--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I wanted a drink. There were a hundred…" description: "\"I wanted a drink. There were a hundred reasons why a man will want a drink, but I wanted one now for the most elementary reason of all. I didn't want t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a2/lawrence-block-6776_acid_i-wanted-a-drink-there-were-a-hundred-re_1203252.jpg" --- # I wanted a drink. There were a hundred reasons why a man… ![“I wanted a drink. There were a hundred reasons why a man will want a drink, but I wanted one now for the most elementary reason of all. I didn't want to feel what I was feeling, and a voice within was telling me that I needed a drink, that I couldn't bear it without it. But that voice is a liar…” quote by Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a2/lawrence-block-6776_acid_i-wanted-a-drink-there-were-a-hundred-re_1203252.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a2/lawrence-block-6776_acid_i-wanted-a-drink-there-were-a-hundred-re_1203252.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a2/lawrence-block-6776_acid_i-wanted-a-drink-there-were-a-hundred-re_1203252.jpg) > “I wanted a drink. There were a hundred reasons why a man will want a drink, but I wanted one now for the most elementary reason of all. I didn't want to feel what I was feeling, and a voice within was telling me that I needed a drink, that I couldn't bear it without it. But that voice is a liar. You can always bear the pain. It'll hurt, it'll burn like acid in an open wound, but you can stand it. And, as long as you can make yourself go on choosing the pain over the relief, you can keep going.” [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Enduring pain without seeking quick relief builds resilience and self‑control. **In simple terms:** You can endure pain without a drink. Key Takeaway Choose pain over relief to grow stronger. Themes resilience self‑control addiction mental strength Mood determined reflective Type motivational inspirational When to use this quote - recovering from addiction - stressful work - emotional crisis - personal growth Key Concepts psychology habit formation willpower Questions to Reflect On - How do you recognize when pain is too much? - What healthier alternatives can replace the urge for relief? A Different Perspective Pain may become overwhelming without support or coping strategies. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Addiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/addiction/) [Bears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bears/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Liars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liars/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Relief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relief/) [Voice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voice/) [Wounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wounds/) ## Related quotes > [And, as long as you can make yourself go on choosing the pain over the relief, you can keep going.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/and-as-long-as-you-can-make-yourself-go-on-choosing-the-pain-over-the/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) > [“I tried to ask him where Ronnie was, but he just smiled, shook his head, and managed to hold an empty glass up, asking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/i-tried-to-ask-him-where-ronnie-was-but-he-just-smiled-shook-his-head/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [I want a drink. I want fifty drinks. I want a bottle of the purest, strongest, most destructive, most poisonous alcohol on Earth. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-frey/i-want-a-drink-i-want-fifty-drinks-i-want-a-bottle-of-the-purest/) [James Frey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-frey/) > [“Her heart sprang up into her throat. Watching that shadow play was like paying a quarter for a peep show. Only she got it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/candis-terry/her-heart-sprang-up-into-her-throat-watching-that-shadow-play-was/) [Candis Terry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/candis-terry/) > [“I needed a drink, I needed a lot of life insurance, I needed a vacation, I needed a home in the country. What I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/i-needed-a-drink-i-needed-a-lot-of-life-insurance-i-needed-a-vacation-2/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [When Hailey was born my first thought was that I needed a drink and that hospitals should have bars in them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-lawson/when-hailey-was-born-my-first-thought-was-that-i-needed-a-drink-and/) [Jenny Lawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-lawson/) > [“I got up on my feet and went over to the bowl in the corner and threw cold water on my face. After a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/i-got-up-on-my-feet-and-went-over-to-the-bowl-in-the-corner-and-threw/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [“I needed a drink and was in a hurry to get one. I”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/i-needed-a-drink-and-was-in-a-hurry-to-get-one-i/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [“After a little while I felt a little better, but very little. I needed a drink, I needed a lot of life insurance, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/after-a-little-while-i-felt-a-little-better-but-very-little-i-needed/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [I needed a drink, I needed a lot of life insurance, I needed a vacation, I needed a home in the country. What I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/i-needed-a-drink-i-needed-a-lot-of-life-insurance-i-needed-a-vacation/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [“Right," I said, but it didn't feel very right. I didn't want to make it. I wanted to lie down with it and strangle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ottessa-moshfegh/right-i-said-but-it-didn-t-feel-very-right-i-didn-t-want-to-make-it-i/) [Ottessa Moshfegh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ottessa-moshfegh/) > [“He wanted one drink, and understood precisely why he wasn't going to have one. One drink ended up arriving in a dozen glasses.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/he-wanted-one-drink-and-understood-precisely-why-he-wasn-t-going-to/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [I asked my date what she wanted to drink. She said, 'Oh, I guess I'll have Champagne.' I said, 'Guess again.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slappy-white/i-asked-my-date-what-she-wanted-to-drink-she-said-oh-i-guess-i-ll/) Slappy White > [“I actually wanted a drink, besides feeling that I had to have a drink.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alcoholics-anonymous/i-actually-wanted-a-drink-besides-feeling-that-i-had-to-have-a-drink/) [Alcoholics Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alcoholics-anonymous/) > [“I wanted to be with Drew every minute. I wanted to drink him, sleep him, and inhabit his body. I wanted to spend the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-susan-meyers/i-wanted-to-be-with-drew-every-minute-i-wanted-to-drink-him-sleep-him/) [Randy Susan Meyers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-susan-meyers/) ## More by Lawrence Block > [If fate sends you a lemon, use it to make lemonade.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/if-fate-sends-you-a-lemon-use-it-to-make-lemonade/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) > [“She made love with the freshness of an impatient virgin and the ingenuity of a sex-scarred whore.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/she-made-love-with-the-freshness-of-an-impatient-virgin-and-the/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) > [“that would have hidden the decades of filth that had left their stamp upon the wooden floor.