--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Grief wasn't a feeling. It was a thing…" description: "\"“Grief wasn't a feeling. It was a thing that visited. It was a weight, a lead wall, and it pressed on her lungs and settled a shadow across her mind, u..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/29b/meg-gardiner-58379_grief_grief-wasn-t-a-feeling-it-was-a-thing-th_1683657.jpg" --- # Grief wasn't a feeling. It was a thing that visited. It… ![“Grief wasn't a feeling. It was a thing that visited. It was a weight, a lead wall, and it pressed on her lungs and settled a shadow across her mind, until the only way she could inhale was through a gasp of anger.” quote by Meg Gardiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/29b/meg-gardiner-58379_grief_grief-wasn-t-a-feeling-it-was-a-thing-th_1683657.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/29b/meg-gardiner-58379_grief_grief-wasn-t-a-feeling-it-was-a-thing-th_1683657.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/29b/meg-gardiner-58379_grief_grief-wasn-t-a-feeling-it-was-a-thing-th_1683657.jpg) > ““Grief wasn't a feeling. It was a thing that visited. It was a weight, a lead wall, and it pressed on her lungs and settled a shadow across her mind, until the only way she could inhale was through a gasp of anger.”” [Meg Gardiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-gardiner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Grief is portrayed as a heavy, oppressive presence that suffocates, only broken by anger’s sharp intake. **In simple terms:** Grief feels like a crushing weight; anger can break its grip. Key Takeaway Allow anger to surface as a release. Themes grief pain emotions healing Mood somber intense Type literary emotional When to use this quote - bereavement - trauma recovery - stress management - creative writing Key Concepts psychological weight respiratory metaphor Questions to Reflect On - How does anger help or hinder healing? - Can you breathe through grief? A Different Perspective Anger may exacerbate pain if not processed health. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anger/) [Grief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief/) [Leadership](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leadership/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) ## Related quotes > [“Grief wasn't simply a shadow that followed people around; it was the worst sort of companion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerri-maniscalco/grief-wasn-t-simply-a-shadow-that-followed-people-around-it-was-the/) [Kerri Maniscalco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerri-maniscalco/) > [“Their grief wasn't his to bear, he knew. But it was inside him all the same, like a secret entrusted to a messenger.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-darnielle/their-grief-wasn-t-his-to-bear-he-knew-but-it-was-inside-him-all-the/) [John Darnielle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-darnielle/) > [“The two of us were bound together by the thread of grief, but it wasn't just our mutual losses that united us. We'd survived…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-rothert/the-two-of-us-were-bound-together-by-the-thread-of-grief-but-it-wasn/) [Brenda Rothert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-rothert/) > [“It was like she was so empty there wasn't even a feeling or thought in her.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/it-was-like-she-was-so-empty-there-wasn-t-even-a-feeling-or-thought/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [The first time I fell in love, I was in my 20s, and I loved someone right till I was 31. And then I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karan-johar/the-first-time-i-fell-in-love-i-was-in-my-20s-and-i-loved-someone/) [Karan Johar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karan-johar/) > [I wasn't feeling well in the first half. I felt down, man. I had three slices of pizza before the game and the food…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leroy-loggins/i-wasn-t-feeling-well-in-the-first-half-i-felt-down-man-i-had-three/) Leroy Loggins > [For years, I wasn't feeling good about myself. My head wasn't clear. I was doing nothing productive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-cornell/for-years-i-wasn-t-feeling-good-about-myself-my-head-wasn-t-clear-i/) [Chris Cornell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-cornell/) > [I'm feeling pain lots of pain but why? I don't know! I wish I wasn't feeling so much pain!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bani-bowen/i-m-feeling-pain-lots-of-pain-but-why-i-don-t-know-i-wish-i-wasn-t/) [Bani Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bani-bowen/) > [I had between 20 and 40 songs for 'Detox,' and I just couldn't feel it. Usually, I can hear the sequence of an album…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-dre/i-had-between-20-and-40-songs-for-detox-and-i-just-couldn-t-feel-it/) [Dr. Dre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-dre/) > [“At the time I was being celebrated for having made ‘India’ (whatever that means) proud. It was an odd place to be in, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/at-the-time-i-was-being-celebrated-for-having-made-india-whatever/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [The day I got called up to the majors I wasn't feeling well. I had gone out with my friends for 'sodas' the night…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-flaherty/the-day-i-got-called-up-to-the-majors-i-wasn-t-feeling-well-i-had/) John Flaherty > [I wasn't feeling challenged. I needed to walk away and unlearn and relearn everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fala-chen/i-wasn-t-feeling-challenged-i-needed-to-walk-away-and-unlearn-and/) [Fala Chen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fala-chen/) > [“Love wasn’t a feeling. It was a mission. A driving purpose to fulfill her every desire, to give her a life worth sharing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pam-godwin/love-wasn-t-a-feeling-it-was-a-mission-a-driving-purpose-to-fulfill/) [Pam Godwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pam-godwin/) > [I went to the doctors today cos I wasn't feeling well at all. My symptons were as followed as the doctor examined me.1. Need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine/i-went-to-the-doctors-today-cos-i-wasn-t-feeling-well-at-all-my/) [Josephine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine/) > [I was a breed of people who aren't capable of doing anything, really. At college I began to get the idea that being macho…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-seymour-hoffman/i-was-a-breed-of-people-who-aren-t-capable-of-doing-anything-really/) [Philip Seymour Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-seymour-hoffman/) ## More by Meg Gardiner > [“Was it hard to watch people go? No. Breathing afterward, every day, was harder.