--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: always either on a peak of happiness or…" description: "\"always either on a peak of happiness or drowning in black waters of despair they loved or they loathed, they lived in a world of superlatives\" — Nancy ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f90/nancy-mitford-7161_black_always-either-on-a-peak-of-happiness-or_792508.jpg" --- # always either on a peak of happiness or drowning in black… ![“always either on a peak of happiness or drowning in black waters of despair they loved or they loathed, they lived in a world of superlatives” quote by Nancy Mitford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f90/nancy-mitford-7161_black_always-either-on-a-peak-of-happiness-or_792508.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f90/nancy-mitford-7161_black_always-either-on-a-peak-of-happiness-or_792508.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f90/nancy-mitford-7161_black_always-either-on-a-peak-of-happiness-or_792508.jpg) > “always either on a peak of happiness or drowning in black waters of despair they loved or they loathed, they lived in a world of superlatives” [Nancy Mitford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-mitford/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life oscillates between extreme joy and deep despair, reflecting the intensity of human experience. **In simple terms:** Life swings between highs and lows. Key Takeaway Seek balance amid extremes. Themes joy despair extremes Mood dramatic reflective Type literary emotional When to use this quote - career highs - personal loss - creative bursts Key Concepts emotional volatility human condition Questions to Reflect On - How do you navigate emotional extremes? - What practices bring steadiness? A Different Perspective Extreme moods can be destabilizing. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black/) [Despair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despair/) [Despair Loved](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despair-loved-5629353/) [Drowning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drowning/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Happiness Drowning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness-drowning-4065804/) [Peak Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peak-happiness-1565895/) [Superlatives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/superlatives/) [Water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/water/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [World Superlatives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-superlatives-6083323/) ## Related quotes > [“The Radletts were always either on a peak of happiness or drowning in black waters of despair; their emotions were on no ordinary plane,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-mitford/the-radletts-were-always-either-on-a-peak-of-happiness-or-drowning-in/) [Nancy Mitford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-mitford/) > [Only a soul full of despair can ever attain serenity and, to be in despair, you must have loved a good deal and still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-cendrars/only-a-soul-full-of-despair-can-ever-attain-serenity-and-to-be-in/) [Blaise Cendrars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-cendrars/) > [“Maybe you are in the Abyss of Emotional Bankruptcy looking for a way out, looking for the next rung in the ladder on your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-poirot/maybe-you-are-in-the-abyss-of-emotional-bankruptcy-looking-for-a-way/) [Ken Poirot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-poirot/) > [Next to the highest peak of happiness, there’s the deepest gap of pain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavian-paler/next-to-the-highest-peak-of-happiness-there-s-the-deepest-gap-of-pain/) [Octavian Paler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavian-paler/) > [“The peak of happiness is attained when a person has accepted to be what he is.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogwo-david-emenike/the-peak-of-happiness-is-attained-when-a-person-has-accepted-to-be/) [Ogwo David Emenike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogwo-david-emenike/) > [To me singing is a joy. 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And what chains them to their present state of barbarism and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/what-but-education-has-advanced-us-beyond-the-condition-of-our/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [ \[Chicago\] is the greatest and most typically American of all cities. New York is bigger and more spectacular and can outmatch it in other… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gunther/chicago-is-the-greatest-and-most-typically-american-of-all-cities-new/) [John Gunther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gunther/) > [I wouldn't touch a superlative again with an umbrella.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/i-wouldn-t-touch-a-superlative-again-with-an-umbrella/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [There emanates from superlatives a destructive force.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elias-canetti/there-emanates-from-superlatives-a-destructive-force/) [Elias Canetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elias-canetti/) > [I needed people to deliver my feelings back to me in a form that was legible. Which is a superlative kind of empathy to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/i-needed-people-to-deliver-my-feelings-back-to-me-in-a-form-that-was/) [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) > [Supernatural is a dangerous and difficult word in any of its senses, looser or stricter. But to fairies it can hardly be applied, unless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/supernatural-is-a-dangerous-and-difficult-word-in-any-of-its-senses/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Wilderness is rapidly becoming one of those aspects of the American dream which is more of the past than of the present. Wilderness is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ansel-adams/wilderness-is-rapidly-becoming-one-of-those-aspects-of-the-american/) [Ansel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ansel-adams/) ## More by Nancy Mitford > [“My dear Lady Kroesig, I have only read one book in my life, and that is ‘White Fang.’ It’s so frightfully good I’ve never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-mitford/my-dear-lady-kroesig-i-have-only-read-one-book-in-my-life-and-that-is/) [Nancy Mitford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-mitford/) > [Children should be like waffles--you should be able to throw the first one away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-mitford/children-should-be-like-waffles-you-should-be-able-to-throw-the-first/) [Nancy Mitford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-mitford/) > [Do you always laugh when you make love?' said Fabrice. I hadn't thought about it, but I suppose I do. 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Sophia was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-mitford/women-are-divided-into-two-categories-those-who-can-deal-with-the-men/) [Nancy Mitford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-mitford/) > [When the loo paper gets thicker and the writing paper thinner, it's always a bad sign, at home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-mitford/when-the-loo-paper-gets-thicker-and-the-writing-paper-thinner-it-s/) [Nancy Mitford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-mitford/) > [There are worse things than poverty, though I can't for the moment remember what they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-mitford/there-are-worse-things-than-poverty-though-i-can-t-for-the-moment/) [Nancy Mitford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-mitford/) > [One thing about tourists is that it is very easy to get away from them. 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