--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You couldn't pretend you had lost…" description: "\"You couldn't pretend you had lost nothing... you had to begin there, not let your blood freeze over. If your heart turned away at this, it would turn a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3f/lorrie-moore-870_blood_you-couldn-t-pretend-you-had-lost-nothin_1195922.png" --- # You couldn't pretend you had lost nothing... you had to… ![“You couldn't pretend you had lost nothing... you had to begin there, not let your blood freeze over. If your heart turned away at this, it would turn away at something greater, then more and more until your heart stayed averted, immobile, your imagination redistributed away from the world and back…” quote by Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3f/lorrie-moore-870_blood_you-couldn-t-pretend-you-had-lost-nothin_1195922.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3f/lorrie-moore-870_blood_you-couldn-t-pretend-you-had-lost-nothin_1195922.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3f/lorrie-moore-870_blood_you-couldn-t-pretend-you-had-lost-nothin_1195922.png) > “You couldn't pretend you had lost nothing... you had to begin there, not let your blood freeze over. If your heart turned away at this, it would turn away at something greater, then more and more until your heart stayed averted, immobile, your imagination redistributed away from the world and back only toward the bad maps of yourself, the sour pools of your own pulse, your own tiny, mean, and pointless wants.” [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator confronts emotional stagnation, urging oneself to face loss, avoid numbness, and pursue deeper, meaningful experiences beyond self‑absorption. **In simple terms:** Avoid emotional numbness and seek authentic growth. Key Takeaway Embrace pain to prevent inner freeze. Themes growth self‑reflection emotional health authenticity purpose Mood reflective melancholic inspirational Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - personal crisis - creative writing - therapy - mindfulness Key Concepts existentialism psychology literary introspection Questions to Reflect On - What personal losses have you ignored? - How can you transform numbness into purpose? A Different Perspective The prose is dense, may be hard to apply directly. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Oh! Duty is an icy shadow. It will freeze you. It cannot fill the heart's sanctuary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusta-jane-evans/oh-duty-is-an-icy-shadow-it-will-freeze-you-it-cannot-fill-the-heart/) [Augusta Jane Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusta-jane-evans/) > [Before I got here, I thought for a long time that the way out of the labyrinth was to pretend that it did not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/before-i-got-here-i-thought-for-a-long-time-that-the-way-out-of-the-2/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Before I got here, I thought that the way out of the labyrinth was to pretend that it didn't exist, to build a small,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/before-i-got-here-i-thought-that-the-way-out-of-the-labyrinth-was-to/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Idle to pretend that we have lost paradise. We never had it; it is still to make.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-ertz/idle-to-pretend-that-we-have-lost-paradise-we-never-had-it-it-is/) [Susan Ertz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-ertz/) > [“Seated, lost for where to begin (not how to begin) this book gets birthed”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-wambui-ngabura/seated-lost-for-where-to-begin-not-how-to-begin-this-book-gets-birthed/) [Carol Wambui Ngabura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-wambui-ngabura/) > [Not until we are lost do we begin to understand ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/not-until-we-are-lost-do-we-begin-to-understand-ourselves/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“Bravehearted Musings Seated, lost for where to begin (not how to begin) this book gets birthed”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wambui-ngabura/bravehearted-musings-seated-lost-for-where-to-begin-not-how-to-begin/) Wambui Ngabura > [If you lost it, it was never yours to begin with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-lost-it-it-was-never-yours-to-begin-with/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Not until we are lost do we begin to find ourselves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/not-until-we-are-lost-do-we-begin-to-find-ourselves/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [When you start to miss me remember;you were the one who made me cry, broke my heart, turned your back and let me go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhishek-tiwari/when-you-start-to-miss-me-remember-you-were-the-one-who-made-me-cry/) [Abhishek Tiwari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhishek-tiwari/) > [With a heavy heart, I turned and walked away. I knew that as long as I lived I'd never forget the two little graves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilson-rawls/with-a-heavy-heart-i-turned-and-walked-away-i-knew-that-as-long-as-i/) [Wilson Rawls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilson-rawls/) > [“He never broke my heart. He only turned it into a compass that always points me back to