---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It takes strength to remember, it takes…"
description: "\"“It takes strength to remember, it takes another kind of strength to forget, it takes a hero to do both. People who remember court madness through pain..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/060/james-baldwin-995_death_it-takes-strength-to-remember-it-takes-a_1477771.jpg"
---

#  It takes strength to remember, it takes another kind of…

![“It takes strength to remember, it takes another kind of strength to forget, it takes a hero to do both. People who remember court madness through pain, the pain of the perpetually recurring death of their innocence; people who forget court another kind of madness, the madness of the denial of pain…” quote by James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/060/james-baldwin-995_death_it-takes-strength-to-remember-it-takes-a_1477771.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/060/james-baldwin-995_death_it-takes-strength-to-remember-it-takes-a_1477771.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/060/james-baldwin-995_death_it-takes-strength-to-remember-it-takes-a_1477771.jpg)

> ““It takes strength to remember, it takes another kind of strength to forget, it takes a hero to do both. People who remember court madness through pain, the pain of the perpetually recurring death of their innocence; people who forget court another kind of madness, the madness of the denial of pain and the hatred of innocence; and the world is mostly divided between madmen who remember and madmen who forget. Heroes are rare.””

[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.

Distinguishes two kinds of strength: remembering painful truths and forgetting them, suggesting heroism lies in balancing both.

**In simple terms:** Remembering and forgetting both require strength; heroes manage both.

Key Takeaway

Cultivate both memory and release.

Themes

memory forgiveness heroism

Mood

reflective somber

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- grief counseling
- conflict resolution
- personal healing
- leadership training

Key Concepts

psychology trauma resilience

Questions to Reflect On

- When have you needed to remember?
- When have you needed to forget?

A Different Perspective

Neglecting either memory or forgetting can cause imbalance.

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[Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Hero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hero/) [Heroes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heroes/) [Innocence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/innocence/) [Madness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/madness/) [Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) [Strength](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strength/)

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