---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The only thing stranger would be running…"
description: "\"“The only thing stranger would be running into … the brother you actually forgot you had, until just now.”\" — N.K. Jemisin"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e32/n-k-jemisin-1466_brother_the-only-thing-stranger-would-be-running_2017993.png"
---

#  The only thing stranger would be running into … the…

![“The only thing stranger would be running into … the brother you actually forgot you had, until just now.” quote by N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e32/n-k-jemisin-1466_brother_the-only-thing-stranger-would-be-running_2017993.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e32/n-k-jemisin-1466_brother_the-only-thing-stranger-would-be-running_2017993.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e32/n-k-jemisin-1466_brother_the-only-thing-stranger-would-be-running_2017993.png)

> ““The only thing stranger would be running into … the brother you actually forgot you had, until just now.””

[N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Unexpected encounters can reveal forgotten familial bonds, prompting self‑discovery.

**In simple terms:** Meeting a forgotten brother changes you.

Key Takeaway

Embrace unexpected relationships for growth.

Themes

family identity memory discovery surprise

Mood

curious introspective

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

- family reunions
- genealogy research
- personal reflection

Key Concepts

Narrative surprise character revelation psychology

Questions to Reflect On

- What hidden relationships could you uncover?
- How does surprise reshape identity?

A Different Perspective

Some may view such encounters as improbable.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Brother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brother/) [Brotherhood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brotherhood/) [Stranger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stranger/)

## Related quotes

> [And the funny thing is that a stranger from half way across the world can be a better friend than the kid next door](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katy-reichl/and-the-funny-thing-is-that-a-stranger-from-half-way-across-the-world/)

[Katy Reichl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katy-reichl/)

> [An observer of men who finds himself steadily repelled by some apparently trifling thing in a stranger is right to give it great weight.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/an-observer-of-men-who-finds-himself-steadily-repelled-by-some/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [In the cherry blossom's shade there's no such thing as a stranger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kobayashi-issa/in-the-cherry-blossom-s-shade-there-s-no-such-thing-as-a-stranger/)

[Kobayashi Issa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kobayashi-issa/)

> [Ever watched this a guy takes over some dude life I guess dies or something for the government. He his twin brother I believe,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-country/ever-watched-this-a-guy-takes-over-some-dude-life-i-guess-dies-or/)

[Michael Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-country/)

> [I have a little brother. He's actually living at my house right now. He's going to be 18.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-furlong/i-have-a-little-brother-he-s-actually-living-at-my-house-right-now-he/)

[Edward Furlong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-furlong/)

> [Shannon isn't really my brother...Actually he's the love of my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-leto/shannon-isn-t-really-my-brother-actually-he-s-the-love-of-my-life/)

[Jared Leto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-leto/)

> [I'm so lucky that the brother I would choose is the brother I actually got.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-evans/i-m-so-lucky-that-the-brother-i-would-choose-is-the-brother-i/)

[Scott Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-evans/)

> [To be a stranger in a strange land: Whenever one feasts, one thinks of one's brother twice as much as before, There where my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wang-wei/to-be-a-stranger-in-a-strange-land-whenever-one-feasts-one-thinks-of/)

[Wang Wei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wang-wei/)

> [Grandmother pointed out my brother Perry, my sister Sarah, and my sister Eliza, who stood in the group. I had never seen my brother…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/grandmother-pointed-out-my-brother-perry-my-sister-sarah-and-my/)

[Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/)

> [Man is the only animal that deals in that atrocity of atrocities War. He is the only one that gathers his brethren about him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/man-is-the-only-animal-that-deals-in-that-atrocity-of-atrocities-war/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [I hope and pray that despite an unhealed past full of atrocities and deep divisions in the present, God can and will make "the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitali-perkins/i-hope-and-pray-that-despite-an-unhealed-past-full-of-atrocities-and/)

[Mitali Perkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitali-perkins/)

