---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As if you cope with loss by ingesting the…"
description: "\"“As if you cope with loss by ingesting the dead person”\" — Pat Barker"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d7/pat-barker-12512_death_as-if-you-cope-with-loss-by-ingesting-th_2436252.jpg"
---

#  As if you cope with loss by ingesting the dead person

![“As if you cope with loss by ingesting the dead person” quote by Pat Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d7/pat-barker-12512_death_as-if-you-cope-with-loss-by-ingesting-th_2436252.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d7/pat-barker-12512_death_as-if-you-cope-with-loss-by-ingesting-th_2436252.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d7/pat-barker-12512_death_as-if-you-cope-with-loss-by-ingesting-th_2436252.jpg)

> ““As if you cope with loss by ingesting the dead person””

[Pat Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-barker/)

## About This Quote

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

Coping with loss is likened to consuming the dead, suggesting a painful, intimate process.

**In simple terms:** Coping with loss can feel like taking in the dead.

Key Takeaway

Acknowledge grief's deep, consuming nature.

Themes

grief loss metaphor

Mood

somber introspective

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

- bereavement counseling
- personal reflection

Key Concepts

psychological processing mourning rituals

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you process deep loss?
- What symbols help you understand grief?

A Different Perspective

Metaphor may be too graphic for some.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Cope Loss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cope-loss-344073/) [Dead Person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dead-person-287294/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Ingesting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ingesting-344072/) [Ingesting Dead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ingesting-dead-344070/) [Loss Ingesting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loss-ingesting-344071/)

## Related quotes

> [“One of the things that helps use cope with loss is the fact that while memories may remian, the emotions associated with them will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-pratt/one-of-the-things-that-helps-use-cope-with-loss-is-the-fact-that/)

[James Pratt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-pratt/)

> [The loss Of A Loved One Is Like The Loss Of A Part Of Oneself; An Arm Or A Leg. At First, The Pain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-loss-of-a-loved-one-is-like-the-loss-of-a-part-of-oneself-an-arm/)

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

> [“This is all about ingesting lives, not simply spewing out fragments. There just isn't enough time. Find the language within your head, and don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mynah-k/this-is-all-about-ingesting-lives-not-simply-spewing-out-fragments/)

[Mynah K](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mynah-k/)

> [The concept that you are not ingesting rotting flesh sort of sums it up for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-adams/the-concept-that-you-are-not-ingesting-rotting-flesh-sort-of-sums-it/)

[Bryan Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-adams/)

> [A lot of people say they eat, drink, and sleep sports, but does anyone really do it, ingesting nothing but Dodger Dogs and Soda…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-rushin/a-lot-of-people-say-they-eat-drink-and-sleep-sports-but-does-anyone/)

[Steve Rushin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-rushin/)

> [But now christ has come back from dead. He is the very first person of those who have died to come back to life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-now-christ-has-come-back-from-dead-he-is-the-very-first-person-of/)

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

> [“It was ridiculous that people spent so much damn time picking out a casket based on what the dead person lying in it would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jen-mclaughlin/it-was-ridiculous-that-people-spent-so-much-damn-time-picking-out-a/)

[Jen McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jen-mclaughlin/)

> [“My mother always advised me not to trust a dead person.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jayde-scott/my-mother-always-advised-me-not-to-trust-a-dead-person/)

[Jayde Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jayde-scott/)

> [“You are not dead, until every person who knew you is dead as well." Where did I hear that? It doesn't matter. There is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-are-not-dead-until-every-person-who-knew-you-is-dead-as-well/)

[Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/)

> [“Jeffrey never understood how people could think a dead person was just sleeping. Death changed the air, charged it with something thick and unsettling.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/jeffrey-never-understood-how-people-could-think-a-dead-person-was/)

[Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/)

> [“Inside Every Living Person is a Dead Person Waiting to Get Out…”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/inside-every-living-person-is-a-dead-person-waiting-to-get-out/)

[Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/)

> [In the words of a very famous dead person, 'A nation that does not know its history is doomed to do poorly on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/in-the-words-of-a-very-famous-dead-person-a-nation-that-does-not-know/)

[Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/)

> [A whole world is taken to the grave with the dead person; each one of us is unique and unrepeatable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/a-whole-world-is-taken-to-the-grave-with-the-dead-person-each-one-of/)

[Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/)

> [“Never set as your goal something that a dead person can do better than you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russ-harris/never-set-as-your-goal-something-that-a-dead-person-can-do-better/)

[Russ Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russ-harris/)

> [“Death would think itself real without an official protest from the dead person’s greatest ally.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-lodato/death-would-think-itself-real-without-an-official-protest-from-the/)

[Victor Lodato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-lodato/)

## More by Pat Barker

> [“But I shot the dog myself. I took him into the barn holding on to his collar. He knew something bad was going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-barker/but-i-shot-the-dog-myself-i-took-him-into-the-barn-holding-on-to-his/)

[Pat Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-barker/)

> [When I'm writing the first draft, I'm writing in a very slovenly way: anything to get the outline of the story on paper.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-barker/when-i-m-writing-the-first-draft-i-m-writing-in-a-very-slovenly-way/)

[Pat Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-barker/)

> [When writing about historical characters I try to be as accurate as possible, and in particular not to misrepresent the view they held. With…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-barker/when-writing-about-historical-characters-i-try-to-be-as-accurate-as/)

[Pat Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-barker/)

> [That balance between involvement and detachment is what novelists do. It's the ideal relationship between a novelist and a character, I think, total involvement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-barker/that-balance-between-involvement-and-detachment-is-what-novelists-do/)

[Pat Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-barker/)

> [Murder is only killing in the wrong place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-barker/murder-is-only-killing-in-the-wrong-place/)

[Pat Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-barker/)

> [The sky darkened, the air grew colder, but he didn't mind. It didn't occur to him to move. This was the right place. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-barker/the-sky-darkened-the-air-grew-colder-but-he-didn-t-mind-it-didn-t/)

[Pat Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-barker/)

> ['Undertones of War' by Edmund Blunden seems to get less attention than the memoirs of Siegfried Sassoon and Robert Graves, but it is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-barker/undertones-of-war-by-edmund-blunden-seems-to-get-less-attention-than/)

[Pat Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-barker/)

> [I don't think it's possible to c-call yourself a C-Christian and... and j-just leave out the awkward bits.' -Wilfred Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-barker/i-don-t-think-it-s-possible-to-c-call-yourself-a-c-christian-and-and/)

[Pat Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-barker/)

> [The way I see it, when you put the uniform on, in effect you sign a contract. And you don't back out of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-barker/the-way-i-see-it-when-you-put-the-uniform-on-in-effect-you-sign-a/)

[Pat Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-barker/)

> [“Half the world's work's done by hopeless neurotics.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-barker/half-the-world-s-work-s-done-by-hopeless-neurotics/)

[Pat Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-barker/)

> [Culturally, the First World War is the war that stands in for other wars,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-barker/culturally-the-first-world-war-is-the-war-that-stands-in-for-other/)

[Pat Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-barker/)

> [Fiction should be about moral dilemmas that are so bloody difficult that the author doesn't know the answer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-barker/fiction-should-be-about-moral-dilemmas-that-are-so-bloody-difficult/)

[Pat Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-barker/)

> [My grandmother's first husband was a spiritualist medium. What fascinates me about that is the balance between conviction and sincerity and trickery, which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-barker/my-grandmother-s-first-husband-was-a-spiritualist-medium-what/)

[Pat Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-barker/)

> [“It was... the Great White God de-throned, I suppose. Because we did, we quite unselfconsciously assumed we were the measure of all things. That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-barker/it-was-the-great-white-god-de-throned-i-suppose-because-we-did-we/)

[Pat Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-barker/)

