--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When someone dies, it feels like the hole…" description: "\"“When someone dies, it feels like the hole in your gum when a tooth falls out. You can chew, you can eat, you have plenty of other teeth, but your tong..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/946/jodi-picoult-45_thought-provoking_when-someone-dies-it-feels-like-the-hole_1130731.jpg" --- # When someone dies, it feels like the hole in your gum when… ![“When someone dies, it feels like the hole in your gum when a tooth falls out. You can chew, you can eat, you have plenty of other teeth, but your tongue keeps going back to that empty place, where all the nerves are still a little raw.” quote by Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/946/jodi-picoult-45_thought-provoking_when-someone-dies-it-feels-like-the-hole_1130731.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/946/jodi-picoult-45_thought-provoking_when-someone-dies-it-feels-like-the-hole_1130731.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/946/jodi-picoult-45_thought-provoking_when-someone-dies-it-feels-like-the-hole_1130731.jpg) > ““When someone dies, it feels like the hole in your gum when a tooth falls out. You can chew, you can eat, you have plenty of other teeth, but your tongue keeps going back to that empty place, where all the nerves are still a little raw.”” [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. Grief leaves a lingering emptiness that persists even when life continues, highlighting ongoing emotional pain. **In simple terms:** Grief feels like a lingering empty spot. Key Takeaway Acknowledge and tend to lingering pain. Themes grief loss pain healing Mood somber empathetic Type literary reflective When to use this quote - bereavement - daily routines - relationships - mental health Key Concepts emotional trauma psychology resilience Questions to Reflect On - What empty spots do you notice after loss? - How can you support others in hidden grief? A Different Perspective People may mask grief, but it can resurface unexpectedly. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dies Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dies-feels-3105506/) [Gum Tooth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gum-tooth-3105508/) [Teeth Tongue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teeth-tongue-873439/) [Thought provoking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought-provoking/) [Tooth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tooth/) [Tooth Falls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tooth-falls-3105507/) ## Related quotes > [ when you \[lose someone\], it feels like the hole in your gum when a tooth falls out. You can chew, you can eat, you… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/when-you-lose-someone-it-feels-like-the-hole-in-your-gum-when-a-tooth/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“Small things and great occur; a tooth falls from the mouth, a man out of the ranks, a sparrow to the ground.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/knut-hamsun/small-things-and-great-occur-a-tooth-falls-from-the-mouth-a-man-out/) [Knut Hamsun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/knut-hamsun/) > [Why don't you freeze your teeth and give your tongue a sleigh ride.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/why-don-t-you-freeze-your-teeth-and-give-your-tongue-a-sleigh-ride/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“A warm flow of pain was gradually replacing the ice and wood of the anaesthetic in his thawing, still half-dead, abominably martyred mouth. After…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/a-warm-flow-of-pain-was-gradually-replacing-the-ice-and-wood-of-the/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [When I got my braces removed, I felt more like a real woman, any traces of my childhood were stripped, just like the cold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christy-carlson-romano/when-i-got-my-braces-removed-i-felt-more-like-a-real-woman-any-traces/) [Christy Carlson Romano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christy-carlson-romano/) > [Now they broke my toothbrush, I don't own anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-child/now-they-broke-my-toothbrush-i-don-t-own-anything/) [Lee Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-child/) > [He that sleeps feels not the tooth-ache](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/he-that-sleeps-feels-not-the-tooth-ache/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Is old age really so terrible? 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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. 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