> [We know that the white man does not understand our ways. One portion of land is the same to him as the next, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chief-seattle/we-know-that-the-white-man-does-not-understand-our-ways-one-portion/)

[Chief Seattle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chief-seattle/)

> [A presentation copy...is a copy of a book whoch does not sell, sent you by the author, with his foolish autograph at the beginning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/a-presentation-copy-is-a-copy-of-a-book-whoch-does-not-sell-sent-you/)

[Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/)

> [This is me and my older brother alasandro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brother/this-is-me-and-my-older-brother-alasandro/)

Brother

> [Brothers all In honour, as in one community, Scholars and gentlemen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/brothers-all-in-honour-as-in-one-community-scholars-and-gentlemen/)

[William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/)

## More by N.K. Jemisin

> [“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/)

> [You are Insignificant. One of millions, neither special nor unique. I did not ask for this ignominy, and I resent the comparison. Fine. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/you-are-insignificant-one-of-millions-neither-special-nor-unique-i/)

[N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/)

> [“She feels closer than ever to her father in this moment of utter broken rage.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/she-feels-closer-than-ever-to-her-father-in-this-moment-of-utter/)

[N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/)

> [“When a comm builds atop a fault line, do you blame its walls when they inevitably crush the people inside? No; you blame whoever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/when-a-comm-builds-atop-a-fault-line-do-you-blame-its-walls-when-they/)

[N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/)

> [“I don’t know how I feel about a canon anymore ... The sheer volume of books that exist out there means that a canon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/i-don-t-know-how-i-feel-about-a-canon-anymore-the-sheer-volume-of/)

[N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/)

> [ “\[...\] the kind of healer who knows that sometimes one must inflict terrible agony - rebreak a bone, carve off a limb, kill the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/the-kind-of-healer-who-knows-that-sometimes-one-must-inflict-terrible/)

[N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/)

> [So here is why I write what I do: We all have futures. We all have pasts. We all have stories. And we all,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/so-here-is-why-i-write-what-i-do-we-all-have-futures-we-all-have/)

[N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/)

> [“How can we prepare for the future if we won’t acknowledge the past?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/how-can-we-prepare-for-the-future-if-we-won-t-acknowledge-the-past/)

[N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/)

> [“You waver, because you don’t really want to know … but you haven’t been a coward for some years now. So you steel yourself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/you-waver-because-you-don-t-really-want-to-know-but-you-haven-t-been/)

[N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/)

> [“What can orogeny do against something like that? Keep her breathing, maybe. But breathing doesn't always mean living, and maybe... maybe genocide doesn't always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/what-can-orogeny-do-against-something-like-that-keep-her-breathing/)

[N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/)

> [“What the rust do you matter? Who cares about you? Well, that’s the thing, isn’t it? Once, you did have people who cared about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/what-the-rust-do-you-matter-who-cares-about-you-well-that-s-the-thing/)

[N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/)

> [“Let me say only that these vehicles float a few inches off the ground. No animals draw them. No steam or chemical fuels them.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/let-me-say-only-that-these-vehicles-float-a-few-inches-off-the-ground/)

[N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/)

> [We can never be gods, after all--but we can become something less than human with frightening ease.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/we-can-never-be-gods-after-all-but-we-can-become-something-less-than/)

[N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/)

> [“(This is not a digression.)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/this-is-not-a-digression/)

[N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/)

> [“He's not a parasite if she needs him, too, and if she gives what he will not take. (One day soon, she will learn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/he-s-not-a-parasite-if-she-needs-him-too-and-if-she-gives-what-he/)

[N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/)

[Explore all 225 N.K. Jemisin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/)

## More Brother quotes

> [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/)

[Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/)

> [Whatever meaning 'Annie's Song' had for me on a personal level, there was also a larger context. It could just as easily have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-denver/whatever-meaning-annie-s-song-had-for-me-on-a-personal-level-there/)

[John Denver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-denver/)

