--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: After a moment, Quentin asked, \"How long…" description: "\"“After a moment, Quentin asked, \"How long had it been since you'd been completely off medications?\" Diana didn't really want to tell him, but finally s..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb7/kay-hooper-14560_time_after-a-moment-quentin-asked-how-long-ha_1941191.jpg" --- # After a moment, Quentin asked, "How long had it been since… ![“After a moment, Quentin asked, "How long had it been since you'd been completely off medications?" Diana didn't really want to tell him, but finally said, "The first medications were prescribed when I was eleven. From that point on, there was always something, usually more than one drug at a time…” quote by Kay Hooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb7/kay-hooper-14560_time_after-a-moment-quentin-asked-how-long-ha_1941191.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb7/kay-hooper-14560_time_after-a-moment-quentin-asked-how-long-ha_1941191.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb7/kay-hooper-14560_time_after-a-moment-quentin-asked-how-long-ha_1941191.jpg) > ““After a moment, Quentin asked, "How long had it been since you'd been completely off medications?" Diana didn't really want to tell him, but finally said, "The first medications were prescribed when I was eleven. From that point on, there was always something, usually more than one drug at a time. But always something. I'm thirty-three now. You do the math." "More than twenty years. You've spent two-thirds of your life drugged." "Just about into oblivion," she agreed.”” [Kay Hooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-hooper/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A character reflects on a lifetime dominated by medication, highlighting the burden of chronic illness and its impact on identity. **In simple terms:** Long-term drug use shapes life and self‑perception. Key Takeaway Recognize how health challenges affect personal narrative. Themes health addiction identity longevity Mood reflective somber Type narrative emotional When to use this quote - patient counseling - support groups - medical history review - family discussions Key Concepts chronic illness psychological impact social stigma Questions to Reflect On - How does long‑term medication influence one's sense of self? - What support can help reframe identity beyond illness? A Different Perspective May overlook resilience and coping strategies. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Medications](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/medications/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [The government would be making decisions about what type of care is given, what procedures can be performed, and the kind of medications prescribed.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nan-hayworth/the-government-would-be-making-decisions-about-what-type-of-care-is/) [Nan Hayworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nan-hayworth/) > [Sleep is like a drug. Take too much at a time and it makes you dopey. You lose time and opportunities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-edison/sleep-is-like-a-drug-take-too-much-at-a-time-and-it-makes-you-dopey/) [Thomas A. Edison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-edison/) > [“Day after day, more and more medications are prescribed for depression and addiction, assuming that these things run in our blood, when really they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vironika-tugaleva/day-after-day-more-and-more-medications-are-prescribed-for-depression/) [Vironika Tugaleva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vironika-tugaleva/) > [“When I stopped going to doctors offices and taking their prescription medications, I recovered my health!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/when-i-stopped-going-to-doctors-offices-and-taking-their-prescription/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [People and organizations other than doctors increasingly are assuming power to decide which medications to prescribe or procedures to undertake. More and more, decisions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-barr/people-and-organizations-other-than-doctors-increasingly-are-assuming/) [Bob Barr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-barr/) > [The discovery of HIV in 1983 and the proof that it was the cause of AIDS in 1984 were the first major scientific breakthroughs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-fauci/the-discovery-of-hiv-in-1983-and-the-proof-that-it-was-the-cause-of/) [Anthony Fauci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-fauci/) > [There's always going to be the need for new medications, better medications.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-fauci/there-s-always-going-to-be-the-need-for-new-medications-better/) [Anthony Fauci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-fauci/) > [Medications almost always do it better if they're used in conjunction with other supports.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-oz/medications-almost-always-do-it-better-if-they-re-used-in-conjunction/) [Mehmet Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-oz/) > [Your liver is your vital detoxification organ, and if it becomes overloaded with toxins from the food, drink, or medications you're consuming, you'll have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-somers/your-liver-is-your-vital-detoxification-organ-and-if-it-becomes/) [Suzanne Somers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-somers/) > [“While you can't control your experiences, you can control your explanations.