---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There are normal hours, and then there…"
description: "\"There are normal hours, and then there are invalid hours, where time stalls and slips, where life---real life---seems to exist at one remove.\" — Jojo M..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae1/jojo-moyes-1045_hours_there-are-normal-hours-and-then-there-ar_2715111.jpg"
---

#  There are normal hours, and then there are invalid hours…

![“There are normal hours, and then there are invalid hours, where time stalls and slips, where life---real life---seems to exist at one remove.” quote by Jojo Moyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae1/jojo-moyes-1045_hours_there-are-normal-hours-and-then-there-ar_2715111.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae1/jojo-moyes-1045_hours_there-are-normal-hours-and-then-there-ar_2715111.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae1/jojo-moyes-1045_hours_there-are-normal-hours-and-then-there-ar_2715111.jpg)

> “There are normal hours, and then there are invalid hours, where time stalls and slips, where life---real life---seems to exist at one remove.”

[Jojo Moyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jojo-moyes/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The passage describes moments when time feels stagnant, and life seems distant, highlighting emotional disconnection.

**In simple terms:** Time can feel frozen and life distant.

Key Takeaway

Recognize and address emotional stalls.

Themes

time emotion disconnection

Mood

reflective melancholic

Type

literary psychological

When to use this quote

- therapy sessions
- creative writing
- mindfulness practice

Key Concepts

psychological pause existential drift

Questions to Reflect On

- What triggers your sense of time stalling?
- How can you reconnect with present reality?

A Different Perspective

Such periods may be symptom of deeper issues.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Hours](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hours/) [Hours Invalid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hours-invalid-2837986/) [Invalid Hours](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invalid-hours-2837987/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Normal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/normal/) [Normal Hours](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/normal-hours-2837988/) [Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real/) [Real life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-life/) [Slips Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slips-life-2837989/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/)

## Related quotes

> [On stage, I'm this figure, this actor, who does things that people aren't used to seeing and I relish in that reaction. In real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-cooper/on-stage-i-m-this-figure-this-actor-who-does-things-that-people-aren/)

[Alice Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-cooper/)

> [I'm always looking in the lighting to tell the story in a different way than it actually looks in real life because it's, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vilmos-zsigmond/i-m-always-looking-in-the-lighting-to-tell-the-story-in-a-different/)

[Vilmos Zsigmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vilmos-zsigmond/)

> [That's what all art's about - a sense of moving away from boundaries that you can't in real life. Like a dancer is always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-bush/that-s-what-all-art-s-about-a-sense-of-moving-away-from-boundaries/)

[Kate Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-bush/)

> [“Relationships and dating don't always have the perfect narrative arc like they do in the movies. In real life, nothing happens in an order…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-witton/relationships-and-dating-don-t-always-have-the-perfect-narrative-arc/)

[Hannah Witton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-witton/)

> [Life is not a PG feel-good movie. Real life often ends badly. Literature tries to document this reality, while showing us it is still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-quick/life-is-not-a-pg-feel-good-movie-real-life-often-ends-badly/)

[Matthew Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-quick/)

> [ITS MORE FUN TO DO IT IN REAL LIFE](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-paul-rose/its-more-fun-to-do-it-in-real-life/)

[LEONARD PAUL ROSE](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-paul-rose/)

> [I think everyone has been annoyed at school or in their life, that's a type of bullying. So, you can take those feelings and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kodi-smit-mcphee/i-think-everyone-has-been-annoyed-at-school-or-in-their-life-that-s-a/)

[Kodi Smit-McPhee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kodi-smit-mcphee/)

> [In a compass, we got north, south, east and west, right? But in between that, you got things like north-east - now that, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bj-the-chicago-kid/in-a-compass-we-got-north-south-east-and-west-right-but-in-between/)

[BJ the Chicago Kid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bj-the-chicago-kid/)

> [I think you either live a real life or you live a weird celebrity pseudolife.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-michelle-gellar/i-think-you-either-live-a-real-life-or-you-live-a-weird-celebrity/)

[Sarah Michelle Gellar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-michelle-gellar/)

> [“Being a writer is 1% inspiration, 50% perspiration and 49% explaining you're not a millionaire like J.K.Rowling.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-tozer/being-a-writer-is-1-inspiration-50-perspiration-and-49-explaining-you/)

[Gabrielle Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-tozer/)

> [“It is not about giving her the world, it is all about making her realize that she is the only one in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nehali-lalwani/it-is-not-about-giving-her-the-world-it-is-all-about-making-her/)

[Nehali Lalwani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nehali-lalwani/)

> [“You can't get mad at a real ending. Some of them are ugly. It's the fake happily ever afters that should piss you off.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-hoover/you-can-t-get-mad-at-a-real-ending-some-of-them-are-ugly-it-s-the/)

