--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We have hugged each other maybe three or…" description: "\"“We have hugged each other maybe three or four times - on birthdays,very likely, and clumsily. We have never hugged in moments of grief.”\" — Kurt Vonnegut" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec6/kurt-vonnegut-41_grief_we-have-hugged-each-other-maybe-three-or_2891392.jpg" --- # We have hugged each other maybe three or four times - on… ![“We have hugged each other maybe three or four times - on birthdays,very likely, and clumsily. We have never hugged in moments of grief.” quote by Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec6/kurt-vonnegut-41_grief_we-have-hugged-each-other-maybe-three-or_2891392.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec6/kurt-vonnegut-41_grief_we-have-hugged-each-other-maybe-three-or_2891392.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec6/kurt-vonnegut-41_grief_we-have-hugged-each-other-maybe-three-or_2891392.jpg) > ““We have hugged each other maybe three or four times - on birthdays,very likely, and clumsily. We have never hugged in moments of grief.”” [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote highlights the scarcity of genuine physical comfort during grief, contrasting it with superficial affection. **In simple terms:** People rarely hug during grief. Key Takeaway Cultivate authentic support in tough times. Themes grief human connection emotional support social rituals Mood empathetic somber Type supportive reflective When to use this quote - counseling - support groups - friendship circles Key Concepts compassion empathetic listening comfort rituals social bonds Questions to Reflect On - How can you offer meaningful comfort in grief? - What rituals help express empathy? A Different Perspective People may feel awkward offering grief support. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Grief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“River, I love you.” He hugs me tighter than I ever remember being hugged, and after a few moments of just embracing each other,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-karr/river-i-love-you-he-hugs-me-tighter-than-i-ever-remember-being-hugged/) [Kim Karr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-karr/) > [“Peace be with you, Livia,” he said. He leaned down to her ear as he hugged her. “Maybe you’re more than I thought you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-anastasia/peace-be-with-you-livia-he-said-he-leaned-down-to-her-ear-as-he/) [Debra Anastasia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-anastasia/) > [There are moments when the grief comes bubbling up. The first time I saw Chris's chair empty, that was really hard. And it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-reeve/there-are-moments-when-the-grief-comes-bubbling-up-the-first-time-i/) [Dana Reeve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-reeve/) > [You have moments of grief in life, and if you can put pen to paper and capture that, that's something wonderful. I can revisit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lydon/you-have-moments-of-grief-in-life-and-if-you-can-put-pen-to-paper-and/) [John Lydon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lydon/) > [“Sorry for her loss. And he had hugged her. Like he knew what she was holding inside, this secret grief that had hardened where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/sorry-for-her-loss-and-he-had-hugged-her-like-he-knew-what-she-was/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [Good morning, Ms. Daniels. I’m calling to inform you that Julie has left our premises.” Not again. Curran’s arms closed around me and he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilona-andrews/good-morning-ms-daniels-i-m-calling-to-inform-you-that-julie-has-left/) [Ilona Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilona-andrews/) > [“Oh, Rob, ye're alive!" Elspeth put both arms around his neck and hugged him close. "I was afeard ye were gone, but ye're alive!"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/connie-mason/oh-rob-ye-re-alive-elspeth-put-both-arms-around-his-neck-and-hugged/) [Connie Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/connie-mason/) > [Poseidon held out his arms and gave me a hug. I realized, a little embarrassed, that I'd never actually hugged my dad before. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/poseidon-held-out-his-arms-and-gave-me-a-hug-i-realized-a-little/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [He likes me. I like him. He is suicidal, he cuts. I am too. He likes me for me, and I like him for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/he-likes-me-i-like-him-he-is-suicidal-he-cuts-i-am-too-he-likes-me/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Nick cleared his throat. “Do not … and I mean do … not … take this the wrong way, okay?” He wrapped his arms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/nick-cleared-his-throat-do-not-and-i-mean-do-not-take-this-the-wrong/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [My mom smiled at me. Her smile kind of hugged me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/my-mom-smiled-at-me-her-smile-kind-of-hugged-me/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I had embraced you... long before i hugged you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanober-khan/i-had-embraced-you-long-before-i-hugged-you/) [Sanober Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanober-khan/) > [“I walked into her arms and we hugged like hugging was breathing and we'd been holding our breath for a long, long time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/april-genevieve-tucholke/i-walked-into-her-arms-and-we-hugged-like-hugging-was-breathing-and/) [April Genevieve Tucholke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/april-genevieve-tucholke/) > [Hugging trees has a calming effect on me. 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Everything else about us is uninteresting.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/you-must-bloom-as-a-writer-and-i-must-bloom-as-a-painter-everything/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“People aren't supposed to look back.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/people-aren-t-supposed-to-look-back/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“Have a good nap, did you?” said the porter. “Yes,” said Billy. “Man,” said the porter, “you sure had a hard-on.