Kerouac Quote by Maggie Stiefvater
““Here’s a thing Jack Kerouac said: ‘What is that feeling when you’re driving away from people and they recede on the plain till you see their specks dispersing?—it’s the too-huge world vaulting us, and it’s good-bye. But we lean forward to the next crazy venture beneath the skies.’ If you’re missing someone tonight, know that I, Diablo Diablo, am, too. It’s an enormous sky out there with a lot of stars above it and a lot of folks underneath it, and all of us, stars and human, are missing someone in the dark. But I, Diablo Diablo, think that if we’re all out there missing someone, that means that we’re all really together on that one note, aren’t we? So none of us are really alone as long as we’re lonely.””
About This Quote
Source Novel: The Raven Cycle, 2012
Feeling isolated yet connected, we find comfort in shared longing under a vast sky.
In simple terms: Loneliness feels less alone when shared.
Key Takeaway
Embrace shared vulnerability.
Themes
loneliness
connection
existence
Mood
melancholic
hopeful
Type
poetic
inspirational
When to use this quote
- night walks
- star gazing
- grief support groups
Key Concepts
existentialism
shared experience
Questions to Reflect On
- How does shared longing help?
- What does the sky symbolize for you?
A Different Perspective
Shared longing may not resolve personal grief.
![“I realized Jack [Kerouac] was deeply committed to writing. Kesey was just as deeply committed to living and experiencing the lives of others; for him writing was just a part of living.” quote by Sterling Lord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/f1a/sterling-lord-55520_art-of-living_i-realized-jack-kerouac-was-deeply-commi_11675.jpg)
![“Unable to forgive his own sins, unsatisfied with just the goodness of his heart, [Kerouac] would go on poisoning his body until it rotted around him, rotted, bloated, exploded, and fell away to let the pure Jack Kerouac, the saint, escape free at last - remembered only as a ghost.” quote by Gerald Nicosia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/5d6/gerald-nicosia-60496_forgiveness_unable-to-forgive-his-own-sins-unsatisfi_1005898.jpg)
![“As a woman I have felt encouraged and fed by and nurtured by the work of [Jack] Kerouac and others.” quote by Anne Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/c5b/anne-waldman-4046_feds_as-a-woman-i-have-felt-encouraged-and-fe_986092.jpg)
![“I think-I need to ask an embarrassing question. Do you think I could borrow a pair of scrubs? I-uh-my pants-" "Oh!" Cried the poor nurse. "Yes. Absolutely. I'll be right back." [...] "Thanks," I mumbled. "I'll just change here. He's not looking at anything at the moment." I gestured toward Sam…” quote by Maggie Stiefvater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/cd6/maggie-stiefvater-76_curtains_i-think-i-need-to-ask-an-embarrassing-qu_8591.jpg)
![“I was impressed with Jack [Kerouac]’s commitment to serious writing at the expense of everything else in his life. At a time when the middle class was burgeoning with new homes, two-tone American cars, and black-and-white TVs, when American happiness was defined by upwardly mobile consumerism…” quote by Sterling Lord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/996/sterling-lord-55520_happiness_i-was-impressed-with-jack-kerouac-s-comm_36815.jpg)
