--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Like King Midas, I am left with nothing…" description: "\"“Like King Midas, I am left with nothing but this unreasonable hope that, somehow, my strange life and my lost family will return to normal. ”\" — Marga..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/538/margarita-engle-13902_family_like-king-midas-i-am-left-with-nothing-b_2421599.jpg" --- # Like King Midas, I am left with nothing but this… ![“Like King Midas, I am left with nothing but this unreasonable hope that, somehow, my strange life and my lost family will return to normal.” quote by Margarita Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/538/margarita-engle-13902_family_like-king-midas-i-am-left-with-nothing-b_2421599.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/538/margarita-engle-13902_family_like-king-midas-i-am-left-with-nothing-b_2421599.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/538/margarita-engle-13902_family_like-king-midas-i-am-left-with-nothing-b_2421599.jpg) > ““Like King Midas, I am left with nothing but this unreasonable hope that, somehow, my strange life and my lost family will return to normal. ”” [Margarita Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margarita-engle/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Hope persists despite loss, but clinging to it can feel futile like King Midas. **In simple terms:** Hope remains after loss, but can feel futile. Key Takeaway Balance hope with realistic action. Themes hope loss family resilience unrealistic expectations Mood somber reflective Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - grief - family reunification - personal recovery - goal setting Key Concepts Mythic metaphor emotional struggle Questions to Reflect On - What actions can you take toward healing? - How do you differentiate hope from denial? A Different Perspective Hope alone may not restore what’s gone. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/family/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Lost family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lost-family/) ## Related quotes > [“It does not have walls splattered with gold leaf like King Midas has had a nosebleed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-rayner/it-does-not-have-walls-splattered-with-gold-leaf-like-king-midas-has/) [Jay Rayner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-rayner/) > [Yes, hope is a strange thing. Peace at last. 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They are never forced to decide which way to go...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margarita-engle/i-envy-the-trees-that-grow-at-crossroads-they-are-never-forced-to/) [Margarita Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margarita-engle/) > [“I will never understand the whole world or even one country. All I can do is try to understand the truth and lies in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margarita-engle/i-will-never-understand-the-whole-world-or-even-one-country-all-i-can/) [Margarita Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margarita-engle/) > [“Do I have to admit that I'm half Cuban and half American, or should I go even further, and explain that Dad's parents were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margarita-engle/do-i-have-to-admit-that-i-m-half-cuban-and-half-american-or-should-i/) [Margarita Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margarita-engle/) > [“Books are enchanted. Books help me travel. Books help me breathe.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margarita-engle/books-are-enchanted-books-help-me-travel-books-help-me-breathe/) [Margarita Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margarita-engle/) > [If we knew how to find the lost, we would know how to rediscover the parts of our minds left behind in battle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margarita-engle/if-we-knew-how-to-find-the-lost-we-would-know-how-to-rediscover-the/) [Margarita Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margarita-engle/) > [“Some people are born with words flowing in their veins.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margarita-engle/some-people-are-born-with-words-flowing-in-their-veins/) [Margarita Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margarita-engle/) > [“Is there any way that two people from faraway places can ever really understand each other's daydrems?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margarita-engle/is-there-any-way-that-two-people-from-faraway-places-can-ever-really/) [Margarita Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margarita-engle/) > [“I feel at home, choosing to live inside my own imagination, savage and natural, yet I also long to be honest about my desire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margarita-engle/i-feel-at-home-choosing-to-live-inside-my-own-imagination-savage-and/) [Margarita Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margarita-engle/) > [I feel certain that words can be as human as people, alive with the breath of compassion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margarita-engle/i-feel-certain-that-words-can-be-as-human-as-people-alive-with-the/) [Margarita Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margarita-engle/) > [“But love is a wildly unpredictable hurricane wind, not a swirling blue ocean with peaceful shores.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margarita-engle/but-love-is-a-wildly-unpredictable-hurricane-wind-not-a-swirling-blue/) [Margarita Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margarita-engle/) > [“Danger is a chain...passed from one wounded child to the next. 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We must learn how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margarita-engle/danger-is-a-chain-passed-from-one-wounded-child-to-the-next-we-must/) [Margarita Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margarita-engle/) > [“Books are door-shaped portals carrying me across oceans and centuries, helping me feel less alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margarita-engle/books-are-door-shaped-portals-carrying-me-across-oceans-and-centuries/) [Margarita Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margarita-engle/) > [“I sing without knowing what my song means, and whether the listening world is amazed or wounded.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margarita-engle/i-sing-without-knowing-what-my-song-means-and-whether-the-listening/) [Margarita Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margarita-engle/) > [I don't understand the whole thrilling verse, but I love the way poetry turns ordinary words into winged things that rise up and soar!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margarita-engle/i-don-t-understand-the-whole-thrilling-verse-but-i-love-the-way/) [Margarita Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margarita-engle/) [Explore all 48 Margarita Engle quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margarita-engle/) ## More Family quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. 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