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/have-a-good-nap-did-you-said-the-porter-yes-said-billy-man-said-the/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“I told him that if we doubted that we are demons in Hell, he should read The Mysterious Stranger, which Mark Twain wrote in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-told-him-that-if-we-doubted-that-we-are-demons-in-hell-he-should/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [ “Thomas Jefferson High School \[..\] His high school was named after a slave owner who was also one of the world’s greatest theoreticians on… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/thomas-jefferson-high-school-his-high-school-was-named-after-a-slave/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“I had a certain amount of skill as a dramatist, and Dr. Goebbels wanted me to use it”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-had-a-certain-amount-of-skill-as-a-dramatist-and-dr-goebbels-wanted/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [I was some of the mud that got to sit up and look around. 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She released a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/like-all-earthlings-at-the-point-of-death-mary-young-sent-faint/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“And contrast Mary Kathleen, if you will, with my wife Ruth, the Ophelia of the death camps, who believed that even the most intelligent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/and-contrast-mary-kathleen-if-you-will-with-my-wife-ruth-the-ophelia/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [Someday, someday, this crazy world will have to end, And our God will take things back that He to us did lend. And if,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/someday-someday-this-crazy-world-will-have-to-end-and-our-god-will/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“They were going back to the slaughterhouse for souvenirs of the war.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/they-were-going-back-to-the-slaughterhouse-for-souvenirs-of-the-war/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“There are plenty of good reasons for fighting," I said, "but no good reason ever to hate without reservation, to imagine that God Almighty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/there-are-plenty-of-good-reasons-for-fighting-i-said-but-no-good/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) [Explore all 2,089 Kurt Vonnegut quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) ## More Grief quotes > [“...they had lived, they'd lived intensely. But no matter how deeply you live, it comes to this in the end: one of you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-morton/they-had-lived-they-d-lived-intensely-but-no-matter-how-deeply-you/) [Brian Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-morton/) > [“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/) > [You felt a deep sorrow, the kind of melancholy you feel when you're in a beautiful place and the sun is going down](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thrity-umrigar/you-felt-a-deep-sorrow-the-kind-of-melancholy-you-feel-when-you-re-in/) [Thrity Umrigar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thrity-umrigar/) > [... how much of our inner substance is it good for us to give to public griefs? The whole modern tendency to agonize over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bogan/how-much-of-our-inner-substance-is-it-good-for-us-to-give-to-public/) [Louise Bogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bogan/) > [You dont choose your life; it chooses you. Theres no point asking why life has reserved certain joys or griefs, you just accept them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/you-dont-choose-your-life-it-chooses-you-theres-no-point-asking-why/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“When we learn to attribute meaning to the events in our lives, we connect with our Higher Purpose, Higher Wisdom, or Source; we become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-barbara-apollon/when-we-learn-to-attribute-meaning-to-the-events-in-our-lives-we/) [Susan Barbara Apollon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-barbara-apollon/) > [Only to have a grief equal to all these tears!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/only-to-have-a-grief-equal-to-all-these-tears/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [Nowadays most people wear black most of the time anyway: go to a literary party and one would imagine everyone there was in perpetual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fay-weldon/nowadays-most-people-wear-black-most-of-the-time-anyway-go-to-a/) [Fay Weldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fay-weldon/) > [Suppressed grief suffocates, it rages within the breast, and is forced to multiply its strength.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/suppressed-grief-suffocates-it-rages-within-the-breast-and-is-forced/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [That Woman is in love with her own grief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/that-woman-is-in-love-with-her-own-grief/) [Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/) > [Short time seems long in sorrow's sharp sustaining.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/short-time-seems-long-in-sorrow-s-sharp-sustaining/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [These days grief seems like walking on a frozen river; most of the time he feels safe enough, but there is always that danger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/these-days-grief-seems-like-walking-on-a-frozen-river-most-of-the/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [“You've been my beacon of light in my storm of grief, and I don't know if I could live without you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-ashley/you-ve-been-my-beacon-of-light-in-my-storm-of-grief-and-i-don-t-know/) [Katie Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-ashley/) > [Ancient eyes had stared at me, filled with ancient grief. And something more. Something so alien and unexpected that I'd almost burst into tears.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/ancient-eyes-had-stared-at-me-filled-with-ancient-grief-and-something/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [Meanwhile, the trees were just as green as before; the birds sang and the sun shone as clearly now as ever. The familiar surroundings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/meanwhile-the-trees-were-just-as-green-as-before-the-birds-sang-and/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) [Browse all 8,012 Grief quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We have hugged each other maybe three or four times - on birthdays,very likely, and clumsily. 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