--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Louise, I would gladly fire the past for…" description: "\"Louise, I would gladly fire the past for you, go and not look back. I have been reckless before, never counting the cost, oblivious to the cost. Now, I..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/066/jeanette-winterson-166_accumulation_louise-i-would-gladly-fire-the-past-for_2938895.jpg" --- # Louise, I would gladly fire the past for you, go and not… ![“Louise, I would gladly fire the past for you, go and not look back. I have been reckless before, never counting the cost, oblivious to the cost. Now, I've done the sums ahead. I know what it will mean to redeem myself from the accumulations of a lifetime. I know and I don't care. You set before me…” quote by Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/066/jeanette-winterson-166_accumulation_louise-i-would-gladly-fire-the-past-for_2938895.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/066/jeanette-winterson-166_accumulation_louise-i-would-gladly-fire-the-past-for_2938895.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/066/jeanette-winterson-166_accumulation_louise-i-would-gladly-fire-the-past-for_2938895.jpg) > “Louise, I would gladly fire the past for you, go and not look back. I have been reckless before, never counting the cost, oblivious to the cost. Now, I've done the sums ahead. I know what it will mean to redeem myself from the accumulations of a lifetime. I know and I don't care. You set before me a space uncluttered by association. It might be a void or it might be a release. Certainly I want to take the risk. I want to take the risk because the life I have stored up is going mouldy.” [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker embraces risk to shed past burdens and start anew, valuing calculated change over reckless past. **In simple terms:** Embrace risk to leave past behind. Key Takeaway Take calculated risks to renew life. Themes risk renewal self‑redemption Mood reflective determined Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career transition - creative projects - personal reinvention Key Concepts personal growth choice future orientation Questions to Reflect On - What past burden will you let go? - How can you ensure your risk is purposeful? A Different Perspective Risk can lead to unforeseen loss if not truly calculated. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accumulation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accumulation/) [Care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/care/) [Counting the cost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/counting-the-cost/) [Fire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fire/) [Lifetime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lifetime/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Reckless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reckless/) [Risk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/risk/) [Space](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/space/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Void](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/void/) ## Related quotes > [So you want to take the risk, and you want to step out there; you do it because that's what we have to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corey-hawkins/so-you-want-to-take-the-risk-and-you-want-to-step-out-there-you-do-it/) [Corey Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corey-hawkins/) > [The second thing we did was said, OK, we've now identified the risk, but what do you want to do with the money? Because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chertoff/the-second-thing-we-did-was-said-ok-we-ve-now-identified-the-risk-but/) [Michael Chertoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chertoff/) > [That's the good part of dying; when you've nothing to lose, you run any risk you want.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-good-part-of-dying-when-you-ve-nothing-to-lose-you-run-any/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [Life is all about taking risk to get what you want.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-lambert/life-is-all-about-taking-risk-to-get-what-you-want/) [Adam Lambert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-lambert/) > [Take risk to get where you want to be. Put as much effort in what you do. Hold on to everything you got, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/makai1k5/take-risk-to-get-where-you-want-to-be-put-as-much-effort-in-what-you/) [Makai1k5](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/makai1k5/) > [Staying vulnerable is a risk we have to take if we want to experience connection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/staying-vulnerable-is-a-risk-we-have-to-take-if-we-want-to-experience/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) > [You got to risk it if you want the biscuit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/len-goodman/you-got-to-risk-it-if-you-want-the-biscuit/) [Len Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/len-goodman/) > [I want someone who puts the whole ball of wax at risk. I want the kind of marriage where we would follow each other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/polly-horvath/i-want-someone-who-puts-the-whole-ball-of-wax-at-risk-i-want-the-kind/) [Polly Horvath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/polly-horvath/) > [Any time you do anything different in this life, it's risky. But I've only done things differently, and it's gotten me quite far. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giada-de-laurentiis/any-time-you-do-anything-different-in-this-life-it-s-risky-but-i-ve/) [Giada De Laurentiis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giada-de-laurentiis/) > [Sometimes you have to take a risk if you want great things to happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-pulisic/sometimes-you-have-to-take-a-risk-if-you-want-great-things-to-happen/) [Christian Pulisic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-pulisic/) > [You can't come up against the world's most powerful intelligence agencies and not accept the risk. If they want to get you, over time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/you-can-t-come-up-against-the-world-s-most-powerful-intelligence-2/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [Teach us, Good Lord, to give and not count the cost; to fight and not to heed the wounds; to toil and not to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/teach-us-good-lord-to-give-and-not-count-the-cost-to-fight-and-not-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Don’t be too scared to calculate risks”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/don-t-be-too-scared-to-calculate-risks/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [“Never mind. Never mind. In this brief life, one cannot always be counting the cost.