him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clementine-von-radics/he-never-broke-my-heart-he-only-turned-it-into-a-compass-that-always/) [Clementine von Radics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clementine-von-radics/) > [My heart is turned to stone; I strike it, and it hurts my hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/my-heart-is-turned-to-stone-i-strike-it-and-it-hurts-my-hand/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [When u start to miss me remember u broke my heart, turned ur back nd waked away! I don't miss u, I miss the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vvn/when-u-start-to-miss-me-remember-u-broke-my-heart-turned-ur-back-nd/) VVN > [“My heart has turned black bitumen out of the sadness, but I know it will never burn out. I will never have cinders of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tsholofelo-lehaha/my-heart-has-turned-black-bitumen-out-of-the-sadness-but-i-know-it/) [Tsholofelo Lehaha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tsholofelo-lehaha/) ## More by Lorrie Moore > [But I believed in starting over. There was finally, I knew, only rupture and hurt and falling short between all persons, but, Shirley, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/but-i-believed-in-starting-over-there-was-finally-i-knew-only-rupture/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [I'm very interested in what people will do for money. Money: it's timeless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/i-m-very-interested-in-what-people-will-do-for-money-money-it-s/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [“One of the problems with people in Chicago, she remembered, was that they were never lonely at the same time. Their sadness occurred in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/one-of-the-problems-with-people-in-chicago-she-remembered-was-that/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [“If you had forgotten, it would quickly come back to you. Aloneness was like riding a bike. At gunpoint. With the gun in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/if-you-had-forgotten-it-would-quickly-come-back-to-you-aloneness-was/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [Once love had seemed like magic. Now it seemed like tricks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/once-love-had-seemed-like-magic-now-it-seemed-like-tricks/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [“Observing others go through them, he used to admire midlife crises, the courage and shamelessness and existential daring of them, but after he'd watched…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/observing-others-go-through-them-he-used-to-admire-midlife-crises-the/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [Start dating someone who is funny, someone who has what in high school you called a "really great sense of humor" and what now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/start-dating-someone-who-is-funny-someone-who-has-what-in-high-school/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [You are unhappy because you believe in such a thing as happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/you-are-unhappy-because-you-believe-in-such-a-thing-as-happy/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [“Amber was not shy. If she had been shy, not one of us would be at Perkins right now.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/amber-was-not-shy-if-she-had-been-shy-not-one-of-us-would-be-at/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [People will do anything, anything, for a really nice laugh,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/people-will-do-anything-anything-for-a-really-nice-laugh/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [“Farmers aren't rich. They have land but no money." Actually, my father didn't even have that much land. He had once stood on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/farmers-aren-t-rich-they-have-land-but-no-money-actually-my-father/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [“My grandmother, who, when I visited, stared at me with the staggering, arrogant stare of the dying, the wise vapidity of the already gone;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/my-grandmother-who-when-i-visited-stared-at-me-with-the-staggering/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [I count too heavily on birthdays, though I know I shouldn't. Inevitably I begin to assess my life by them, figure out how I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/i-count-too-heavily-on-birthdays-though-i-know-i-shouldn-t-inevitably/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [“Life is sad. Here is someone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/life-is-sad-here-is-someone/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [I had never feared insomnia before--like prison, wouldn't it just give you more time to read?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/i-had-never-feared-insomnia-before-like-prison-wouldn-t-it-just-give/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) [Explore all 340 Lorrie Moore quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) ## More Blood quotes > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [Ye youths and virgins, when your generous blood Has drunk the warmth of fifteen summers, now The loves invite; now to new rapture wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/ye-youths-and-virgins-when-your-generous-blood-has-drunk-the-warmth/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [Don't trust everyone, because one day you will shed tears of blood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunshine/don-t-trust-everyone-because-one-day-you-will-shed-tears-of-blood/) [SunShine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunshine/) > [I have no intention of retiring. Even my blood sugar is better when I'm working.