--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I did not tell him my decision, that…" description: "\"“I did not tell him my decision, that would have broken my will. I did not wait to have breakfast with him but only drank some coffee and made an excus..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71a/james-baldwin-995_every-day_i-did-not-tell-him-my-decision-that-woul_345312.jpg" --- # I did not tell him my decision, that would have broken my… ![“I did not tell him my decision, that would have broken my will. I did not wait to have breakfast with him but only drank some coffee and made an excuse to go home. I knew the excuse did not fool Joey; but he did not know how to protest or insist; he did not know that this was all he needed to have…” quote by James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71a/james-baldwin-995_every-day_i-did-not-tell-him-my-decision-that-woul_345312.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71a/james-baldwin-995_every-day_i-did-not-tell-him-my-decision-that-woul_345312.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71a/james-baldwin-995_every-day_i-did-not-tell-him-my-decision-that-woul_345312.jpg) > ““I did not tell him my decision, that would have broken my will. I did not wait to have breakfast with him but only drank some coffee and made an excuse to go home. I knew the excuse did not fool Joey; but he did not know how to protest or insist; he did not know that this was all he needed to have done. Then I, who had seen him that summer nearly every day till then, no longer went to see him. He did not come to see me. I would have been very happy to see him if he had, but the manner of my leavetaking had begun a constriction which neither of us knew how to arrest. When I finally did see him, more or less by accident, near the end of the summer, I made up a long and totally untrue story about a girl I was going with and when school began again I picked up with a rougher, older crowd and was very nasty to Joey. And the sadder this made him, the nastier I became. He moved away at last, out of the neighborhood, away from our school, and I never saw him again.”” [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A narrator avoids confronting his feelings, leading to a cycle of avoidance and hurt for both parties. **In simple terms:** Avoiding truth harms relationships. Key Takeaway Face emotions directly. Themes relationships avoidance communication Mood regretful reflective sad Type narrative emotional When to use this quote - confession - friendship - breakup - reconciliation - personal growth Key Concepts psychology self‑deception emotional avoidance Questions to Reflect On - What truth are you avoiding? - How could honesty change this dynamic? A Different Perspective Avoidance may temporarily ease discomfort but deepens pain. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Coffee Excuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coffee-excuse-3201036/) [Did Tell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/did-tell-277152/) [Every day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/every-day/) [Excuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excuse/) [Excuse Did](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excuse-did-2135501/) [Knew Excuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knew-excuse-3201035/) ## Related quotes > [“Excuse me. What did you say to me? 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