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-e-p-seligman/while-you-can-t-control-your-experiences-you-can-control-your/) [Martin E.P. Seligman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-e-p-seligman/) > [“The whole notion that ADHD is a specific disease easily remedied by a pill is convenient but alarming. In several schools throughout the United…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-perlmutter/the-whole-notion-that-adhd-is-a-specific-disease-easily-remedied-by-a/) [David Perlmutter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-perlmutter/) > [Lots of medications work for a month, or a year, and then stop working.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayelet-waldman/lots-of-medications-work-for-a-month-or-a-year-and-then-stop-working/) [Ayelet Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayelet-waldman/) > [“I spent the rest of that day and most of the night thinking about all the hundreds of people I had met in rehabs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pax-prentiss/i-spent-the-rest-of-that-day-and-most-of-the-night-thinking-about-all/) [Pax Prentiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pax-prentiss/) > [“Overmedication: We're killing ourselves. Degrading -- often unseen & often unfelt -- our kidneys, livers, vital organs. Until it's too late. And we croak.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-r-wommack/overmedication-we-re-killing-ourselves-degrading-often-unseen-often/) [David R. Wommack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-r-wommack/) > [My medications make me easier to deal with. They don't interfere with my creativity or turn me into a zombie or dull my real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-gethard/my-medications-make-me-easier-to-deal-with-they-don-t-interfere-with/) [Chris Gethard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-gethard/) ## More by Kay Hooper > [“Yes, I also came home to settle my father's estate." "Would you have come home if it hadn't also been your job?" "I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-hooper/yes-i-also-came-home-to-settle-my-father-s-estate-would-you-have-come/) [Kay Hooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-hooper/) > [“Jesus. Chicago, Kansas City, Denver, Phoenix, L.A., and Seattle, plus two small towns she'd never heard of in the Gulf Coast region. The unit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-hooper/jesus-chicago-kansas-city-denver-phoenix-l-a-and-seattle-plus-two/) [Kay Hooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-hooper/) > [“What about free will? . . . There's that too. I never understood why people think they're mutually exclusive. Ask me, our entire lives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-hooper/what-about-free-will-there-s-that-too-i-never-understood-why-people/) [Kay Hooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-hooper/) > [“He remembered those tense moments on the cliff face and kept a grin off his own face with an effort. How many women, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-hooper/he-remembered-those-tense-moments-on-the-cliff-face-and-kept-a-grin/) [Kay Hooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-hooper/) > [But in real life, happily-ever-after is just the beginning. It's where life starts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-hooper/but-in-real-life-happily-ever-after-is-just-the-beginning-it-s-where/) [Kay Hooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-hooper/) > [“But the restlessness Quentin had been conscious of last night had shifted abruptly into a deep, cold sense of foreboding this morning when Diana…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-hooper/but-the-restlessness-quentin-had-been-conscious-of-last-night-had/) [Kay Hooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-hooper/) > [“he'd thought of fate as something hostile, a thief moving soundlessly in the night”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-hooper/he-d-thought-of-fate-as-something-hostile-a-thief-moving-soundlessly/) [Kay Hooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-hooper/) > [“She was one in a million, Tyler was. A strong, intelligent woman with the beauty to launch ships and the courage to follow them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-hooper/she-was-one-in-a-million-tyler-was-a-strong-intelligent-woman-with/) [Kay Hooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-hooper/) > [“I don't want us to be together because either of us is afraid. We have to be whole before we can share what we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-hooper/i-don-t-want-us-to-be-together-because-either-of-us-is-afraid-we-have/) [Kay Hooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-hooper/) > [“And here she was, in the middle of a tangled situation she didn't remember or understand, painfully aware that a killer or killers on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-hooper/and-here-she-was-in-the-middle-of-a-tangled-situation-she-didn-t/) [Kay Hooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-hooper/) > [“Where's my clairvoyance when I need it? Hell, where are any of my senses?