--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you've lived through it, you already…" description: "\"If you've lived through it, you already know there are no words that will ever come close to describing it, and if you didn't - you will never understa..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/137/jodi-picoult-45_describing_if-you-ve-lived-through-it-you-already-k_2561948.jpg" --- # If you've lived through it, you already know there are no… ![“If you've lived through it, you already know there are no words that will ever come close to describing it, and if you didn't - you will never understand.” quote by Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/137/jodi-picoult-45_describing_if-you-ve-lived-through-it-you-already-k_2561948.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/137/jodi-picoult-45_describing_if-you-ve-lived-through-it-you-already-k_2561948.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/137/jodi-picoult-45_describing_if-you-ve-lived-through-it-you-already-k_2561948.jpg) > “If you've lived through it, you already know there are no words that will ever come close to describing it, and if you didn't - you will never understand.” [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Conveys that lived experience conveys depths words cannot capture, and only those who have endured can truly understand. **In simple terms:** Experience transcends description. Key Takeaway Listen to lived stories. Themes empathy experience language understanding Mood compassionate somber Type reflective inspirational When to use this quote - grief counseling - war trauma - cultural exchange Key Concepts phenomenology narrative empathy Questions to Reflect On - What experiences have you struggled to articulate? - How can you better support those who cannot speak? A Different Perspective Words can still help bridge gaps when used sensitively. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Describing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/describing/) [Describing Didn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/describing-didn-1614667/) [Didn Understand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/didn-understand/) [Know Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-words/) [Ve Lived](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ve-lived/) ## Related quotes > [“So you see, this is why I never told my story. If you lived through it, you already know there are no words that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/so-you-see-this-is-why-i-never-told-my-story-if-you-lived-through-it/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“This is why I never told my story... If you lived through it, you already know there are no words that will ever come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/this-is-why-i-never-told-my-story-if-you-lived-through-it-you-already/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [I don't like most world music because you need to know what the words are to really understand it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-christgau/i-don-t-like-most-world-music-because-you-need-to-know-what-the-words/) [Robert Christgau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-christgau/) > [Why is it that people don't know what to say when something bad has happened to someone they know? Maybe because they think there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-wittlinger/why-is-it-that-people-don-t-know-what-to-say-when-something-bad-has/) [Ellen Wittlinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-wittlinger/) > [“Women know more about words than men ever will. And they know how little they can ever possibly mean.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/women-know-more-about-words-than-men-ever-will-and-they-know-how/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [I know all those words, but that sentence makes no sense to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-groening/i-know-all-those-words-but-that-sentence-makes-no-sense-to-me/) [Matt Groening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-groening/) > [“I know; it's always been the words I don't say that can move mountains.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hala-abdullah/i-know-it-s-always-been-the-words-i-don-t-say-that-can-move-mountains/) [Hala Abdullah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hala-abdullah/) > [Today we are going to talk about words. You know, words are containers for power. They carry creative or destructive power. They carry positive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/today-we-are-going-to-talk-about-words-you-know-words-are-containers/) [Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/) > [You dont know you dont know her words that they say in jealousy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/super-junior/you-dont-know-you-dont-know-her-words-that-they-say-in-jealousy/) [Super Junior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/super-junior/) > [“It's not enough to know what all the words mean," he continued. "A good reader starts to see what an entire book is trying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-acampora/it-s-not-enough-to-know-what-all-the-words-mean-he-continued-a-good/) [Paul Acampora](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-acampora/) > [“I'll see when a trip's feasible. In the meantime you can sext or meme them.” “YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT THOSE WORDS MEAN, DAD.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zack-morrison/i-ll-see-when-a-trip-s-feasible-in-the-meantime-you-can-sext-or-meme/) [Zack Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zack-morrison/) > [“But even I have enough sense to know the words “we have to win” are the first four steps on the road to hell.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-applegate/but-even-i-have-enough-sense-to-know-the-words-we-have-to-win-are-the/) [Katherine Applegate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-applegate/) > [I know the words to, like, every song. Hoobastank, whatever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lennon-parham/i-know-the-words-to-like-every-song-hoobastank-whatever/) [Lennon Parham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lennon-parham/) > [But she had to know words. She had to know everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-ibbotson/but-she-had-to-know-words-she-had-to-know-everything/) [Eva Ibbotson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-ibbotson/) > [No one has to learn to spell to talk, right? You see a little kid holding a conversation with an adult. He probably doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ornette-coleman/no-one-has-to-learn-to-spell-to-talk-right-you-see-a-little-kid/) [Ornette Coleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ornette-coleman/) ## More by Jodi Picoult > [You get through it, you just never get over it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/you-get-through-it-you-just-never-get-over-it/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“Let me guess," Eric says, "You never meant for it to happen." "Hell, yes, I did. I've wanted her since you two started dating."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/let-me-guess-eric-says-you-never-meant-for-it-to-happen-hell-yes-i/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“It’s the difference between dancing along the eggshell crust of acquaintance and diving into the messy center of a relationship.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/it-s-the-difference-between-dancing-along-the-eggshell-crust-of/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [Because hate's just the flip side of love. Like heads and tails on a dime. If you don't know what it feels like to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/because-hate-s-just-the-flip-side-of-love-like-heads-and-tails-on-a/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [Some women are meant to change the world, while others are meant to hold it together. And then there are those of us who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/some-women-are-meant-to-change-the-world-while-others-are-meant-to/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [I love feeling loved. I don't love knowing that I will always come in second place. I love the fact that at least sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/i-love-feeling-loved-i-don-t-love-knowing-that-i-will-always-come-in/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“Music is the language of memory”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/music-is-the-language-of-memory/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [But there is a different between mending someone who's broken and finding someone who makes you complete.