--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Only our memories allow that some people…" description: "\"Only our memories allow that some people ever existed. That they mattered, or mattered too much.\" — Joe R. Lansdale" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/552/joe-r-lansdale-3119_existed_only-our-memories-allow-that-some-people_2901825.png" --- # Only our memories allow that some people ever existed… ![“Only our memories allow that some people ever existed. That they mattered, or mattered too much.” quote by Joe R. Lansdale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/552/joe-r-lansdale-3119_existed_only-our-memories-allow-that-some-people_2901825.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/552/joe-r-lansdale-3119_existed_only-our-memories-allow-that-some-people_2901825.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/552/joe-r-lansdale-3119_existed_only-our-memories-allow-that-some-people_2901825.png) > “Only our memories allow that some people ever existed. That they mattered, or mattered too much.” [Joe R. Lansdale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-r-lansdale/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Memories are the only proof that people existed and mattered, even if only briefly. **In simple terms:** Memories validate existence. Key Takeaway Cherish and record memories. Themes memory existence legacy Mood nostalgic reflective Type personal philosophical When to use this quote - family reunions - archiving - storytelling Key Concepts psychology philosophy history Questions to Reflect On - Which memories shape your identity? - How do you preserve them? A Different Perspective Memory can be unreliable. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Memories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memories/) [Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) ## Related quotes > [Older people may have always existed throughout history, but they were rare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-jay-olshansky/older-people-may-have-always-existed-throughout-history-but-they-were/) [S. Jay Olshansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-jay-olshansky/) > [I use memories but I will not allow memories to use me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/i-use-memories-but-i-will-not-allow-memories-to-use-me/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [The only real people are the people who never existed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-only-real-people-are-the-people-who-never-existed/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [The interesting thing about history sometimes. is that you know these people existed, and you knew what jobs they did, but you don't know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/the-interesting-thing-about-history-sometimes-is-that-you-know-these/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [But I certainly know a lot of people that existed at that level and are always kind of pining for more, always thinking that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-haden-church/but-i-certainly-know-a-lot-of-people-that-existed-at-that-level-and/) [Thomas Haden Church](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-haden-church/) > [The Americans had not played a very prominent part in the war of 1914-1918, he (Adolf Hitler) thought, and moreover, had not made any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-speer/the-americans-had-not-played-a-very-prominent-part-in-the-war-of-1914/) [Albert Speer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-speer/) > [“Mr Greenleaf was such a decent fellow himself, he took it for granted that everybody else in the world was decent, too. Tom had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-highsmith/mr-greenleaf-was-such-a-decent-fellow-himself-he-took-it-for-granted/) [Patricia Highsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-highsmith/) > [“Still, whencesoever derived, the Egyptian people, as it existed in the flourishing time of Egyptian history, was beyond all question a mixed race, showing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-rawlinson/still-whencesoever-derived-the-egyptian-people-as-it-existed-in-the/) George Rawlinson > [I never could get on with representative individuals but people who existed on their own account and with whom it might therefore be possible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/i-never-could-get-on-with-representative-individuals-but-people-who/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) > [“People existed, however, who believed that closet racist were everywhere around them. 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And you ought never to delight in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-r-lansdale/killing-ain-t-no-good-thing-son-unless-it-s-to-eat-or-protect/) [Joe R. Lansdale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-r-lansdale/) > [I've done very well financially and sold a lot because I've had a multiple method of attack as a writer. That's a conscious strategy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-r-lansdale/i-ve-done-very-well-financially-and-sold-a-lot-because-i-ve-had-a/) [Joe R. Lansdale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-r-lansdale/) > [I used to just sit down and read the dictionary, and I read the Bible and Shakespeare from cover to cover.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-r-lansdale/i-used-to-just-sit-down-and-read-the-dictionary-and-i-read-the-bible/) [Joe R. 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Lansdale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-r-lansdale/) > [I write what I hear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-r-lansdale/i-write-what-i-hear/) [Joe R. Lansdale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-r-lansdale/) > [I've been writing since 1973. I've written nonfiction things of that nature, but I'm probably best known for crime fiction and, to some extent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-r-lansdale/i-ve-been-writing-since-1973-i-ve-written-nonfiction-things-of-that/) [Joe R. Lansdale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-r-lansdale/) > [“Far as I knew, closest she'd gotten to art was a drafting table and dressing mannequins in store windows, and the closest I'd gotten…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-r-lansdale/far-as-i-knew-closest-she-d-gotten-to-art-was-a-drafting-table-and/) [Joe R. Lansdale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-r-lansdale/) [Explore all 132 Joe R. Lansdale quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-r-lansdale/) ## More Existed quotes > [“For a long while I have lived with the notion that I was the most normal being that ever existed. This notion gave me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-cioran/for-a-long-while-i-have-lived-with-the-notion-that-i-was-the-most/) [Emil Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-cioran/) > [“The air felt different in my lungs. The world no longer looked the same. You change and then you change again. You become a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/the-air-felt-different-in-my-lungs-the-world-no-longer-looked-the/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [“Perfect happiness existed, but perhaps only in small increments.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elin-hilderbrand/perfect-happiness-existed-but-perhaps-only-in-small-increments/) [Elin Hilderbrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elin-hilderbrand/) > [Geometry existed before creation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/geometry-existed-before-creation/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Above all else, it is about leaving a mark that I existed: I was here. I was hungry. I was defeated. I was happy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-gonzalez-torres/above-all-else-it-is-about-leaving-a-mark-that-i-existed-i-was-here-i/) Felix Gonzalez-Torres > [“If Erik existed and lived life in despair, We wish him to know we are here and we care.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-a-bucchianeri/if-erik-existed-and-lived-life-in-despair-we-wish-him-to-know-we-are/) [E.A. Bucchianeri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-a-bucchianeri/) > [Karma has always existed, as have you, I, and all things in this wonderful universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/karma-has-always-existed-as-have-you-i-and-all-things-in-this/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [For me, Mexploitation seemed like something that should have existed, but didn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rodriguez/for-me-mexploitation-seemed-like-something-that-should-have-existed/) [Robert Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-rodriguez/) > [“Sometimes, when I was looking out for my own happiness, I almost forgot you existed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-gibbons/sometimes-when-i-was-looking-out-for-my-own-happiness-i-almost-forgot/) [Alan Gibbons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-gibbons/) > [I was progressive before the term progressive actually existed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-adams/i-was-progressive-before-the-term-progressive-actually-existed/) [Eric Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-adams/) > [“(We) consist of everything the world consists of, each of us, and just as our body contains the genealogical table of evolution as far…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/we-consist-of-everything-the-world-consists-of-each-of-us-and-just-as/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“The only thing she could be certain of was that she existed. All else was suspect, even her own thoughts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-paolini/the-only-thing-she-could-be-certain-of-was-that-she-existed-all-else/) [Christopher Paolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-paolini/) > [We've decided what we are. That's the dream. When the dream fades, it's not that we don't exist. How could we not exist since…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/we-ve-decided-what-we-are-that-s-the-dream-when-the-dream-fades-it-s/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [If I find out that you stopped caring for no reason.. I am going to stop believing you ever existed!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-i-find-out-that-you-stopped-caring-for-no-reason-i-am-going-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [At a lot of companies founded on principles, the notion of making money is almost antithetical to the ethos of the place. From the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mackey/at-a-lot-of-companies-founded-on-principles-the-notion-of-making/) [John Mackey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mackey/) Browse all 439 Existed quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Only our memories allow that some people ever existed. That they mattered, or mattered too much.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Joe R. 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