--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Examination was the only solace. Instead…" description: "\"“Examination was the only solace. Instead of looking away from heartache, you needed to crawl inside of it, wear it like a warm coat on a cold day. The..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/31d/kristin-hannah-1106_death_examination-was-the-only-solace-instead_547407.png" --- # Examination was the only solace. Instead of looking away… ![“Examination was the only solace. Instead of looking away from heartache, you needed to crawl inside of it, wear it like a warm coat on a cold day. There was peace in loss, beauty in death, freedom in regret. She had learned that the hard way. She” quote by Kristin Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/31d/kristin-hannah-1106_death_examination-was-the-only-solace-instead_547407.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/31d/kristin-hannah-1106_death_examination-was-the-only-solace-instead_547407.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/31d/kristin-hannah-1106_death_examination-was-the-only-solace-instead_547407.png) > ““Examination was the only solace. Instead of looking away from heartache, you needed to crawl inside of it, wear it like a warm coat on a cold day. There was peace in loss, beauty in death, freedom in regret. She had learned that the hard way. She”” [Kristin Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-hannah/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Facing deep emotional pain directly can transform suffering into peace, beauty, and freedom, turning grief into a source of strength. **In simple terms:** Confronting heartache leads to inner peace and growth. Key Takeaway Allow yourself to feel and learn from pain. Themes grief healing self‑discovery resilience emotional intelligence Mood reflective melancholic hopeful Type literary inspirational When to use this quote - therapy - journaling - support groups - creative writing - mindful walking Key Concepts acceptance transformative suffering inner peace Questions to Reflect On - What does “crawling inside” pain feel like? - How can you turn loss into beauty? A Different Perspective Avoiding pain may be protective but can hinder growth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Heartache](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heartache/) [Looking away](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looking-away/) [Regret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regret/) ## Related quotes > [“A single act of carelessness leads to the eternal loss of beauty”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/forbidden-city-sign-writer/a-single-act-of-carelessness-leads-to-the-eternal-loss-of-beauty/) Forbidden City Sign Writer > [I am concerned about ageism and the loss of beauty - the perception that as you grow older, you 'lose your looks,' which I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-o-connor/i-am-concerned-about-ageism-and-the-loss-of-beauty-the-perception/) [Erin O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-o-connor/) > [Children, dear and loving children, can alone console a woman for the loss of her beauty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/children-dear-and-loving-children-can-alone-console-a-woman-for-the/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [He stares at me, and I don't look away. He isn't a dog, but the same rules apply. Looking away is submissive. Looking him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/he-stares-at-me-and-i-don-t-look-away-he-isn-t-a-dog-but-the-same/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [“It was not boring, said Majnoun, but it was strange. The people were always looking away to where you couldn't see. The whole time,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-alexis/it-was-not-boring-said-majnoun-but-it-was-strange-the-people-were/) [André Alexis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-alexis/) > [I always hope ur looking at me when I'm looking away](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crystal/i-always-hope-ur-looking-at-me-when-i-m-looking-away/) [Crystal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crystal/) > [God is to be found not by stepping aside from the flow of daily life into religious moments and environments, or by looking away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-philip-newell/god-is-to-be-found-not-by-stepping-aside-from-the-flow-of-daily-life/) John Philip Newell > [If you're in a situation where something horrible is happening, you're closing your eyes. You're looking away. 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When the unspeakable truth of the Holocaust then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-von-weizsaecker/there-were-many-ways-of-not-burdening-one-s-conscience-of-shunning/) [Richard von Weizsaecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-von-weizsaecker/) > [There was the man who seemed to be attempting to decieve his ball and lull it into a false sense of security by looking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-g-wodehouse-2/there-was-the-man-who-seemed-to-be-attempting-to-decieve-his-ball-and/) [P. G. Wodehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-g-wodehouse-2/) > [“Do you believe there's hope at the end?" I ask. "No," she says simply, looking away. "No, I don't, but I'm still going.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-ness/do-you-believe-there-s-hope-at-the-end-i-ask-no-she-says-simply/) [Patrick Ness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-ness/) > [“And yes, there was such a luster in his eyes that I had to look away, and when I looked back at him, his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/and-yes-there-was-such-a-luster-in-his-eyes-that-i-had-to-look-away/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [ Looking away is submissive. Looking \[..\] in the eye is a challenge. