--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Of course we all know that's not how life…" description: "\"Of course we all know that's not how life works. The novel that is our life can end at any time. Sometimes even on page one.\" — Junot Diaz" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/184/junot-diaz-531_books_of-course-we-all-know-that-s-not-how-lif_964024.jpg" --- # Of course we all know that's not how life works. The novel… ![“Of course we all know that's not how life works. The novel that is our life can end at any time. Sometimes even on page one.” quote by Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/184/junot-diaz-531_books_of-course-we-all-know-that-s-not-how-lif_964024.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/184/junot-diaz-531_books_of-course-we-all-know-that-s-not-how-lif_964024.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/184/junot-diaz-531_books_of-course-we-all-know-that-s-not-how-lif_964024.jpg) > “Of course we all know that's not how life works. The novel that is our life can end at any time. Sometimes even on page one.” [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life is unpredictable; it can end abruptly, even at the beginning. **In simple terms:** Life can end unexpectedly, even early. Key Takeaway Accept uncertainty and cherish each moment. Themes uncertainty life impermanence Mood reflective somber Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - relationships - career planning - creative projects - health decisions Key Concepts existentialism fatalism Questions to Reflect On - How do you prepare for sudden change? - What gives you confidence when facing uncertainty? A Different Perspective Life’s unpredictability can cause anxiety and paralysis. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-work/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [With a song, it only takes a couple of minutes to go back to the beginning and try it again to see if it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-folds/with-a-song-it-only-takes-a-couple-of-minutes-to-go-back-to-the/) [Ben Folds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-folds/) > [“As always with the greatest works, the novel is so many-sided that over time it mirrors back the shifting concerns of those who read…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-f-hovde/as-always-with-the-greatest-works-the-novel-is-so-many-sided-that/) Carl F. Hovde > [“From the moment I start a new novel, life’s just one endless torture. 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Please check out my novel, A Life Worth Dreaming About.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-dettmann/i-am-also-an-author-please-check-out-my-novel-a-life-worth-dreaming/) Nicholas Dettmann > [I find that in a novel I can get more of life, perhaps not such intense life, but certainly more of life than in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-find-that-in-a-novel-i-can-get-more-of-life-perhaps-not-such/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“I've always longed to turn the last page of a romantic novel but it seems my life is destined to remain a book of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-faudet/i-ve-always-longed-to-turn-the-last-page-of-a-romantic-novel-but-it/) [Michael Faudet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-faudet/) > [From the moment I start a new novel, life's just one endless torture. 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I've never written a single scene that I can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-easton-ellis/i-ve-never-written-an-autobiographical-novel-in-my-life-i-ve-never/) [Bret Easton Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-easton-ellis/) > [“At every moment I convinced myself that I was gathering material for the novel of my life - all experienced from the philosophical distance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/at-every-moment-i-convinced-myself-that-i-was-gathering-material-for/) [Edmund White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-white/) > [I've only had four ideas for a novel in my life, and I've written all of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-heller/i-ve-only-had-four-ideas-for-a-novel-in-my-life-and-i-ve-written-all/) [Joseph Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-heller/) > [When I'm filling notebooks I'm trying to pin down what I'm really interested in and to find those details that are so hard to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-salter/when-i-m-filling-notebooks-i-m-trying-to-pin-down-what-i-m-really/) [James Salter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-salter/) > [No writer, I believe, should attempt a novel before he is thirty, and not then unless he has been hopelessly and helplessly involved in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/no-writer-i-believe-should-attempt-a-novel-before-he-is-thirty-and/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [“Recently there came a period when I had little to do. This was novel in a life so crammed with busy years, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-ron-hubbard/recently-there-came-a-period-when-i-had-little-to-do-this-was-novel/) [L. Ron Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-ron-hubbard/) > [No book is a chapter, no chapter tells the whole story, no mistake defines who we are. Hope makes our lives page turners.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-goff/no-book-is-a-chapter-no-chapter-tells-the-whole-story-no-mistake/) [Bob Goff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-goff/) ## More by Junot Diaz > [It might interest you that just as the U.S. was ramping up its involvement in Vietnam, LBJ launched an illegal invasion of the Dominican…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/it-might-interest-you-that-just-as-the-u-s-was-ramping-up-its/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [Tell her that you love her hair, that you love her skin, her lips, because, in truth, you love them more than you love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/tell-her-that-you-love-her-hair-that-you-love-her-skin-her-lips/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [It took me sixteen years to write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/it-took-me-sixteen-years-to-write/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [You ask everybody you know: How long does it usually take to get over it? There are many formulas. One year for every year…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/you-ask-everybody-you-know-how-long-does-it-usually-take-to-get-over/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [Instead of finding himself in nerd heaven—where every nerd gets fifty-eight virgins to role-play with—he woke up in Robert Wood Johnson with two broken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/instead-of-finding-himself-in-nerd-heaven-where-every-nerd-gets-fifty/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [The one thing about being a dude and writing from a female perspective is that the baseline is, you suck. 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The way that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/i-ve-always-thought-that-you-don-t-love-a-country-by-turning-a-blind/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [“Called her a whore and attacked her walls, tearing down her posters and throwing her books everywhere. I found out because some whitegirl ran…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/called-her-a-whore-and-attacked-her-walls-tearing-down-her-posters/) [Junot Díaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [You're Dominican only if you do this, this, and that. And if you do this and that, you'll be accepted to a certain degree…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/you-re-dominican-only-if-you-do-this-this-and-that-and-if-you-do-this/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [“Ramfis fled the country after Trujillo's death, lived dissolutely off his father's swag, and ended up dying in a car crash of his own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/ramfis-fled-the-country-after-trujillo-s-death-lived-dissolutely-off/) [Junot Díaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [If you didn't grow up like I did then you don't know, and if you don't know it's probably better you don't judge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/if-you-didn-t-grow-up-like-i-did-then-you-don-t-know-and-if-you-don-t/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [“If you ask me I don't think there are any such things as curses. I think there is only life. That's enough.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/if-you-ask-me-i-don-t-think-there-are-any-such-things-as-curses-i/) [Junot Díaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [The only difference between a published and unpublished writer is a tolerance for imperfection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/the-only-difference-between-a-published-and-unpublished-writer-is-a/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) [Explore all 486 Junot Diaz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. Krebs > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) Markus Herz > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Of course we all know that's not how life works. The novel that is our life can end at any time. 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