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/but-there-is-a-different-between-mending-someone-who-s-broken-and/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“sometimes words are not big enough to contain all the feelings you are trying to pour into them. My”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/sometimes-words-are-not-big-enough-to-contain-all-the-feelings-you/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“The age wasn't as important as the milestones.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/the-age-wasn-t-as-important-as-the-milestones/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [The night is falling down around us. Meteors rain like fireworks, quick rips in the seam of the dark... Every second, another streak of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/the-night-is-falling-down-around-us-meteors-rain-like-fireworks-quick/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“When she had packed all the artifacts that made up their personal history into liquor store boxes, the house became strictly a feminine place.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/when-she-had-packed-all-the-artifacts-that-made-up-their-personal/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“Maybe who we are isn't so much about what we do, but rather what we're capable of when we least expect it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/maybe-who-we-are-isn-t-so-much-about-what-we-do-but-rather-what-we-re/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“Here's what I hadn't realized : the mother you haven't seen for almost 36 years isn't your mother. She is a stranger. Sharing DNA…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/here-s-what-i-hadn-t-realized-the-mother-you-haven-t-seen-for-almost/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [My brother believed in all sorts of mythical creatures: pixies, dragons, werewolves, honest men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/my-brother-believed-in-all-sorts-of-mythical-creatures-pixies-dragons/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) [Explore all 2,062 Jodi Picoult quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) ## More Describing quotes > [In a general way, the literature of the twentieth century is essentially psychological; and psychology consists of describing states of the soul by displaying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/in-a-general-way-the-literature-of-the-twentieth-century-is/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [Without sounding overly sentimental about the process, I'd say trying to describe how you tend to conceive of a book is like describing how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-walter/without-sounding-overly-sentimental-about-the-process-i-d-say-trying/) [Jess Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-walter/) > [There was a special challenge in describing the awful childhood of a person who happens to be my own husband. It was very painful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-stephenson/there-was-a-special-challenge-in-describing-the-awful-childhood-of-a/) [Pamela Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-stephenson/) > [Describing comic sensibility is near impossible. It's sort of an abstract silliness, that sometimes the joke isn't the star.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-carvey/describing-comic-sensibility-is-near-impossible-it-s-sort-of-an/) [Dana Carvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-carvey/) > [With Gnaw I was thinking about traditional sculpture, about carving. I was also interested in figurative sculpture. I put those two ideas together and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janine-antoni/with-gnaw-i-was-thinking-about-traditional-sculpture-about-carving-i/) [Janine Antoni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janine-antoni/) > [Writing is not describing, painting is not depicting. Verisimilitude is merely an illusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-braque/writing-is-not-describing-painting-is-not-depicting-verisimilitude-is/) [Georges Braque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-braque/) > [Murder is a crime. Describing Murder is not. Sex is not a crime. Describing sex is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gershon-legman/murder-is-a-crime-describing-murder-is-not-sex-is-not-a-crime/) [Gershon Legman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gershon-legman/) > [In describing someone's character, I reveal my own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/in-describing-someone-s-character-i-reveal-my-own/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Some people as a result of adversity are sadder, wiser, kinder, more human. Most of us are better, though, when things go better. Knowing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-forbes/some-people-as-a-result-of-adversity-are-sadder-wiser-kinder-more/) [Malcolm Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-forbes/) > [If I had to choose between the two ways of approaching the deity, I should prefer the existential relational way, to the abstract philosophical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-moore-cross/if-i-had-to-choose-between-the-two-ways-of-approaching-the-deity-i/) [Frank Moore Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-moore-cross/) > [When I returned to short stories, I'd started working on what is still central to much of what I try to do: putting myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-tidbeck/when-i-returned-to-short-stories-i-d-started-working-on-what-is-still/) [Karin Tidbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-tidbeck/) > [When in doubt, the rule of threes is a rule that plays well with all of storytelling. When describing a thing? No more than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-wendig/when-in-doubt-the-rule-of-threes-is-a-rule-that-plays-well-with-all/) [Chuck Wendig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-wendig/) > [ I certainly don't feel like I have a monopoly on \[opinions\] because I have the job at FOX - any one of a thousand… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-buck/i-certainly-don-t-feel-like-i-have-a-monopoly-on-opinions-because-i/) [Joe Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-buck/) > [“When describing nature, a writer should seize upon small details, arranging them so that the reader will see an image in his mind after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/when-describing-nature-a-writer-should-seize-upon-small-details/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [When I write about "realizations," I am describing a state in which a practitioner has wisdom of who she or he is, and has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-targ/when-i-write-about-realizations-i-am-describing-a-state-in-which-a/) [Russell Targ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-targ/) [Browse all 375 Describing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/describing/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If you've lived through it, you already know there are no words that will ever come close to describing it, and if you didn't - you will never understand.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jodi Picoult" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/if-you-ve-lived-through-it-you-already-know-there-are-no-words-that/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Describing" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/if-you-ve-lived-through-it-you-already-know-there-are-no-words-that/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/137/jodi-picoult-45_describing_if-you-ve-lived-through-it-you-already-k_2561948.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/137/jodi-picoult-45_describing_if-you-ve-lived-through-it-you-already-k_2561948.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/137/jodi-picoult-45_describing_if-you-ve-lived-through-it-you-already-k_2561948.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If you've lived through it, you already know there are no words that will ever come close to describing it…” — Jodi Picoult", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Jodi Picoult", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If you've lived through it, you...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/if-you-ve-lived-through-it-you-already-know-there-are-no-words-that/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/if-you-ve-lived-through-it-you-already-know-there-are-no-words-that/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```