--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Was there ever in anyone's life span a…" description: "\"Was there ever in anyone's life span a point free in time, devoid of memory, a night when choice was any more than the sum of all the choices gone befo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/809/joan-didion-497_choice_was-there-ever-in-anyone-s-life-span-a-p_1076705.jpg" --- # Was there ever in anyone's life span a point free in time… ![“Was there ever in anyone's life span a point free in time, devoid of memory, a night when choice was any more than the sum of all the choices gone before?” quote by Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/809/joan-didion-497_choice_was-there-ever-in-anyone-s-life-span-a-p_1076705.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/809/joan-didion-497_choice_was-there-ever-in-anyone-s-life-span-a-p_1076705.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/809/joan-didion-497_choice_was-there-ever-in-anyone-s-life-span-a-p_1076705.jpg) > “Was there ever in anyone's life span a point free in time, devoid of memory, a night when choice was any more than the sum of all the choices gone before?” [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reflects on moments when memory fades and choices feel predetermined, questioning free will. **In simple terms:** Even when memory fades, choices feel predetermined. Key Takeaway Recognize the influence of past decisions. Themes memory choice determinism philosophy Mood contemplative melancholic Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - personal reflection - creative writing - psychology - philosophical debate Key Concepts existentialism free will temporal perception Questions to Reflect On - How do you define free will when past choices shape the present? - Can moments without memory be truly free? A Different Perspective Memory gaps may distort perception of agency. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Choice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choice/) [Choices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choices/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life span](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-span/) [Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) [Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“Was there ever in anyone's life span a point free in time, devoid of memory, a point when choice was any more than sum…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/was-there-ever-in-anyone-s-life-span-a-point-free-in-time-devoid-of/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [What would the future of man be if it were devoid of memory?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/what-would-the-future-of-man-be-if-it-were-devoid-of-memory/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [“Come morning, his memory would be of a night spent watching over them all. 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Jay Olshansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-jay-olshansky/) > [“Every hour of television that a person watches after the age of twenty-five, the researchers concluded, potentially snips twenty-two minutes off of the viewer's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretchen-reynolds/every-hour-of-television-that-a-person-watches-after-the-age-of/) Gretchen Reynolds > [In one century, we've added 28 years to our average life span - a change so rapid that our brains couldn't possibly have evolved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/in-one-century-we-ve-added-28-years-to-our-average-life-span-a-change/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [“The soul of every living being, including human, has a much longer life span than his carnal body. It usually takes few journeys through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevan-v-nikolic/the-soul-of-every-living-being-including-human-has-a-much-longer-life/) [Stevan V. 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I was crazy about reading biographies. \[...\] I think biographies are very urgent… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-read-so-ravenously-that-i-would-read-through-whole-categories-i-was/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [To those of us who remained committed mainly to the exploration of moral distinctions and ambiguities, the feminist analysis may have seemed a particularly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/to-those-of-us-who-remained-committed-mainly-to-the-exploration-of/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) [Explore all 515 Joan Didion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) ## More Choice quotes > [Making the right decision is hard,telling someone your decision is even harder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhishek-tiwari/making-the-right-decision-is-hard-telling-someone-your-decision-is/) [Abhishek Tiwari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhishek-tiwari/) > [“That’s all! 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That way, no matter how hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-angelini/exactly-so-what-can-t-you-take-decide-which-of-the-two-options-is/) [Josephine Angelini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-angelini/) > [“too—I realized that my only hope was to give up the life that had been, in order to make room for the life that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-lesser/too-i-realized-that-my-only-hope-was-to-give-up-the-life-that-had/) [Elizabeth Lesser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-lesser/) > [When you have a choice, choose happy!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pancho-barnes/when-you-have-a-choice-choose-happy/) Pancho Barnes > [You dont choose your life; it chooses you. Theres no point asking why life has reserved certain joys or griefs, you just accept them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/you-dont-choose-your-life-it-chooses-you-theres-no-point-asking-why/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [There has always been a feeling with people that they love my singing but not always the choice of material.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-moyet/there-has-always-been-a-feeling-with-people-that-they-love-my-singing/) [Alison Moyet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-moyet/) > [I have too many options when it comes to guitars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-nielsen/i-have-too-many-options-when-it-comes-to-guitars/) [Rick Nielsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-nielsen/) > [“Amazing how a small choice can change your life forever.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-c-dockens/amazing-how-a-small-choice-can-change-your-life-forever/) Randy C. 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