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-isherwood/never-mind-never-mind-in-this-brief-life-one-cannot-always-be/) [Christopher Isherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-isherwood/) > [Is it not manifest that our academic institutions should have a wider scope; that they should not be timid and keep the ruts of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/is-it-not-manifest-that-our-academic-institutions-should-have-a-wider/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) ## More by Jeanette Winterson > [“After nine nights must come ten and every desperate meeting only leaves you desperate for another. There is never enough to eat, never enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/after-nine-nights-must-come-ten-and-every-desperate-meeting-only/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [You never give away your heart; you lend it from time to time. If it were not so, how could we take it back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/you-never-give-away-your-heart-you-lend-it-from-time-to-time-if-it/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [I have found that I am not a space where people want to live, at least not without decorating first.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/i-have-found-that-i-am-not-a-space-where-people-want-to-live-at-least/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“Yes. Just pass me my leg will you? 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If what I feel is not precise than how should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/it-s-the-cliches-that-cause-the-trouble-a-precise-emotion-seeks-a/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [What would it have meant to be happy? What would it have meant if things had been bright, clear, good between us?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/what-would-it-have-meant-to-be-happy-what-would-it-have-meant-if/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“Mrs Ratlow was a widow, and she was head of English, but she still did all the cooking and cleaning for her two sons,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/mrs-ratlow-was-a-widow-and-she-was-head-of-english-but-she-still-did/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“I shall have nowt to talk to now the baby is boiled.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/i-shall-have-nowt-to-talk-to-now-the-baby-is-boiled/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“What art does is to coax us away from the mechanical and towards the miraculous. The so-called uselessness of art is a clue to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/what-art-does-is-to-coax-us-away-from-the-mechanical-and-towards-the/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [Happy Valentines Day to those who have found love, in whatever shape or form, and to those who are still hunting, don’t give up.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/happy-valentines-day-to-those-who-have-found-love-in-whatever-shape/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“It took me a long time to realise that there are two kinds of writing: the one you write and the one that writes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/it-took-me-a-long-time-to-realise-that-there-are-two-kinds-of-writing/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [A curse on this game. How can you stick at a game when the rules keep on changing? 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Adulthood is a series of lines crossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-goodman/age-is-an-accumulation-of-life-and-loss-adulthood-is-a-series-of/) [Ellen Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-goodman/) > [Before World War II, I was living a very cloistered existence, as most cartoonists do. 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It is more like an accumulation of tendencies that can lock us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-kabat-zinn/karma-is-often-wrongly-confused-with-the-notion-of-a-fixed-destiny-it/) [Jon Kabat-Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-kabat-zinn/) > [There has been, for some reason (or more likely an unfortunate accumulation of reasons) a trend over the past several decades for parents to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-hax/there-has-been-for-some-reason-or-more-likely-an-unfortunate/) [Carolyn Hax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-hax/) > [Ageing is, simply and clearly, the accumulation of damage in the body. That's all that ageing is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aubrey-de-grey/ageing-is-simply-and-clearly-the-accumulation-of-damage-in-the-body/) [Aubrey de Grey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aubrey-de-grey/) > [For me, personally, there is one really interesting thing. You're all a bit too young for that, but when you get to a certain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christoph-waltz/for-me-personally-there-is-one-really-interesting-thing-you-re-all-a/) [Christoph Waltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christoph-waltz/) > [The mounting burden of taxation not only undermines individual incentives to increased work and earnings, but in a score of ways discourages capital accumulation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-hazlitt/the-mounting-burden-of-taxation-not-only-undermines-individual/) [Henry Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-hazlitt/) > [When the accumulation of wealth is no longer of high social importance, there will be great changes in the code of morals. We shall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maynard-keynes/when-the-accumulation-of-wealth-is-no-longer-of-high-social/) [John Maynard Keynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maynard-keynes/) > [The native American has been generally despised by his white conquerors for his poverty and simplicity. They forget, perhaps, that his religion forbade the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-alexander-eastman/the-native-american-has-been-generally-despised-by-his-white/) [Charles Alexander Eastman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-alexander-eastman/) > [The soul lives forever by giving, not receiving. This is the grand paradox. You get most by giving most. Conversely, by receiving much you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-johnson/the-soul-lives-forever-by-giving-not-receiving-this-is-the-grand/) [Julian Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-johnson/) > [Forgiveness of the present is even more important than forgiveness of the past. If you forgive every moment - allow it to be as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/forgiveness-of-the-present-is-even-more-important-than-forgiveness-of/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [Too much and too long, we seem to have surrendered community excellence and community values in the mere accumulation of material things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kennedy/too-much-and-too-long-we-seem-to-have-surrendered-community/) [Robert Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kennedy/) [Browse all 412 Accumulation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accumulation/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Louise, I would gladly fire the past for you, go and not look back. I have been reckless before, never counting the cost, oblivious to the cost. Now, I've done the sums ahead. I know what it will mean to redeem myself from the accumulations of a lifetime. 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