> [Sometimes, in the trenches, you get the sense of something, ancient. One trench we held, it had skulls in the side, embedded, like mushrooms.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-barker/sometimes-in-the-trenches-you-get-the-sense-of-something-ancient-one/)

[Pat Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-barker/)

[Explore all 54 Pat Barker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-barker/)

## More Death quotes

> [“He wondered how it was fair that your dying should depend so much on when you were born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/he-wondered-how-it-was-fair-that-your-dying-should-depend-so-much-on/)

[Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/)

> [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/)

[Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/)

> [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/)

[Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/)

> [I do not want to live at the cost of the life even of a snake. I should let him bite me to death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-to-live-at-the-cost-of-the-life-even-of-a-snake-i/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [“It was beautiful. He thought he had never seen anything so beautiful in all his life; that, having seen it, he could die content,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/it-was-beautiful-he-thought-he-had-never-seen-anything-so-beautiful/)

[Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/)

> [Retirement? You're talking about death, right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-altman/retirement-you-re-talking-about-death-right/)

[Robert Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-altman/)

> [With multiplayer, permanent death, and an ever-changing world to explore and conquer, 'A Valley Without Wind' might be the place you're looking for if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-manuel/with-multiplayer-permanent-death-and-an-ever-changing-world-to/)

[Rob Manuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-manuel/)

> [“What did you see?” she asked gently. His brow furrowed, as if he could not understand the question. Then his eyes turned to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-anthony-torino/what-did-you-see-she-asked-gently-his-brow-furrowed-as-if-he-could/)

[J. Anthony Torino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-anthony-torino/)

> [Those whose life is long still strive for gain, and for all mortals all things take second place to money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/those-whose-life-is-long-still-strive-for-gain-and-for-all-mortals/)

[Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/)

> [“I practice Dying--every night-- But have not learned to, still-- Though Talented--by Mortal bones-- For such a common Skill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-powers/i-practice-dying-every-night-but-have-not-learned-to-still-though/)

[Alan W. Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-w-powers/)

> [“You must understand the pain and grief of losing someone is nothing more than a function of survival.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-cooper/you-must-understand-the-pain-and-grief-of-losing-someone-is-nothing/)

[Steven Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-cooper/)

> [I am not a depressive person at all, but I reflect a lot on my life, and life in general, from the perspective of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/i-am-not-a-depressive-person-at-all-but-i-reflect-a-lot-on-my-life/)

[Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/)

> [“Death is a reality that calls the rest of life and all of our assorted strivings into sharp relief.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/death-is-a-reality-that-calls-the-rest-of-life-and-all-of-our/)

[Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/)

> [I love life. I love life to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuelle-riva/i-love-life-i-love-life-to-death/)

[Emmanuelle Riva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuelle-riva/)

> [I think when you’re dying you start looking for important things in the corners. You can’t let anything that seems even semi-important pass, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-crutcher/i-think-when-you-re-dying-you-start-looking-for-important-things-in/)

[Chris Crutcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-crutcher/)

[Browse all 39,127 Death quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“As if you cope with loss by ingesting the dead person”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Pat Barker"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-barker/as-if-you-cope-with-loss-by-ingesting-the-dead-person/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Death"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-barker/as-if-you-cope-with-loss-by-ingesting-the-dead-person/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d7/pat-barker-12512_death_as-if-you-cope-with-loss-by-ingesting-th_2436252.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d7/pat-barker-12512_death_as-if-you-cope-with-loss-by-ingesting-th_2436252.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d7/pat-barker-12512_death_as-if-you-cope-with-loss-by-ingesting-th_2436252.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“As if you cope with loss by ingesting the dead person” — Pat Barker",
                "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": "Pat Barker",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-barker/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“As if you cope with loss...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-barker/as-if-you-cope-with-loss-by-ingesting-the-dead-person/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-barker/as-if-you-cope-with-loss-by-ingesting-the-dead-person/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
