---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Holes in the memory. You grab on to some…"
description: "\"Holes in the memory. You grab on to some things, others have completely disappeared.\" — Paul Auster"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4aa/paul-auster-351_disappeared_holes-in-the-memory-you-grab-on-to-some_842567.jpg"
---

#  Holes in the memory. You grab on to some things, others…

![“Holes in the memory. You grab on to some things, others have completely disappeared.” quote by Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4aa/paul-auster-351_disappeared_holes-in-the-memory-you-grab-on-to-some_842567.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4aa/paul-auster-351_disappeared_holes-in-the-memory-you-grab-on-to-some_842567.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4aa/paul-auster-351_disappeared_holes-in-the-memory-you-grab-on-to-some_842567.jpg)

> “Holes in the memory. You grab on to some things, others have completely disappeared.”

[Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/)

## About This Quote

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

Memory is selective; some details linger while others fade, shaping identity.

**In simple terms:** Memory is selective.

Key Takeaway

Accept loss, focus on what remains.

Themes

memory identity impermanence

Mood

nostalgic thoughtful

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

- aging
- trauma recovery
- learning new skills

Key Concepts

cognitive psychology philosophy

Questions to Reflect On

- What memories do you cling to?
- How do forgotten details affect your self‑story?

A Different Perspective

Memory gaps can distort reality.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Memories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memories/) [Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/)

## Related quotes

> [I've been to too many Dead concerts. There've been smokin' holes where my memory used to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-kesey/i-ve-been-to-too-many-dead-concerts-there-ve-been-smokin-holes-where/)

[Ken Kesey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-kesey/)

> [“At the kitchen table she examined the glass of ice. Each cube was rounded by room temperature, dissolving in its own remains, and belatedly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-marra/at-the-kitchen-table-she-examined-the-glass-of-ice-each-cube-was/)

[Anthony Marra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-marra/)

> [“Over the last month her grip on her home and work life had slipped beyond her control. Her earnings had disappeared to practically nothing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clare-donoghue/over-the-last-month-her-grip-on-her-home-and-work-life-had-slipped/)

[Clare Donoghue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clare-donoghue/)

> [I was struck by the fact that I hadn't been awed in a while. Did that mean awesome things had disappeared from my life?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-thoele/i-was-struck-by-the-fact-that-i-hadn-t-been-awed-in-a-while-did-that/)

[Sue Thoele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-thoele/)

> [When we two parted and you disappeared I felt brokenhearted but I dried my tears. I'd hope you'd move on and try to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/body/when-we-two-parted-and-you-disappeared-i-felt-brokenhearted-but-i/)

[BODY](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/body/)

> [Let's face it, she can't have simply disappeared...can she?" Horace shrugged. "That's what I keep telling myself," he said morosley. "But somehow it looks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-flanagan/let-s-face-it-she-can-t-have-simply-disappeared-can-she-horace/)

[John Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-flanagan/)

> [I still have a photo on my wall of the greatest idol I will ever have in my life, and it's myself at eight.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-mankell/i-still-have-a-photo-on-my-wall-of-the-greatest-idol-i-will-ever-have/)

[Henning Mankell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-mankell/)

> [When a grown man reaches forty, we change him for an old one. He has completely disappeared. There's only the most superficial resemblance between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-giraudoux/when-a-grown-man-reaches-forty-we-change-him-for-an-old-one-he-has/)

[Jean Giraudoux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-giraudoux/)

> [It's Simon, he's missing." Ahh." said Magnus delicately "Missing what exactly?" Missing!" Jace repeated "As in gone, absent, notable for his lack of presence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/it-s-simon-he-s-missing-ahh-said-magnus-delicately-missing-what/)

[Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/)

> [For women who do not love us, as for the "disappeared", knowing that we no longer have any hope does not prevent us form…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/for-women-who-do-not-love-us-as-for-the-disappeared-knowing-that-we/)

[Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/)

> [There was a strange happening during a performance of Elgar's 'Sea Pictures' at a concert hall in Bermuda tonight, when the man playing the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronnie-barker/there-was-a-strange-happening-during-a-performance-of-elgar-s-sea/)

[Ronnie Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronnie-barker/)

