--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's different to miss somebody when…" description: "\"“It's different to miss somebody when they're still alive. When they die it's like, 'Okay, I'm sad.' You're supposed to be sad. When they just go away,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c5/jerry-stahl-4491_disappear_it-s-different-to-miss-somebody-when-the_2424131.png" --- # It's different to miss somebody when they're still alive… ![“It's different to miss somebody when they're still alive. When they die it's like, 'Okay, I'm sad.' You're supposed to be sad. When they just go away, when they disappear, that's a different thing.” quote by Jerry Stahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c5/jerry-stahl-4491_disappear_it-s-different-to-miss-somebody-when-the_2424131.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c5/jerry-stahl-4491_disappear_it-s-different-to-miss-somebody-when-the_2424131.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c5/jerry-stahl-4491_disappear_it-s-different-to-miss-somebody-when-the_2424131.png) > ““It's different to miss somebody when they're still alive. When they die it's like, 'Okay, I'm sad.' You're supposed to be sad. When they just go away, when they disappear, that's a different thing.”” [Jerry Stahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-stahl/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He distinguishes grief for a living person from the abstract sadness of death, noting a different emotional texture. **In simple terms:** Missing someone alive feels different than mourning death. Key Takeaway Recognize varied forms of loss. Themes grief loss emotional nuance Mood reflective somber Type philosophical emotional When to use this quote - family bereavement - friend moving away - breakup - death of a pet Key Concepts psychology human experience Questions to Reflect On - How do you process different kinds of loss? - What supports help you navigate each? A Different Perspective Grief can be complex and overlapping, not easily categorized. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Miss Somebody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/miss-somebody/) ## Related quotes > [“I think I'm supposed to "take a sad song and make it better," but that's beyond my musical ability”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophia-bennett/i-think-i-m-supposed-to-take-a-sad-song-and-make-it-better-but-that-s/) [Sophia Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophia-bennett/) > [Theres so many things that I want,but cant have.What am I supposed to do when I'm this sad?They wont let me and I cant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/theres-so-many-things-that-i-want-but-cant-have-what-am-i-supposed-to/) [Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/) > [Okay this being sad bullshit is getting old and annoying. Time to start doing what I said I was gonna do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/okay-this-being-sad-bullshit-is-getting-old-and-annoying-time-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It's okay to be sad if things don't go the way you had hoped.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessie-james-decker/it-s-okay-to-be-sad-if-things-don-t-go-the-way-you-had-hoped/) [Jessie James Decker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessie-james-decker/) > [Even a happy life has a sad day. We fail to provide a context which says it's okay to cry, it's okay to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/even-a-happy-life-has-a-sad-day-we-fail-to-provide-a-context-which/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [“First, it’s okay to be sad. It’s okay to feel things. Remember that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-mcguire/first-it-s-okay-to-be-sad-it-s-okay-to-feel-things-remember-that/) [Jamie McGuire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-mcguire/) > [“It's okay to be sad. Everyone gets sad now and then. Even me." "But you're a grown-up." "Grown-ups get sad, too.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/it-s-okay-to-be-sad-everyone-gets-sad-now-and-then-even-me-but-you-re/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) > [If you're at school, children who play football, you give everything to win... If you don't succeed, that's a huge disappointment. Then it's okay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arjen-robben/if-you-re-at-school-children-who-play-football-you-give-everything-to/) [Arjen Robben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arjen-robben/) > [It's okay to be sad. Everyone gets sad now and then. Even me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/it-s-okay-to-be-sad-everyone-gets-sad-now-and-then-even-me/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) > [It is sheer good fortune to miss somebody long before they leave you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/it-is-sheer-good-fortune-to-miss-somebody-long-before-they-leave-you/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [I can't take not knowing what the next day will bring- the uncertainty is sawing me in two. The room is dark. A flickering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pittacus-lore/i-can-t-take-not-knowing-what-the-next-day-will-bring-the-uncertainty/) [Pittacus Lore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pittacus-lore/) > [“The worst way to miss somebody, is when they're right beside you and you miss them anyway - I am number 4”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pittacus-lore/the-worst-way-to-miss-somebody-is-when-they-re-right-beside-you-and/) [Pittacus Lore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pittacus-lore/) > [Thats the worst way to miss somebody. When theyre right beside you and you miss them anyway.à](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pittacus-lore/thats-the-worst-way-to-miss-somebody-when-theyre-right-beside-you-and/) [Pittacus Lore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pittacus-lore/) > [“Finally she said, "When I grow up, I'm going to live out here. I'll probably be a Miss Somebody, too..." Don't grow up," I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianna-baggott/finally-she-said-when-i-grow-up-i-m-going-to-live-out-here-i-ll/) [Julianna Baggott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianna-baggott/) > [When you miss somebody, you miss somebody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lil-boosie/when-you-miss-somebody-you-miss-somebody/) [Lil Boosie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lil-boosie/) ## More by Jerry Stahl > [“This was, I sometimes thought, the last gift my father gave me. And the best: His death stood out as the supreme-o excuse for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-stahl/this-was-i-sometimes-thought-the-last-gift-my-father-gave-me-and-the/) [Jerry Stahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-stahl/) > [I think there's a phenomenon of people who want to be around something that seems "dangerous." It makes them feel more real.