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/that-would-have-hidden-the-decades-of-filth-that-had-left-their-stamp/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) > [Serendipity. Look for something, find something else, and realize that what you've found is more suited to your needs than what you thought you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/serendipity-look-for-something-find-something-else-and-realize-that/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) > [And, as long as you can make yourself go on choosing the pain over the relief, you can keep going.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/and-as-long-as-you-can-make-yourself-go-on-choosing-the-pain-over-the/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) > [I don't plan an awful lot in life just as I don't plan an awful lot in my fiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/i-don-t-plan-an-awful-lot-in-life-just-as-i-don-t-plan-an-awful-lot/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) > [“Your unconscious mind takes the things you can’t handle and plays with them while you sleep until some of the sharp corners are worn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/your-unconscious-mind-takes-the-things-you-can-t-handle-and-plays/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) > [Dangerous thing, giving humanity the knowledge of good and evil. And the capacity to make the wrong choice more often than not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/dangerous-thing-giving-humanity-the-knowledge-of-good-and-evil-and/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) > [Back then, before it became clear that democracy was best served by a drunken electorate, the bars in New York City were required to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/back-then-before-it-became-clear-that-democracy-was-best-served-by-a/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) > [I’ve tried writing and the sentences come out fine, but I write a few pages and I don’t want to go on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/i-ve-tried-writing-and-the-sentences-come-out-fine-but-i-write-a-few/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) > [As a friend of mine, herself a writer, says, 'People who spend the most meaningful hours of their lives in the exclusive company of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/as-a-friend-of-mine-herself-a-writer-says-people-who-spend-the-most/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) > [“My crime seemed destined to remain a secret forever.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/my-crime-seemed-destined-to-remain-a-secret-forever/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) > [“you have a better chance to get pregnant if you keep your knees way up and stay that way as long as you can.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/you-have-a-better-chance-to-get-pregnant-if-you-keep-your-knees-way/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) > [I can’t persuade myself that one of the problems facing the planet today might be a shortage of books by me,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/i-can-t-persuade-myself-that-one-of-the-problems-facing-the-planet/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) > [Man, I so sick of dinosaurs. They wasn't extinct, I'd go out an' kill 'em myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/man-i-so-sick-of-dinosaurs-they-wasn-t-extinct-i-d-go-out-an-kill-em/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) [Explore all 96 Lawrence Block quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) ## More Acid quotes > [Grew up in a small town where there was only one crazy guy. He didn't even go insane doing anything good, like going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-posehn/grew-up-in-a-small-town-where-there-was-only-one-crazy-guy-he-didn-t/) [Brian Posehn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-posehn/) > [Under Thatcher, who ruled us with an iron rod, great art was made. Amazing designers and musicians. Acid house was born. 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Our main imports are baseball players and acid rain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-trudeau/canada-is-a-country-whose-main-exports-are-hockey-players-and-cold/) [Pierre Trudeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-trudeau/) > [If you've never seen an elephant ski, then you've never been on acid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-izzard/if-you-ve-never-seen-an-elephant-ski-then-you-ve-never-been-on-acid/) [Eddie Izzard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-izzard/) > [In my case I've never not been political, though religion tended to overshadow it in my acid days.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lennon/in-my-case-i-ve-never-not-been-political-though-religion-tended-to/) [John Lennon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lennon/) > [Envy may justly be called "the gall of bitterness and bond of iniquity;" it is the most acid fruit that grows on the stock…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hosea-ballou/envy-may-justly-be-called-the-gall-of-bitterness-and-bond-of-iniquity/) [Hosea Ballou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hosea-ballou/) > [“They threw rotten fruit at me and told me next time it would be acid.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-brooks/they-threw-rotten-fruit-at-me-and-told-me-next-time-it-would-be-acid/) [Geraldine Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/) > [“We were left with nothing because of a love like acid that ate its way through our entire family.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-ronald/we-were-left-with-nothing-because-of-a-love-like-acid-that-ate-its/) [R.D. Ronald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-ronald/) > [The acid test of our love for God is obedience to His Word. The greatest ability is dependability. The test of your character is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-jones-sr/the-acid-test-of-our-love-for-god-is-obedience-to-his-word-the/) [Bob Jones, Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-jones-sr/) > [You must have had such a great childhood with a man like that for your father. (Delphine) Yeah. All puppy dogs and rainbows and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/you-must-have-had-such-a-great-childhood-with-a-man-like-that-for/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [Since I was gay and loved disco music, it was kinda pre-programmed that my first experiences with house music and acid - which I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justus-kohncke/since-i-was-gay-and-loved-disco-music-it-was-kinda-pre-programmed/) Justus Kohncke > [We open the halves of a miracle, and a clotting of acids brims into the starry divisions: creation's original juices, irreducible, changeless, alive: so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/we-open-the-halves-of-a-miracle-and-a-clotting-of-acids-brims-into/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [I was standing in the street with people walking past me and I could feel my face evaporating. I thought I was on fire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-piper/i-was-standing-in-the-street-with-people-walking-past-me-and-i-could/) [Katie Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-piper/) > [Once I slapped a rapper with mace, Then I spit acid in his face, after he rinsed his eyes, no wait... I actually grew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pharoahe-monch/once-i-slapped-a-rapper-with-mace-then-i-spit-acid-in-his-face-after/) [Pharoahe Monch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pharoahe-monch/) Browse all 448 Acid quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I wanted a drink. There were a hundred reasons why a man will want a drink, but I wanted one now for the most elementary reason of all. I didn't want to feel what I was feeling, and a voice within was telling me that I needed a drink, that I couldn't bear it without it. But that voice is a liar. You can always bear the pain. 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