---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I continued up the stairs, this time on…"
description: "\"“I continued up the stairs, this time on wings, suspecting for the first time that Louisa's book might outlive us all. ”\" — Patricia O'Brien"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d20/patricia-o-brien-63409_books_i-continued-up-the-stairs-this-time-on-w_1714421.jpg"
---

#  I continued up the stairs, this time on wings, suspecting…

![“I continued up the stairs, this time on wings, suspecting for the first time that Louisa's book might outlive us all.” quote by Patricia O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d20/patricia-o-brien-63409_books_i-continued-up-the-stairs-this-time-on-w_1714421.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d20/patricia-o-brien-63409_books_i-continued-up-the-stairs-this-time-on-w_1714421.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d20/patricia-o-brien-63409_books_i-continued-up-the-stairs-this-time-on-w_1714421.jpg)

> ““I continued up the stairs, this time on wings, suspecting for the first time that Louisa's book might outlive us all. ””

[Patricia O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-o-brien/)

## About This Quote

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

She imagines ascending on wings, fearing her work may outlive its creators.

**In simple terms:** Creative work may outlast its author.

Key Takeaway

Create lasting, meaningful work.

Themes

creativity legacy fear aspiration

Mood

inspirational reflective

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

- writing
- publishing
- personal projects
- legacy planning

Key Concepts

mortality artistic immortality self‑reflection

Questions to Reflect On

- What legacy do you hope your work leaves?
- How do you confront the fear of being forgotten?

A Different Perspective

May romanticize artistic impact.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/)

## Related quotes

> [“With that I continued up the stairs with Sin close by my heels. “How long you been a defender of dicks?” Sin glanced away.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cox/with-that-i-continued-up-the-stairs-with-sin-close-by-my-heels-how/)

[James Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-cox/)

> [A Poem from Edna St. Vincent Millay: Grown-up Was it for this I uttered prayers, And sobbed and cursed and kicked the stairs, That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-st-vincent-millay/a-poem-from-edna-st-vincent-millay-grown-up-was-it-for-this-i-uttered/)

[Edna St. Vincent Millay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-st-vincent-millay/)

> [Whenever my teenage daughter comes down the stairs dressed like a tramp for her date, I think to myself: 'Damn, why won't her mother…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-henry/whenever-my-teenage-daughter-comes-down-the-stairs-dressed-like-a/)

[David Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-henry/)

> [“Where I'm is one of those stair climbing machines the agent has installed. You climb and climb forever and never get off the ground.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/where-i-m-is-one-of-those-stair-climbing-machines-the-agent-has/)

[Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/)

> [Shi seh di lift doesnt run run up the stairs and come and if u dnt come quick you not gonna see your son/](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barrington-levy/shi-seh-di-lift-doesnt-run-run-up-the-stairs-and-come-and-if-u-dnt/)

[Barrington Levy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barrington-levy/)

> [Reach me a gentian, give me a torch! Let me guide myself with the blue, forked torch of a flower down the darker and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/reach-me-a-gentian-give-me-a-torch-let-me-guide-myself-with-the-blue/)

[D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/)

> [Hey Brian! I turned the stairs into a waterslide!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-griffin/hey-brian-i-turned-the-stairs-into-a-waterslide/)

[Peter Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-griffin/)

> [A man falls down a flight of stairs and somebody rushes over to him and asks, Did you miss a step? No, he answers,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-berle/a-man-falls-down-a-flight-of-stairs-and-somebody-rushes-over-to-him/)

[Milton Berle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-berle/)

> [When I saw 'Breakfast at Tiffany's,' and Audrey Hepburn was standing in front of Tiffany's in this Givenchy dress, or when I saw 'All…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-whitfield/when-i-saw-breakfast-at-tiffany-s-and-audrey-hepburn-was-standing-in/)

[Lynn Whitfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-whitfield/)