> [I've always been making music, but I sort of went under the radar. I kind of disappeared... I was never really that comfortable with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-somerville/i-ve-always-been-making-music-but-i-sort-of-went-under-the-radar-i/)

[Jimmy Somerville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-somerville/)

> [The one person who's disappeared out of the business is the A&amp;R man. Because the listener at home becomes the A&amp;R man. He's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-page/the-one-person-who-s-disappeared-out-of-the-business-is-the-a-r-man/)

[Jimmy Page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-page/)

> [“If his long day were lived in a European novel, he'd become "D" when on the run or near disappeared.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-kudera/if-his-long-day-were-lived-in-a-european-novel-he-d-become-d-when-on/)

[Alex Kudera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-kudera/)

> [“When the first time I saw you, when you have been totally stranger, suddenly, somehow everything completely disappeared and I realized that I found…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rati-tsiteladze/when-the-first-time-i-saw-you-when-you-have-been-totally-stranger/)

[Rati Tsiteladze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rati-tsiteladze/)

## More by Paul Auster

> [“On his best walks, he was able to feel that he was nowhere. And this, finally, was all he ever asked of things: to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/on-his-best-walks-he-was-able-to-feel-that-he-was-nowhere-and-this/)

[Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/)

> [“No es que escribir me produzca un gran placer, pero es mucho peor si no lo hago.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/no-es-que-escribir-me-produzca-un-gran-placer-pero-es-mucho-peor-si/)

[Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/)

> [You see, the interesting thing about books, as opposed, say, to films, is that it's always just one person encountering the book, it's not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/you-see-the-interesting-thing-about-books-as-opposed-say-to-films-is/)

[Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/)

> [I'm not a man deeply interested in technology. It eludes me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/i-m-not-a-man-deeply-interested-in-technology-it-eludes-me/)

[Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/)

> [The joke is the purest, most essential form of storytelling. Every word has to count.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/the-joke-is-the-purest-most-essential-form-of-storytelling-every-word/)

[Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/)

> [“What people saw when he appeared before them, then, was not really him, but a person he had invented, an artificial creature he could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/what-people-saw-when-he-appeared-before-them-then-was-not-really-him/)

[Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/)

> [I had made an empirical discovery and it carried all the weight of a mathematical proof.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/i-had-made-an-empirical-discovery-and-it-carried-all-the-weight-of-a/)

[Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/)

> [As long as there's one person to believe it, there's no story that can't be true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/as-long-as-there-s-one-person-to-believe-it-there-s-no-story-that-can/)

[Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/)

> [Writing has always had a tactile quality for me. It's a physical experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/writing-has-always-had-a-tactile-quality-for-me-it-s-a-physical/)

[Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/)

> [People look at the same passage, and one person will say this is the best thing he's ever read, and another person will say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/people-look-at-the-same-passage-and-one-person-will-say-this-is-the/)

[Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/)

> [I was very moved to see that the name of the boat was Hamlet - an imaginary character becomes so important to people, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/i-was-very-moved-to-see-that-the-name-of-the-boat-was-hamlet-an/)

[Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/)

> [Our lifelong certainties about the world can be demolished in a single second.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/our-lifelong-certainties-about-the-world-can-be-demolished-in-a/)

[Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/)

> [The ideal reader's the same, and I suppose this person has never had a face or a gender or an age. It's just some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/the-ideal-reader-s-the-same-and-i-suppose-this-person-has-never-had-a/)

[Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/)

> [“Most lives vanish. A person dies, and little by little all traces of that life disappear. An inventor survives in his inventions, an architect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/most-lives-vanish-a-person-dies-and-little-by-little-all-traces-of/)

[Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/)

> [“and cut down many trees. When the Humans”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/and-cut-down-many-trees-when-the-humans/)

[Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/)

[Explore all 582 Paul Auster quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/)

## More Disappeared quotes

> [“When the first time I saw you, when you have been totally stranger, suddenly, somehow everything completely disappeared and I realized that I found…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rati-tsiteladze/when-the-first-time-i-saw-you-when-you-have-been-totally-stranger/)

[Rati Tsiteladze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rati-tsiteladze/)

> [“If his long day were lived in a European novel, he'd become "D" when on the run or near disappeared.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-kudera/if-his-long-day-were-lived-in-a-european-novel-he-d-become-d-when-on/)

[Alex Kudera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-kudera/)