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-stahl/i-think-there-s-a-phenomenon-of-people-who-want-to-be-around/) [Jerry Stahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-stahl/) > [I always figured I myself would never be lucky enough to die, I'd just live on and on in this increasingly dreary spiral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-stahl/i-always-figured-i-myself-would-never-be-lucky-enough-to-die-i-d-just/) [Jerry Stahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-stahl/) > [“Not until I stopped doing drugs altogether did I feel like a man. Not until I walked out of that fire did I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-stahl/not-until-i-stopped-doing-drugs-altogether-did-i-feel-like-a-man-not/) [Jerry Stahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-stahl/) > [“This book, for me, is less an exercise in recall than exorcism.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-stahl/this-book-for-me-is-less-an-exercise-in-recall-than-exorcism/) [Jerry Stahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-stahl/) > [“Not doing something crude right off is about as close as a guy like me ever gets to class.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-stahl/not-doing-something-crude-right-off-is-about-as-close-as-a-guy-like/) [Jerry Stahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-stahl/) > [A waft of sweet hash drifted by, and I wanted to float after it like Wimpy levitating at the scent of a hamburger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-stahl/a-waft-of-sweet-hash-drifted-by-and-i-wanted-to-float-after-it-like/) [Jerry Stahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-stahl/) > [I always tell myself, when I remember the non-stop self-generated hell party that used to be my life, I wouldn't be here if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-stahl/i-always-tell-myself-when-i-remember-the-non-stop-self-generated-hell/) [Jerry Stahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-stahl/) > [My own theory is that people are just so desperate for somebody they can feel better than, in America. Now that everyone's going broke…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-stahl/my-own-theory-is-that-people-are-just-so-desperate-for-somebody-they/) [Jerry Stahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-stahl/) > [“...with enough rock in your system, you could hear every noise in the universe.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-stahl/with-enough-rock-in-your-system-you-could-hear-every-noise-in-the/) [Jerry Stahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-stahl/) > [I think that a lot of people are in love with stress. It's the dirty little secret of Western civilization. People often mistake stress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-stahl/i-think-that-a-lot-of-people-are-in-love-with-stress-it-s-the-dirty/) [Jerry Stahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-stahl/) > [“There are stories you don't want to tell, and there are stories that scald your brainpan right down to the tongue at the mere…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-stahl/there-are-stories-you-don-t-want-to-tell-and-there-are-stories-that/) [Jerry Stahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-stahl/) > [Heroin spread that soft blanket over everything. But once the blanket was ripped off, it took a layer of skin with it, leaving nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-stahl/heroin-spread-that-soft-blanket-over-everything-but-once-the-blanket/) [Jerry Stahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-stahl/) > [“In some odd gush of patriotism, my mother had once vomited on the Liberty Bell, the Statue of Liberty, and a bust of Benjamin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-stahl/in-some-odd-gush-of-patriotism-my-mother-had-once-vomited-on-the/) [Jerry Stahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-stahl/) > [“Being a junkie, when you broke it down, was nothing more than a crazed day job.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-stahl/being-a-junkie-when-you-broke-it-down-was-nothing-more-than-a-crazed/) [Jerry Stahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-stahl/) [Explore all 110 Jerry Stahl quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-stahl/) ## More Disappear quotes > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [I'm at the edge of the world, Where do I go from here? Do I disappear? Edge of the world, Should I sink or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bring-me-the-horizon/i-m-at-the-edge-of-the-world-where-do-i-go-from-here-do-i-disappear/) [Bring Me The Horizon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bring-me-the-horizon/) > [Nothing old is ever reborn but neither does it totally disappear. 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Remove the judgment and the pain disappears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/pain-results-from-a-judgment-you-have-made-about-a-thing-remove-the/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [“I am disappearing, maybe I'm already gone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-niven/i-am-disappearing-maybe-i-m-already-gone/) [Jennifer Niven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-niven/) > [“Must a people disappear for us to know they exist? Mano Dayak”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mano-dayak/must-a-people-disappear-for-us-to-know-they-exist-mano-dayak/) Mano Dayak > [When I step into the batters box. The fans, the noise, the cheers, they all disappear. 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Kerry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kerry/) > [Although I don't have anything against people from other countries, the higher the influx into England the more the British identity disappears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/although-i-don-t-have-anything-against-people-from-other-countries/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't like magic - but I have been known to make guys disappear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mr-t/i-don-t-like-magic-but-i-have-been-known-to-make-guys-disappear/) [Mr. T](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mr-t/) > [It is almost impossible to overestimate the value of true humility and its power in the spiritual life. 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But once I actually have a guitar in my hands, I think I disappear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-orcutt/i-definitely-have-a-different-perspective-on-music-in-general-but/) [Bill Orcutt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-orcutt/) Browse all 2,209 Disappear quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It's different to miss somebody when they're still alive. When they die it's like, 'Okay, I'm sad.' You're supposed to be sad. 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