> [It is moonlight. Alone in the silence I ascend my stairs once more, While waves remote in pale blue starlight Crash on a white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conrad-aiken/it-is-moonlight-alone-in-the-silence-i-ascend-my-stairs-once-more/)

[Conrad Aiken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conrad-aiken/)

> [I'm neurotic in the sense that I can have a crowd of 300 people cheering you, applauding you, standing O, but one guy come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-white/i-m-neurotic-in-the-sense-that-i-can-have-a-crowd-of-300-people/)

[Wayne White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-white/)

> [When I go to my health club, and it's in the basement, you have to take the elevator down. And this drives me crazy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/when-i-go-to-my-health-club-and-it-s-in-the-basement-you-have-to-take/)

[Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/)

> [“We headed down a narrow flight of stairs that ended at a low arch. Beyond the arch was yet another murky room. Did these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-hawkins/we-headed-down-a-narrow-flight-of-stairs-that-ended-at-a-low-arch/)

[Rachel Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-hawkins/)

> [I'd think the house was the source of great sadness or pressure. I knew it wasn't. I knew it was just where I lived.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-granduciel/i-d-think-the-house-was-the-source-of-great-sadness-or-pressure-i/)

[Adam Granduciel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-granduciel/)

> [The elevator to success is out of order. You'll have to use the stairs... one step at a time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-girard/the-elevator-to-success-is-out-of-order-you-ll-have-to-use-the-stairs/)

[Joe Girard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-girard/)

## More by Patricia O'Brien

> [“I was seeing what a writer can do with the tatters of truth, the unfinished stories that give us no rest. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-o-brien/i-was-seeing-what-a-writer-can-do-with-the-tatters-of-truth-the/)

[Patricia O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-o-brien/)

> [“The women who went to the field, you say... A few names were writ, and by chance live to-day; But's a perishing record fast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-o-brien/the-women-who-went-to-the-field-you-say-a-few-names-were-writ-and-by/)

[Patricia O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-o-brien/)

> [“...brooding only feeds the strange pleasure of melancholy...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-o-brien/brooding-only-feeds-the-strange-pleasure-of-melancholy/)

[Patricia O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-o-brien/)

> [“He had illuminated the heartbreaking cruelty of war: When men who fight become nothing, only packages of bones and blood deposited in the earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-o-brien/he-had-illuminated-the-heartbreaking-cruelty-of-war-when-men-who/)

[Patricia O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-o-brien/)

[Explore all 5 Patricia O'Brien quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-o-brien/)

## More Books quotes

> [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/)

[Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/)

> [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/)

[Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/)

> [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/)

[Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/)

> [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/)

[Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/)

> [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/)

[Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/)

> [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/)

[Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/)

> [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/)

[Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/)

> [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/)

Christopher K. Krebs

> [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/)

[Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/)

> [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/)

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

> [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/)

[Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/)

> [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/)

[Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

> [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/)

[Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/)

> [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/)

Markus Herz

> [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/)

[Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/)

[Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“I continued up the stairs, this time on wings, suspecting for the first time that Louisa's book might outlive us all. ”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Patricia O'Brien"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-o-brien/i-continued-up-the-stairs-this-time-on-wings-suspecting-for-the-first/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Books"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-o-brien/i-continued-up-the-stairs-this-time-on-wings-suspecting-for-the-first/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d20/patricia-o-brien-63409_books_i-continued-up-the-stairs-this-time-on-w_1714421.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d20/patricia-o-brien-63409_books_i-continued-up-the-stairs-this-time-on-w_1714421.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d20/patricia-o-brien-63409_books_i-continued-up-the-stairs-this-time-on-w_1714421.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I continued up the stairs, this time on wings, suspecting for the first time that Louisa's book might…” — Patricia O'Brien",
                "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": "Patricia O'Brien",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-o-brien/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“I continued up the stairs, this...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-o-brien/i-continued-up-the-stairs-this-time-on-wings-suspecting-for-the-first/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-o-brien/i-continued-up-the-stairs-this-time-on-wings-suspecting-for-the-first/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