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-stritch/i-have-no-intention-of-retiring-even-my-blood-sugar-is-better-when-i/) [Elaine Stritch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-stritch/) > [What about you three, where are you going?" Even before Halt answered, Will knew what he was going to say. But that didn't make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-flanagan/what-about-you-three-where-are-you-going-even-before-halt-answered/) [John Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-flanagan/) > [A day without blood is like a day without sunshine!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-lee-ermey/a-day-without-blood-is-like-a-day-without-sunshine/) [R. Lee Ermey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-lee-ermey/) > [Time hath not yet so dried this blood of mine, Nor age so eat up my invention, Nor fortune made such havoc of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/time-hath-not-yet-so-dried-this-blood-of-mine-nor-age-so-eat-up-my/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“...I wore his blood for clothing, on my legs and thighs and hands: a dry, stiff, brown garment with no warmth in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/i-wore-his-blood-for-clothing-on-my-legs-and-thighs-and-hands-a-dry/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [ T\]he church is not a place. It's not a building. It's not a preaching point. It's not a spiritual service provider. It's a people… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/t-he-church-is-not-a-place-it-s-not-a-building-it-s-not-a-preaching/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [I don't think you should ever say, 'This is the last time'. Music isn't like that. You'll be sitting there not wishing to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-daltrey/i-don-t-think-you-should-ever-say-this-is-the-last-time-music-isn-t/) [Roger Daltrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-daltrey/) > [In this choice of inheritance we have given to our frame of polity the image of a relation in blood; binding up the constitution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/in-this-choice-of-inheritance-we-have-given-to-our-frame-of-polity/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [I think cricket is there in Usain Bolt's blood. Since I got to watch from close quarters, it was amazing to see him run…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harbhajan-singh/i-think-cricket-is-there-in-usain-bolt-s-blood-since-i-got-to-watch/) [Harbhajan Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harbhajan-singh/) > [Holy shadows of the dead, I'm not to blame for your cruel and bitter fate, but the accursed rivalry which brought sister nations and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-the-great/holy-shadows-of-the-dead-i-m-not-to-blame-for-your-cruel-and-bitter/) [Alexander the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-the-great/) > [“The sun had burned through and the day had gone from dull to dazzling, yet in the west blask-satin thunderheads continued to stack up.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-sun-had-burned-through-and-the-day-had-gone-from-dull-to-dazzling/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) Browse all 6,234 Blood quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You couldn't pretend you had lost nothing... you had to begin there, not let your blood freeze over. If your heart turned away at this, it would turn away at something greater, then more and more until your heart stayed averted, immobile, your imagination redistributed away from the world and back only toward the bad maps of yourself, the sour pools of your own pulse, your own tiny, mean, and pointless wants.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lorrie Moore" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/you-couldn-t-pretend-you-had-lost-nothing-you-had-to-begin-there-not/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Blood" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/you-couldn-t-pretend-you-had-lost-nothing-you-had-to-begin-there-not/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3f/lorrie-moore-870_blood_you-couldn-t-pretend-you-had-lost-nothin_1195922.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3f/lorrie-moore-870_blood_you-couldn-t-pretend-you-had-lost-nothin_1195922.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3f/lorrie-moore-870_blood_you-couldn-t-pretend-you-had-lost-nothin_1195922.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You couldn't pretend you had lost nothing... you had to begin there, not let your blood freeze over. If your…” — Lorrie Moore", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Lorrie Moore", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "You couldn't pretend you had lost...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/you-couldn-t-pretend-you-had-lost-nothing-you-had-to-begin-there-not/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/you-couldn-t-pretend-you-had-lost-nothing-you-had-to-begin-there-not/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```