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-gardiner/was-it-hard-to-watch-people-go-no-breathing-afterward-every-day-was/) [Meg Gardiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-gardiner/) > [“Fight or flight. when you have to jump, do it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-gardiner/fight-or-flight-when-you-have-to-jump-do-it/) [Meg Gardiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-gardiner/) > [“I've been an investigator longer than you've been playing Vulcan Mind Meld with dead people - Tang”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-gardiner/i-ve-been-an-investigator-longer-than-you-ve-been-playing-vulcan-mind/) [Meg Gardiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-gardiner/) > [“Running cured almost anything. It eased pain; it exhilarated; it served as penance and validation. It turned lone wolf into a compliment. Running was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-gardiner/running-cured-almost-anything-it-eased-pain-it-exhilarated-it-served/) [Meg Gardiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-gardiner/) [Explore all 5 Meg Gardiner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-gardiner/) ## More Anger quotes > [“If I let myself think of it the pain and anger were still fresh, adrenalin racing down my limbs to pool, hot and itchy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kylie-ladd/if-i-let-myself-think-of-it-the-pain-and-anger-were-still-fresh/) [Kylie Ladd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kylie-ladd/) > [I receive something we might euphemistically call an 'inappropriately hostile' response - that is to say, more than fair criticism or even fair anger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/i-receive-something-we-might-euphemistically-call-an-inappropriately/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Anger is a rough water; if you can canalize it into a water mill, you can benefit from it. Anything bad can be transformed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/anger-is-a-rough-water-if-you-can-canalize-it-into-a-water-mill-you/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“Some say the Earth is angry Because he wants no company; I say the Earth is angry Because he lives alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/some-say-the-earth-is-angry-because-he-wants-no-company-i-say-the/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [“When you feel terribly angry, you're possessed by anger ghost.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/when-you-feel-terribly-angry-you-re-possessed-by-anger-ghost/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [“Medical studies have shown that cursing reduces levels of stress and pain. Repressing your anger is not healthy. It's much better to verbalize it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-markus-malloy/medical-studies-have-shown-that-cursing-reduces-levels-of-stress-and/) [Oliver Markus Malloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-markus-malloy/) > [My care will be in the heart n not in words My anger will be in Words n not in the Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/my-care-will-be-in-the-heart-n-not-in-words-my-anger-will-be-in-words/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [You should be angry. You must not be bitter. Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. It doesn't do anything to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-should-be-angry-you-must-not-be-bitter-bitterness-is-like-cancer/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [To be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in a rage almost all the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-be-a-negro-in-this-country-and-to-be-relatively-conscious-is-to-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“God, you had enough time to have been through it three times. You've been through my stuff. I bet you over and let one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/god-you-had-enough-time-to-have-been-through-it-three-times-you-ve/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [The present contains nothing more than the past, and what is found in the effect was already in the cause.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-bergson/the-present-contains-nothing-more-than-the-past-and-what-is-found-in/) [Henri Bergson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-bergson/) > [Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/depression-is-merely-anger-without-enthusiasm/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) > [I always fight better when my opponent's angry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-haye/i-always-fight-better-when-my-opponent-s-angry/) [David Haye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-haye/) > [ “Where there are kashays (anger-pride-deceit-greed), there is worldly life. As long as anger-pride-deceit-greed exist; one is a sansaari \[living a worldly life\] regardless of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/where-there-are-kashays-anger-pride-deceit-greed-there-is-worldly/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) [Browse all 7,469 Anger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anger/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Grief wasn't a feeling. It was a thing that visited. 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