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-hooper/where-s-my-clairvoyance-when-i-need-it-hell-where-are-any-of-my-senses/) [Kay Hooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-hooper/) > [“Samantha said, "I should be at the carnival. I have things to do." "Sam, do we have to keep arguing about this?" He handed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-hooper/samantha-said-i-should-be-at-the-carnival-i-have-things-to-do-sam-do/) [Kay Hooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-hooper/) > [Sometimes reality is better than dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-hooper/sometimes-reality-is-better-than-dreams/) [Kay Hooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-hooper/) > [“Quentin found it hard not to blame her doctors, and especially her father, for not being open-minded enough to at least consider the possibility…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-hooper/quentin-found-it-hard-not-to-blame-her-doctors-and-especially-her/) [Kay Hooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-hooper/) > [Maybe that's what is means to be human . . . forever questioning our certainties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-hooper/maybe-that-s-what-is-means-to-be-human-forever-questioning-our/) [Kay Hooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-hooper/) [Explore all 46 Kay Hooper quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-hooper/) ## More Medications quotes > [My medications make me easier to deal with. They don't interfere with my creativity or turn me into a zombie or dull my real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-gethard/my-medications-make-me-easier-to-deal-with-they-don-t-interfere-with/) [Chris Gethard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-gethard/) > [“Overmedication: We're killing ourselves. Degrading -- often unseen & often unfelt -- our kidneys, livers, vital organs. Until it's too late. And we croak.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-r-wommack/overmedication-we-re-killing-ourselves-degrading-often-unseen-often/) [David R. Wommack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-r-wommack/) > [“I spent the rest of that day and most of the night thinking about all the hundreds of people I had met in rehabs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pax-prentiss/i-spent-the-rest-of-that-day-and-most-of-the-night-thinking-about-all/) [Pax Prentiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pax-prentiss/) > [Lots of medications work for a month, or a year, and then stop working.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayelet-waldman/lots-of-medications-work-for-a-month-or-a-year-and-then-stop-working/) [Ayelet Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayelet-waldman/) > [“The whole notion that ADHD is a specific disease easily remedied by a pill is convenient but alarming. In several schools throughout the United…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-perlmutter/the-whole-notion-that-adhd-is-a-specific-disease-easily-remedied-by-a/) [David Perlmutter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-perlmutter/) > [“While you can't control your experiences, you can control your explanations.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-e-p-seligman/while-you-can-t-control-your-experiences-you-can-control-your/) [Martin E.P. Seligman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-e-p-seligman/) > [Your liver is your vital detoxification organ, and if it becomes overloaded with toxins from the food, drink, or medications you're consuming, you'll have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-somers/your-liver-is-your-vital-detoxification-organ-and-if-it-becomes/) [Suzanne Somers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-somers/) > [Medications almost always do it better if they're used in conjunction with other supports.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-oz/medications-almost-always-do-it-better-if-they-re-used-in-conjunction/) [Mehmet Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-oz/) > [There's always going to be the need for new medications, better medications.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-fauci/there-s-always-going-to-be-the-need-for-new-medications-better/) [Anthony Fauci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-fauci/) > [The discovery of HIV in 1983 and the proof that it was the cause of AIDS in 1984 were the first major scientific breakthroughs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-fauci/the-discovery-of-hiv-in-1983-and-the-proof-that-it-was-the-cause-of/) [Anthony Fauci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-fauci/) > [People and organizations other than doctors increasingly are assuming power to decide which medications to prescribe or procedures to undertake. More and more, decisions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-barr/people-and-organizations-other-than-doctors-increasingly-are-assuming/) [Bob Barr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-barr/) > [“When I stopped going to doctors offices and taking their prescription medications, I recovered my health!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/when-i-stopped-going-to-doctors-offices-and-taking-their-prescription/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [“Part of my stubbornness can be put down to human nature. It is hard for anyone with an illness, chronic or acute, to take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-redfield-jamison/part-of-my-stubbornness-can-be-put-down-to-human-nature-it-is-hard/) [Kay Redfield Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-redfield-jamison/) > [Medications are palliatives. They are not designed to cure the degenerative diseases of the body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fereydoon-batmanghelidj/medications-are-palliatives-they-are-not-designed-to-cure-the/) Fereydoon Batmanghelidj > [As a doctor, my thing is, we need to have access to medications; we need to have reasonable prices for medications.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-varshavski/as-a-doctor-my-thing-is-we-need-to-have-access-to-medications-we-need/) [Mikhail Varshavski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-varshavski/) [Browse all 40 Medications quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/medications/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“After a moment, Quentin asked, \"How long had it been since you'd been completely off medications?\" Diana didn't really want to tell him, but finally said, \"The first medications were prescribed when I was eleven. 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