--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But I don't remember. I won't remember…" description: "\"“But I don't remember. I won't remember. Memory is an act of will, and so is forgetting.”\" — Julian Barnes" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e7/julian-barnes-522_forgetting_but-i-don-t-remember-i-won-t-remember-me_1956925.png" --- # But I don't remember. I won't remember. Memory is an act… ![“But I don't remember. I won't remember. Memory is an act of will, and so is forgetting.” quote by Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e7/julian-barnes-522_forgetting_but-i-don-t-remember-i-won-t-remember-me_1956925.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e7/julian-barnes-522_forgetting_but-i-don-t-remember-i-won-t-remember-me_1956925.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e7/julian-barnes-522_forgetting_but-i-don-t-remember-i-won-t-remember-me_1956925.png) > ““But I don't remember. I won't remember. Memory is an act of will, and so is forgetting.”” [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Memory depends on intentional effort; forgetting is equally a conscious choice. **In simple terms:** Memory and forgetting are acts of will. Key Takeaway Practice mindful recall and intentional release. Themes memory willpower perception Mood reflective introspective Type philosophical psychological When to use this quote - studying - therapy sessions - personal reflection - decision making Key Concepts cognitive psychology neuroscience Questions to Reflect On - How do you decide what to remember? - When is forgetting beneficial? A Different Perspective Memory is unreliable and can be biased, limiting its usefulness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Act Forgetting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/act-forgetting-3208010/) [Don Remember](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/don-remember-359822/) [Forgetting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forgetting/) [Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) [Remember Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remember-memory-374056/) ## Related quotes > [“Ricoeur describes forgetting as both an active and a passive act: the individual’s responsibility to keep the event remembered is just as important as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yugin-teo/ricoeur-describes-forgetting-as-both-an-active-and-a-passive-act-the/) [Yugin Teo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yugin-teo/) > [What I'm afraid of the most about dying is not the act itself but rather forgetting that which I learned and that which I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kalyani-rajalingham/what-i-m-afraid-of-the-most-about-dying-is-not-the-act-itself-but/) [Kalyani Rajalingham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kalyani-rajalingham/) > [“Memory is identity. I have believed this since – oh, since I can remember. You are what you have done; what you have done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/memory-is-identity-i-have-believed-this-since-oh-since-i-can-remember/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [I remember my first memory is sitting in my dad's chair in a small office and I used to imagine that I was picking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-jones/i-remember-my-first-memory-is-sitting-in-my-dad-s-chair-in-a-small/) [Peter Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-jones/) > [Memory really matters...only if it binds together the imprint of the past and the project of the future, if it enables us to act…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/memory-really-matters-only-if-it-binds-together-the-imprint-of-the/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“Every act of reading is an act of forgetting: the experience of reading is a palimpsest, in which each text partially covers those that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-secord/every-act-of-reading-is-an-act-of-forgetting-the-experience-of/) [James A. Secord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-secord/) > [“Partition memory is particularly pliable. Within it, the act of forgetting, either inevitably or purposefully, seems to play as much a part as remembering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aanchal-malhotra/partition-memory-is-particularly-pliable-within-it-the-act-of/) [Aanchal Malhotra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aanchal-malhotra/) > [All the wickedness in the world begins with an act of forgetting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-buchanan/all-the-wickedness-in-the-world-begins-with-an-act-of-forgetting/) [Mark Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-buchanan/) > [Don’t ask me when because I don’t remember, but somewhere along the way I keep forgetting to commit suicide.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/don-t-ask-me-when-because-i-don-t-remember-but-somewhere-along-the/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [We've been friends forever, I suppose that can't be true.There must have been a time before we became friends but I can't remember it.You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unkown/we-ve-been-friends-forever-i-suppose-that-can-t-be-true-there-must/) [Unkown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/unkown/) > [“Nobel Prize-winning neuroscientist Eric Kandel says we are who we are because of what we learn and what we remember. Who am I, then,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-bartok/nobel-prize-winning-neuroscientist-eric-kandel-says-we-are-who-we-are/) [Mira Bartok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-bartok/) > [I'll just tell you what I remember because memory is as close as I've gotten to building my own time machine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-hunt/i-ll-just-tell-you-what-i-remember-because-memory-is-as-close-as-i-ve/) [Samantha Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha-hunt/) > [does a sick society get so used to its illness that it can't remember being well? what if the memory is too dangerous for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-shusterman/does-a-sick-society-get-so-used-to-its-illness-that-it-can-t-remember/) [Neal Shusterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-shusterman/) > [I wish I could remember, but my memory won't let me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-volk/i-wish-i-could-remember-but-my-memory-won-t-let-me/) [Susan Volk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-volk/) > [I don't think I remember my first memory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-degeneres/i-don-t-think-i-remember-my-first-memory/) [Ellen DeGeneres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-degeneres/) ## More by Julian Barnes > [“You put together two things that have not been put together before. And the world is changed. People may not notice at the time,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/you-put-together-two-things-that-have-not-been-put-together-before/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [“I settled into a contented routine of working, spending my free time with Veronica and, back in my student room, wanking explosively to fantasies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/i-settled-into-a-contented-routine-of-working-spending-my-free-time/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [The greatest patriotism is to tell your country when it is behaving dishonorably, foolishly, viciously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/the-greatest-patriotism-is-to-tell-your-country-when-it-is-behaving/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [“There is only good vodka and very good vodka—there is no such thing as bad vodka.