[Colleen Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-hoover/)

> [People who really desire inspiration expect to hear the truth and those who deserve motivation here accept really the truth because the truth in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anuj-somany/people-who-really-desire-inspiration-expect-to-hear-the-truth-and/)

[Anuj Somany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anuj-somany/)

> [“After nine nights must come ten and every desperate meeting only leaves you desperate for another. There is never enough to eat, never enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/after-nine-nights-must-come-ten-and-every-desperate-meeting-only/)

[Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/)

> [I'm not a huge social media kind of guy, so I don't really know, I don't really ever get... at least in real life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-stroma/i-m-not-a-huge-social-media-kind-of-guy-so-i-don-t-really-know-i-don/)

[Freddie Stroma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-stroma/)

## More by Jojo Moyes

> [“How was she supposed to bear the prospect of never seeing him again? Never seeing his face light up simply because she had walked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jojo-moyes/how-was-she-supposed-to-bear-the-prospect-of-never-seeing-him-again/)

[Jojo Moyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jojo-moyes/)

> [“I had a vague memory of the intensity of teenage female relationships; more of a passion than a normal friendship.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jojo-moyes/i-had-a-vague-memory-of-the-intensity-of-teenage-female-relationships/)

[Jojo Moyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jojo-moyes/)

> [“I want him to live if HE wants to live. If he doesn't, then by forcing him to carry on, you, me… we become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jojo-moyes/i-want-him-to-live-if-he-wants-to-live-if-he-doesn-t-then-by-forcing/)

[Jojo Moyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jojo-moyes/)

> [How is it possible to exist with so much pain?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jojo-moyes/how-is-it-possible-to-exist-with-so-much-pain/)

[Jojo Moyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jojo-moyes/)

> [“I often think that the ability to earn a living by doing the thing one loves must be one of life's greatest gifts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jojo-moyes/i-often-think-that-the-ability-to-earn-a-living-by-doing-the-thing/)

[Jojo Moyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jojo-moyes/)

> [“Nobody ever says "sweet girl" about someone they were in love with. It's like the whole "we'll still be friends" thing. It means you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jojo-moyes/nobody-ever-says-sweet-girl-about-someone-they-were-in-love-with-it-s/)

[Jojo Moyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jojo-moyes/)

> [“Sometimes , Clark, you are pretty much the only thing that makes me want to get up in the morning -Will Traynor &lt;3”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jojo-moyes/sometimes-clark-you-are-pretty-much-the-only-thing-that-makes-me-want/)

[Jojo Moyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jojo-moyes/)

> [“I liked the exoticism his travels gave him, the unknownness. He had blown in with the soft breezes of a wider world, and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jojo-moyes/i-liked-the-exoticism-his-travels-gave-him-the-unknownness-he-had/)

[jojo moyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jojo-moyes/)

> [“Good to meet you, Patrick," Will said. "And thank you for the...advice." "Oh, just trying to help my girlfriend get the best out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jojo-moyes/good-to-meet-you-patrick-will-said-and-thank-you-for-the-advice-oh/)

[Jojo Moyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jojo-moyes/)

> [“How could I explain to this man how much I wanted to work? Did he have the slightest idea how much I missed my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jojo-moyes/how-could-i-explain-to-this-man-how-much-i-wanted-to-work-did-he-have/)

[Jojo Moyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jojo-moyes/)

> [If I don't cry while writing a key emotional scene, my gut feeling is it's failed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jojo-moyes/if-i-don-t-cry-while-writing-a-key-emotional-scene-my-gut-feeling-is/)

[Jojo Moyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jojo-moyes/)

> [“Still watches too much porn, though. You can tell.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jojo-moyes/still-watches-too-much-porn-though-you-can-tell/)

[Jojo Moyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jojo-moyes/)

> [“Four hours later Liv wakes in a box room with an Arsenal duet cover and a head that thumps so hard she has to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jojo-moyes/four-hours-later-liv-wakes-in-a-box-room-with-an-arsenal-duet-cover/)

[Jojo Moyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jojo-moyes/)

> [“It was a terrible thing to discover you no longer wanted the life that stretched out ahead of you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jojo-moyes/it-was-a-terrible-thing-to-discover-you-no-longer-wanted-the-life/)

[Jojo Moyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jojo-moyes/)

> [You cut yourself off from all sorts of experiences because you tell yourself you are ‘not that sort of person’” “But, I’m not.” “How…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jojo-moyes/you-cut-yourself-off-from-all-sorts-of-experiences-because-you-tell/)

[Jojo Moyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jojo-moyes/)

[Explore all 274 Jojo Moyes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jojo-moyes/)