> [Luckily, the bullet that hit my chest never got to me. It was stopped by a silver case I got for my brother's wedding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-doohan/luckily-the-bullet-that-hit-my-chest-never-got-to-me-it-was-stopped/)

[James Doohan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-doohan/)

> [“Yeah. You treat him like a son or a soldier, instead of like a brother. He wants you to like him and admire him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faith-hunter/yeah-you-treat-him-like-a-son-or-a-soldier-instead-of-like-a-brother/)

[Faith Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/faith-hunter/)

> [“Your relationship with your brother will be, in many ways, the most complex and bewildering of all the interpersonal connections you will form. An…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-currie-jr/your-relationship-with-your-brother-will-be-in-many-ways-the-most/)

[Ron Currie Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-currie-jr/)

> [If I had my brothers I think with just a little bit of the correct marketing, I'd like to be almost exclusively in small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-bozzio/if-i-had-my-brothers-i-think-with-just-a-little-bit-of-the-correct/)

[Terry Bozzio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-bozzio/)

> [There's no publicist, no advertisements, and no one's pushing us. If people are buying our records, it's because big brothers and sisters or friends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-moody/there-s-no-publicist-no-advertisements-and-no-one-s-pushing-us-if/)

Spencer Moody

> [The only way to make sure that the Hand didn't get to you would have been to kill your brother. I could've done it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilona-andrews/the-only-way-to-make-sure-that-the-hand-didn-t-get-to-you-would-have/)

[Ilona Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilona-andrews/)

> [“Your favorite son and brother, Shade. Like”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-aveyard/your-favorite-son-and-brother-shade-like/)

[Victoria Aveyard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-aveyard/)

> [Sister + brother = a lovely family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sister-brother-a-lovely-family/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [There ain't no such thing as black Muslims. That's how they tried to cut off all my brothers in the rest of the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-ali/there-ain-t-no-such-thing-as-black-muslims-that-s-how-they-tried-to/)

[Muhammad Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-ali/)

> [Brothers and Sisters, I bid you beware Of giving your heart to a dog to tear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/brothers-and-sisters-i-bid-you-beware-of-giving-your-heart-to-a-dog/)

[Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/)

> [Like a child exploring the attic of an old house on a rainy day, discovering a trunk full of treasure and then calling all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-h-peterson/like-a-child-exploring-the-attic-of-an-old-house-on-a-rainy-day/)

[Eugene H. Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-h-peterson/)

> [Stephanie could see the greed seep into the watery eyes of her father’s other brother, a horrible little man called Fergus, as he nodded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-landy/stephanie-could-see-the-greed-seep-into-the-watery-eyes-of-her-father/)

[Derek Landy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-landy/)

> [I worked in a barbershop. I used to make the waves in the brother's hair, you know? Like, Nat King Cole, Sugar Ray Robinson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-clinton/i-worked-in-a-barbershop-i-used-to-make-the-waves-in-the-brother-s/)

[George Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-clinton/)

[Browse all 7,453 Brother quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brother/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“The only thing stranger would be running into … the brother you actually forgot you had, until just now.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "N.K. Jemisin"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/the-only-thing-stranger-would-be-running-into-the-brother-you/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Brother"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/the-only-thing-stranger-would-be-running-into-the-brother-you/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e32/n-k-jemisin-1466_brother_the-only-thing-stranger-would-be-running_2017993.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e32/n-k-jemisin-1466_brother_the-only-thing-stranger-would-be-running_2017993.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e32/n-k-jemisin-1466_brother_the-only-thing-stranger-would-be-running_2017993.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“The only thing stranger would be running into … the brother you actually forgot you had, until just now.” — N.K. Jemisin",
                "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": "N.K. Jemisin",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“The only thing stranger would be...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/the-only-thing-stranger-would-be-running-into-the-brother-you/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/the-only-thing-stranger-would-be-running-into-the-brother-you/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