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/looking-away-is-submissive-looking-in-the-eye-is-a-challenge/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [If enough of us stop looking away and decide that climate change is a crisis worthy of Marshall Plan levels of response, then it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-klein/if-enough-of-us-stop-looking-away-and-decide-that-climate-change-is-a/) [Naomi Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-klein/) ## More by Kristin Hannah > [She still felt shell-shocked by all of it, numb. Beneath the numbness, though, was a raw and terrible anger that was unlike anything she'd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-hannah/she-still-felt-shell-shocked-by-all-of-it-numb-beneath-the-numbness/) [Kristin Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-hannah/) > [“Terrible beautiful combination of happiness and pain.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-hannah/terrible-beautiful-combination-of-happiness-and-pain/) [Kristin Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-hannah/) > [She waited for you in a thousand different ways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-hannah/she-waited-for-you-in-a-thousand-different-ways/) [Kristin Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-hannah/) > [“Antoine took her in his arms. The scent of jasmine was intoxicating, and she knew suddenly, certainly, that from now on, whenever she smelled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-hannah/antoine-took-her-in-his-arms-the-scent-of-jasmine-was-intoxicating/) [Kristin Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-hannah/) > [what shall we drink to?" "How about family?" Stacy said, showing up just in time to pour a fourth shot. "To those who are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-hannah/what-shall-we-drink-to-how-about-family-stacy-said-showing-up-just-in/) [Kristin Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-hannah/) > [He is a man, and he is afraid. 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Thanks.”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-hannah/kate-heard-the-bravado-in-her-friend-s-voice-and-saw-it-in-her-eyes-i/) [Kristin Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-hannah/) > [“The trip from Portland to New York City was like climbing Mount Everest without oxygen. It went on and on, and by the time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-hannah/the-trip-from-portland-to-new-york-city-was-like-climbing-mount/) [Kristin Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-hannah/) > [“So now books were her only friends. She'd read Lord of the Rings so often she could recite whole scenes by memory. It was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-hannah/so-now-books-were-her-only-friends-she-d-read-lord-of-the-rings-so/) [Kristin Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-hannah/) > [She used to tell me that she couldn't feel the sunlight anymore, not even when she was standing in it, not even when it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-hannah/she-used-to-tell-me-that-she-couldn-t-feel-the-sunlight-anymore-not/) [Kristin Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-hannah/) > [“Tragedy was like that, a razor that sliced through time, severing the now from the before, incising the what-might-have-been from reality as cleanly as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-hannah/tragedy-was-like-that-a-razor-that-sliced-through-time-severing-the/) [Kristin Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-hannah/) > [“I want to imagine there will be peace when I am gone, that I will see all of the people I have loved and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-hannah/i-want-to-imagine-there-will-be-peace-when-i-am-gone-that-i-will-see/) [Kristin Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-hannah/) > [What good did it do to light the world on fire if she had to watch the glow alone?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-hannah/what-good-did-it-do-to-light-the-world-on-fire-if-she-had-to-watch/) [Kristin Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-hannah/) [Explore all 282 Kristin Hannah quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-hannah/) ## More Death quotes > [“He wondered how it was fair that your dying should depend so much on when you were born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/he-wondered-how-it-was-fair-that-your-dying-should-depend-so-much-on/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [I do not want to live at the cost of the life even of a snake. I should let him bite me to death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-to-live-at-the-cost-of-the-life-even-of-a-snake-i/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“It was beautiful. 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Then his eyes turned to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-anthony-torino/what-did-you-see-she-asked-gently-his-brow-furrowed-as-if-he-could/) J. Anthony Torino > [Those whose life is long still strive for gain, and for all mortals all things take second place to money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/those-whose-life-is-long-still-strive-for-gain-and-for-all-mortals/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [“I practice Dying--every night-- But have not learned to, still-- Though Talented--by Mortal bones-- For such a common Skill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-powers/i-practice-dying-every-night-but-have-not-learned-to-still-though/) Alan W. Powers > [“You must understand the pain and grief of losing someone is nothing more than a function of survival.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-cooper/you-must-understand-the-pain-and-grief-of-losing-someone-is-nothing/) [Steven Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-cooper/) > [I am not a depressive person at all, but I reflect a lot on my life, and life in general, from the perspective of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/i-am-not-a-depressive-person-at-all-but-i-reflect-a-lot-on-my-life/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [“Death is a reality that calls the rest of life and all of our assorted strivings into sharp relief.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/death-is-a-reality-that-calls-the-rest-of-life-and-all-of-our/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [I love life. 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