Crazy is the least of my worries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/bein-crazy-is-the-least-of-my-worries/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [I'm Catholic and I can't commit suicide, but I plan to drink myself to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/i-m-catholic-and-i-can-t-commit-suicide-but-i-plan-to-drink-myself-to/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [The Beat Generation, that was a vision that we had, John Clellon Holmes and I, and Allen Ginsberg in an even wilder way, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/the-beat-generation-that-was-a-vision-that-we-had-john-clellon-holmes/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [But, outside of being a sweet little girl, she was awfully dumb and capable of doing horrible things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/but-outside-of-being-a-sweet-little-girl-she-was-awfully-dumb-and/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [“For when you realized that God is Everything you know that you've got to love everything no matter how bad it is, in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/for-when-you-realized-that-god-is-everything-you-know-that-you-ve-got/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [“I'm an idealist who has outgrown my idealism I have nothing to do the rest of my life but do it and the rest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/i-m-an-idealist-who-has-outgrown-my-idealism-i-have-nothing-to-do-the/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [“Most of them were running away from something―usually the law.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/most-of-them-were-running-away-from-something-usually-the-law/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [“Non lo so, non importa e non fa nessuna differenza.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/non-lo-so-non-importa-e-non-fa-nessuna-differenza/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [“And in the flush of the first few days of joy I confidently tell myself (not expecting what I'll do in three weeks only)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/and-in-the-flush-of-the-first-few-days-of-joy-i-confidently-tell/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [I want a blaze of light to flame in me forever in a timeless, dear love of everything. And why should I pretend to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/i-want-a-blaze-of-light-to-flame-in-me-forever-in-a-timeless-dear/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [“For the next week that was all I heard - manana, a lovely word and one that probably means heaven.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/for-the-next-week-that-was-all-i-heard-manana-a-lovely-word-and-one/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [“O how wonderful life is, how miraculous, God made this and God made that", "how do you know he doesn't hate what He did:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/o-how-wonderful-life-is-how-miraculous-god-made-this-and-god-made/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [Notoriety and public confession in the literary form is a frazzler of the heart you were born with, believe me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/notoriety-and-public-confession-in-the-literary-form-is-a-frazzler-of/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [I promise I shall never give up, and that I'll die yelling & laughing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/i-promise-i-shall-never-give-up-and-that-i-ll-die-yelling-laughing/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [“The hot water pools are steaming, Fagan and Monsanto and the others are all sitting peacefully up to their necks, they're all naked, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/the-hot-water-pools-are-steaming-fagan-and-monsanto-and-the-others/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) [Explore all 936 Jack Kerouac quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) ## More Attention quotes > [It appears to me that one great cause of our difference in opinion on subjects which we often discuss is that you have always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ricardo/it-appears-to-me-that-one-great-cause-of-our-difference-in-opinion-on/) [David Ricardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ricardo/) > [People pay far too much attention to the television and they're quite literal in some ways. At the beginning, when I was playing very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ardal-o-hanlon/people-pay-far-too-much-attention-to-the-television-and-they-re-quite/) [Ardal O'Hanlon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ardal-o-hanlon/) > [Television, radio, social media. The 24/7 news cycle plows forward mercilessly on our desks, in our cars and in our pockets. Thousands and thousands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-prince/television-radio-social-media-the-24-7-news-cycle-plows-forward/) [Joseph Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-prince/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-inventions-are-wont-to-be-pretty-toys-which-distract-our/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [What people don't normally know about us is the hustle is very real, and it's sorely driven a lot by how we consider ourselves.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lzzy-hale/what-people-don-t-normally-know-about-us-is-the-hustle-is-very-real/) [Lzzy Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lzzy-hale/) > [For me, the term "psychotherapy" is limiting. It implies that we work with mind and emotions, but excludes the body and pays scant attention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-diamond/for-me-the-term-psychotherapy-is-limiting-it-implies-that-we-work/) [Jed Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-diamond/) > [When you approach something to photograph it, first be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence. Then don't leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/when-you-approach-something-to-photograph-it-first-be-still-with/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [I'm writing about real things. Real people. Real characters. You have to believe what I write about is true or you wouldn't pay any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-reed/i-m-writing-about-real-things-real-people-real-characters-you-have-to/) [Lou Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-reed/) > [ I went to a mosque in Philadelphia with \[my wife\] in December 24, 1999. And we we went to this mosque in Philly, and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahershala-ali/i-went-to-a-mosque-in-philadelphia-with-my-wife-in-december-24-1999/) [Mahershala Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahershala-ali/) > [The Harvard Business Review recently had an article called 'The Human Moment,' about how to make real contact with a person at work: ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-goleman/the-harvard-business-review-recently-had-an-article-called-the-human/) [Daniel Goleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-goleman/) > [Let us thank God heartily as often as we pray that we have His Spirit in us to teach us to pray. Thanksgiving will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-murray/let-us-thank-god-heartily-as-often-as-we-pray-that-we-have-his-spirit/) [Andy Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-murray/) > [Enlightened people live in very charged states of attention, with a tremendous power circuiting through them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/enlightened-people-live-in-very-charged-states-of-attention-with-a/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [We must have a welfare system that we can afford, which will mean giving greater attention to directing the welfare program toward its primary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-portillo/we-must-have-a-welfare-system-that-we-can-afford-which-will-mean/) [Michael Portillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-portillo/) > [The director's job should give you a sense of music without drawing attention to itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-hackford/the-director-s-job-should-give-you-a-sense-of-music-without-drawing/) [Taylor Hackford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-hackford/) [Browse all 10,153 Attention quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I am writing this book because we're all going to die - In the loneliness of my own life, my father dead, my brother dead, my mother faraway, my sister and my wife far away, nothing here but my own tragic hands that once were guarded by a world, a sweet attention, that now are left to guide and disappear their own way into the common dark of all our deaths, sleeping in me raw bed, alone and stupid: with just this one pride and consolation: my broke heart in the general despair and opened up inwards to the Lord, I made a supplication in this dream", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jack Kerouac" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/i-am-writing-this-book-because-we-re-all-going-to-die-in-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Attention" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/i-am-writing-this-book-because-we-re-all-going-to-die-in-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/619/jack-kerouac-182_attention_i-am-writing-this-book-because-we-re-all_2276093.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/619/jack-kerouac-182_attention_i-am-writing-this-book-because-we-re-all_2276093.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/619/jack-kerouac-182_attention_i-am-writing-this-book-because-we-re-all_2276093.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I am writing this book because we're all going to die - In the loneliness of my own life, my father dead, my…” — Jack Kerouac", "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": "Jack Kerouac", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I am writing this book because...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/i-am-writing-this-book-because-we-re-all-going-to-die-in-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/i-am-writing-this-book-because-we-re-all-going-to-die-in-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 } } ] } ```