--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Because if he knew, then it had been…" description: "\"“Because if he knew, then it had been real, not a nightmare I could just write off as my imagination. Like how talking to you reminded me of the nightm..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a9/lisa-ko-19640_quote_because-if-he-knew-then-it-had-been-real_2070324.jpg" --- # Because if he knew, then it had been real, not a nightmare… ![“Because if he knew, then it had been real, not a nightmare I could just write off as my imagination. Like how talking to you reminded me of the nightmare of losing you.” quote by Lisa Ko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a9/lisa-ko-19640_quote_because-if-he-knew-then-it-had-been-real_2070324.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a9/lisa-ko-19640_quote_because-if-he-knew-then-it-had-been-real_2070324.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a9/lisa-ko-19640_quote_because-if-he-knew-then-it-had-been-real_2070324.jpg) > ““Because if he knew, then it had been real, not a nightmare I could just write off as my imagination. Like how talking to you reminded me of the nightmare of losing you.”” [Lisa Ko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-ko/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker contrasts imagined horror with painful reality, suggesting that knowledge would make the experience authentic rather than a dismissible nightmare. **In simple terms:** Knowing makes pain real, not just imagination. Key Takeaway Acknowledge truth over denial. Themes truth loss reality Mood melancholic reflective Type lyyrical emotional When to use this quote - relationship breakup - grief processing - self‑reflection Key Concepts perception memory denial Questions to Reflect On - How does confronting truth change your healing? - What role does imagination play in protecting us? A Different Perspective May overlook the protective value of imagination in coping. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Knew Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knew-real-655000/) [Reminded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reminded/) [Reminded Nightmare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reminded-nightmare-3993989/) [Talking Reminded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talking-reminded-3993988/) [Write Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write-imagination-3629436/) ## Related quotes > [I write from my imagination, not from what I've read in books or seen on TV or to make money. I wrote from an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dirk-benedict/i-write-from-my-imagination-not-from-what-i-ve-read-in-books-or-seen/) [Dirk Benedict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dirk-benedict/) > [What I write is all from my imagination. 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From start to finish you never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexia/don-t-hate-me-because-i-wasn-t-who-you-thought-i-was-or-who-you/) [Alexia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexia/) > [You think Ive changed. Truth is you never really knew the real me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valdovinos1015/you-think-ive-changed-truth-is-you-never-really-knew-the-real-me/) [Valdovinos1015](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valdovinos1015/) > [“Then he said, "Nice bed head," and I knew it was the real Spencer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-clark/then-he-said-nice-bed-head-and-i-knew-it-was-the-real-spencer/) [Catherine Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-clark/) > [“i didn't call myself a writer until everyone else did. i knew it was real then.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darnell-lamont-walker/i-didn-t-call-myself-a-writer-until-everyone-else-did-i-knew-it-was/) [Darnell Lamont Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darnell-lamont-walker/) ## More by Lisa Ko > [“You could try to do all the right things and still feel wrong inside.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-ko/you-could-try-to-do-all-the-right-things-and-still-feel-wrong-inside/) [Lisa Ko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-ko/) > [“In Ridgeborough, when Deming Guo was no longer a name that was said aloud, he used to picture the Other Deming and Other Mama,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-ko/in-ridgeborough-when-deming-guo-was-no-longer-a-name-that-was-said/) [Lisa Ko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-ko/) > [“Daniel was malleable, everyone and no one, a collector of moods, a careful observer of the right thing to say. 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So I’d grown up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-ko/my-father-used-to-say-women-yapped-too-much-that-some-women-would-be/) [Lisa Ko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-ko/) > [“It was a funny thing, forgiveness. You could spend years being angry with someone and then realize you no longer felt the same, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-ko/it-was-a-funny-thing-forgiveness-you-could-spend-years-being-angry/) [Lisa Ko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-ko/) > [“Then the shoreline would grown dimmer and the blue would shoot in all directions, filling the frame around me, the sky so big it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-ko/then-the-shoreline-would-grown-dimmer-and-the-blue-would-shoot-in-all/) [Lisa Ko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-ko/) > [“The disc of a record was hardier yet more delicate than plasticky CDs. A record was to be treasured, its circle scratches a mysterious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-ko/the-disc-of-a-record-was-hardier-yet-more-delicate-than-plasticky-cds/) [Lisa Ko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-ko/) [Explore all 32 Lisa Ko quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-ko/) ## More Reminded quotes > [“Maybe some people were destined to be alone. 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