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/there-is-only-good-vodka-and-very-good-vodka-there-is-no-such-thing/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [Alice Munro can move characters through time in a way that no other writer can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/alice-munro-can-move-characters-through-time-in-a-way-that-no-other/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [How rarely do our emotions meet the object they seem to deserve? How hopelessly we signal; how dark the sky; how big the waves.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/how-rarely-do-our-emotions-meet-the-object-they-seem-to-deserve-how/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [You put together two people who have not been put together before. Sometimes it is like that first attempt to harness a hydrogen balloon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/you-put-together-two-people-who-have-not-been-put-together-before/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [“Also, when you are young, you think you can predict the likely pains and bleaknesses that age might bring. You imagine yourself being lonely,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/also-when-you-are-young-you-think-you-can-predict-the-likely-pains/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [“Why slum it where people were burdened by yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that? By history? Here, on the Island,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/why-slum-it-where-people-were-burdened-by-yesterday-and-the-day/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [“In those years before mobile phones, email and Skype, travelers depended on the rudimentary communications system known as the postcard. Other methods--the long-distance phone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/in-those-years-before-mobile-phones-email-and-skype-travelers/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [“My train was late, slowed by the usual Sunday engineering work. I got home in the early evening. I remember that I had a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/my-train-was-late-slowed-by-the-usual-sunday-engineering-work-i-got/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [In life, every ending is just the start of another story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/in-life-every-ending-is-just-the-start-of-another-story/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [“Indeed, isn’t the whole business of ascribing responsibility kind of a cop-out? We want to blame an individual so that everyone else is exculpated.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/indeed-isn-t-the-whole-business-of-ascribing-responsibility-kind-of-a/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [Some of the freckles I once loved are now closer to liver spots. But it’s still the eyes we look at, isn’t it? That’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/some-of-the-freckles-i-once-loved-are-now-closer-to-liver-spots-but/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [“And what percentage of people take up the option to die off?’ She looked at me, her glance telling me to be calm. ‘Oh,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/and-what-percentage-of-people-take-up-the-option-to-die-off-she/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) [Explore all 454 Julian Barnes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) ## More Forgetting quotes > [I have never been in, nor have I had any strong particular desire to be in, what is termed a costume drama, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-freeman/i-have-never-been-in-nor-have-i-had-any-strong-particular-desire-to/) [Martin Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-freeman/) > [The most painful thing in life is losing yourself in the process of valuing someone too much & forgetting that you are special too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-most-painful-thing-in-life-is-losing-yourself-in-the-process-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-focus-on-this-one-thing-forgetting-the-past-and-looking-forward-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Forgetting your Self is the greatest injury; all the calamities flow from it. Take care of the most important, the lesser will take care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/forgetting-your-self-is-the-greatest-injury-all-the-calamities-flow/) [Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/) > [If you can't forgive and forget, pick only one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-brault/if-you-can-t-forgive-and-forget-pick-only-one/) [Robert Brault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-brault/) > [Absolute is a game with only one player where Absolute forgets itself so it would have a reason to fulfill the motion while returning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/absolute-is-a-game-with-only-one-player-where-absolute-forgets-itself/) [Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/) > [“Several times that day, the name or thought of Papa had come up. And each time, Francie had felt a flash of tenderness instead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/several-times-that-day-the-name-or-thought-of-papa-had-come-up-and/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [“It's my fault. I am forgetting too much.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/it-s-my-fault-i-am-forgetting-too-much/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [Falling out of love is chiefly a matter of forgetting how charming someone is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/falling-out-of-love-is-chiefly-a-matter-of-forgetting-how-charming/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [“She's sure, absolutely sure, that what she's waiting for will happen, just the way she wants it to; and I'm so uncertain, so fearful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-lowry/she-s-sure-absolutely-sure-that-what-she-s-waiting-for-will-happen/) [Lois Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-lowry/) > [Im afraid of being forgotten. Because, it seems everyone I get close to, ends up forgetting me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arcine-arciniegas/im-afraid-of-being-forgotten-because-it-seems-everyone-i-get-close-to/) [Arcine Arciniegas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arcine-arciniegas/) > [“Keeping histories is as much about knowing what needs forgetting as what ought to be remembered.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leah-bobet/keeping-histories-is-as-much-about-knowing-what-needs-forgetting-as/) [Leah Bobet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leah-bobet/) > [“Forgetting is what nature does best. The universe is a huge forgetting machine. It erases information no matter how hard we try to hang…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-ives-gilman/forgetting-is-what-nature-does-best-the-universe-is-a-huge-forgetting/) [Carolyn Ives Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-ives-gilman/) > [“Who was it said, ‘We forget because we must’? He was right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/who-was-it-said-we-forget-because-we-must-he-was-right/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [Moving on isnt forgetting the past, its learning from it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/moving-on-isnt-forgetting-the-past-its-learning-from-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 1,010 Forgetting quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forgetting/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“But I don't remember. I won't remember. 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