> [The one person who's disappeared out of the business is the A&amp;R man. Because the listener at home becomes the A&amp;R man. He's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-page/the-one-person-who-s-disappeared-out-of-the-business-is-the-a-r-man/)

[Jimmy Page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-page/)

> [I've always been making music, but I sort of went under the radar. I kind of disappeared... I was never really that comfortable with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-somerville/i-ve-always-been-making-music-but-i-sort-of-went-under-the-radar-i/)

[Jimmy Somerville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-somerville/)

> [There was a strange happening during a performance of Elgar's 'Sea Pictures' at a concert hall in Bermuda tonight, when the man playing the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronnie-barker/there-was-a-strange-happening-during-a-performance-of-elgar-s-sea/)

[Ronnie Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronnie-barker/)

> [“At the kitchen table she examined the glass of ice. Each cube was rounded by room temperature, dissolving in its own remains, and belatedly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-marra/at-the-kitchen-table-she-examined-the-glass-of-ice-each-cube-was/)

[Anthony Marra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-marra/)

> [For women who do not love us, as for the "disappeared", knowing that we no longer have any hope does not prevent us form…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/for-women-who-do-not-love-us-as-for-the-disappeared-knowing-that-we/)

[Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/)

> [It's Simon, he's missing." Ahh." said Magnus delicately "Missing what exactly?" Missing!" Jace repeated "As in gone, absent, notable for his lack of presence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/it-s-simon-he-s-missing-ahh-said-magnus-delicately-missing-what/)

[Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/)

> [When a grown man reaches forty, we change him for an old one. He has completely disappeared. There's only the most superficial resemblance between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-giraudoux/when-a-grown-man-reaches-forty-we-change-him-for-an-old-one-he-has/)

[Jean Giraudoux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-giraudoux/)

> [I still have a photo on my wall of the greatest idol I will ever have in my life, and it's myself at eight.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-mankell/i-still-have-a-photo-on-my-wall-of-the-greatest-idol-i-will-ever-have/)

[Henning Mankell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-mankell/)

> [Let's face it, she can't have simply disappeared...can she?" Horace shrugged. "That's what I keep telling myself," he said morosley. "But somehow it looks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-flanagan/let-s-face-it-she-can-t-have-simply-disappeared-can-she-horace/)

[John Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-flanagan/)

> [When we two parted and you disappeared I felt brokenhearted but I dried my tears. I'd hope you'd move on and try to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/body/when-we-two-parted-and-you-disappeared-i-felt-brokenhearted-but-i/)

[BODY](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/body/)

> [I was struck by the fact that I hadn't been awed in a while. Did that mean awesome things had disappeared from my life?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-thoele/i-was-struck-by-the-fact-that-i-hadn-t-been-awed-in-a-while-did-that/)

[Sue Thoele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-thoele/)

> [“Over the last month her grip on her home and work life had slipped beyond her control. Her earnings had disappeared to practically nothing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clare-donoghue/over-the-last-month-her-grip-on-her-home-and-work-life-had-slipped/)

[Clare Donoghue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clare-donoghue/)

> [“Harry turned the card back over and saw, to his astonishment, that Dumbledore’s face had disappeared. “He’s gone!” “Well, you can’t expect him to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-rowling/harry-turned-the-card-back-over-and-saw-to-his-astonishment-that/)

[J.K. Rowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-rowling/)

Browse all 229 Disappeared quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Holes in the memory. You grab on to some things, others have completely disappeared.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Paul Auster"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/holes-in-the-memory-you-grab-on-to-some-things-others-have-completely/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Disappeared"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/holes-in-the-memory-you-grab-on-to-some-things-others-have-completely/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4aa/paul-auster-351_disappeared_holes-in-the-memory-you-grab-on-to-some_842567.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4aa/paul-auster-351_disappeared_holes-in-the-memory-you-grab-on-to-some_842567.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4aa/paul-auster-351_disappeared_holes-in-the-memory-you-grab-on-to-some_842567.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Holes in the memory. You grab on to some things, others have completely disappeared.” — Paul Auster",
                "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": "Paul Auster",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Holes in the memory. You grab...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/holes-in-the-memory-you-grab-on-to-some-things-others-have-completely/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/holes-in-the-memory-you-grab-on-to-some-things-others-have-completely/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