## More Hours quotes

> [When I passed the Chancellor he arose, waved his hand at me, and I waved back at him. I think the writers showed bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-owens/when-i-passed-the-chancellor-he-arose-waved-his-hand-at-me-and-i/)

[Jesse Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-owens/)

> [He bombarded me with words, of all things, apparently clueless to the fact that the predawn hours rendered me incapable of coherent thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darynda-jones/he-bombarded-me-with-words-of-all-things-apparently-clueless-to-the/)

[Darynda Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darynda-jones/)

> [In the entire history of the universe, let alone in your own history, there has never been another day just like today, and there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/in-the-entire-history-of-the-universe-let-alone-in-your-own-history/)

[Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/)

> [Thinking about the things that happened, I don't know any other ball player would could have done what he (Jackie Robinson) did. To be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pee-wee-reese/thinking-about-the-things-that-happened-i-don-t-know-any-other-ball/)

[Pee Wee Reese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pee-wee-reese/)

> [I didn't understand Southland Tales script at all! Is there a single word to describe it? Cacophony? It's celebrity meets pornography meets politics -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-grant/i-didn-t-understand-southland-tales-script-at-all-is-there-a-single/)

[Beth Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-grant/)

> [And in your new lives you'll have to live entirely for that one sensation-that of imminent truth. And you're going to have to holler…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/and-in-your-new-lives-you-ll-have-to-live-entirely-for-that-one/)

[Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/)

> [Real chessplayers think about chess more or less 24 hours a day. It is a passion and a fate that one has to live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simen-agdestein/real-chessplayers-think-about-chess-more-or-less-24-hours-a-day-it-is/)

[Simen Agdestein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simen-agdestein/)

> [In the name of Jerusalem. If I forget the extermination of the Jews, may my right hand wither, may my tongue stick to my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/menachem-begin/in-the-name-of-jerusalem-if-i-forget-the-extermination-of-the-jews/)

[Menachem Begin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/menachem-begin/)

> [Memory revises me. Even now a letter comes from a place I don’t know, from someone with my name and postmarked years ago, while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-young-lee/memory-revises-me-even-now-a-letter-comes-from-a-place-i-don-t-know/)

[Li-Young Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-young-lee/)

> [Some writers say they cannot write in front of a window; many say they cannot function without almost perfect quiet. A writer with only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/some-writers-say-they-cannot-write-in-front-of-a-window-many-say-they/)

[Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/)

> [I'm getting to a point where everything is becoming streamlined in my life. I'm learning how to stand onstage for two hours and play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mayer/i-m-getting-to-a-point-where-everything-is-becoming-streamlined-in-my/)

[John Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mayer/)

> [I spend a lot of time loathing the sentences that I put down on the page. Once I'm past that phase, it doesn't really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-link/i-spend-a-lot-of-time-loathing-the-sentences-that-i-put-down-on-the/)

[Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/)

> [ Music \[is\] the third rail of life. You grabbed it to shock yourself out of the dull drag of hours. To feel something. To… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-hill/music-is-the-third-rail-of-life-you-grabbed-it-to-shock-yourself-out/)

[Joe Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-hill/)

> [A clock struck out the hour of twelve, and the bird in the hedgerow was still singing as we marched out to the roadway,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-macgill/a-clock-struck-out-the-hour-of-twelve-and-the-bird-in-the-hedgerow/)

[Patrick MacGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-macgill/)

> [Weekend planning is a prime time to apply the Deathbed Priority Test: On your deathbed, will you wish you'd spent more prime weekend hours…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-borland/weekend-planning-is-a-prime-time-to-apply-the-deathbed-priority-test/)

[Hal Borland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-borland/)

[Browse all 9,075 Hours quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hours/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "There are normal hours, and then there are invalid hours, where time stalls and slips, where life---real life---seems to exist at one remove.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Jojo Moyes"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jojo-moyes/there-are-normal-hours-and-then-there-are-invalid-hours-where-time/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Hours"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jojo-moyes/there-are-normal-hours-and-then-there-are-invalid-hours-where-time/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae1/jojo-moyes-1045_hours_there-are-normal-hours-and-then-there-ar_2715111.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae1/jojo-moyes-1045_hours_there-are-normal-hours-and-then-there-ar_2715111.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae1/jojo-moyes-1045_hours_there-are-normal-hours-and-then-there-ar_2715111.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“There are normal hours, and then there are invalid hours, where time stalls and slips, where life---real…” — Jojo Moyes",
                "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": "Jojo Moyes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jojo-moyes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "There are normal hours, and then...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jojo-moyes/there-are-normal-hours-and-then-there-are-invalid-hours-where-time/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jojo-moyes/there-are-normal-hours-and-then-there-are-invalid-hours-where-time/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
