--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When you have an intimate encounter with…" description: "\"When you have an intimate encounter with mortality as my family and I did with my mom's death, I took a long look at my life and I asked myself what wa..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a24/peter-hedges-5212_cinema_when-you-have-an-intimate-encounter-with_738842.jpg" --- # When you have an intimate encounter with mortality as my… ![“When you have an intimate encounter with mortality as my family and I did with my mom's death, I took a long look at my life and I asked myself what was the one thing that I hadn't done that I had really wanted to do. And it was to write and direct a film.” quote by Peter Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a24/peter-hedges-5212_cinema_when-you-have-an-intimate-encounter-with_738842.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a24/peter-hedges-5212_cinema_when-you-have-an-intimate-encounter-with_738842.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a24/peter-hedges-5212_cinema_when-you-have-an-intimate-encounter-with_738842.jpg) > “When you have an intimate encounter with mortality as my family and I did with my mom's death, I took a long look at my life and I asked myself what was the one thing that I hadn't done that I had really wanted to do. And it was to write and direct a film.” [Peter Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-hedges/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Confronting a loved one's death prompts a life audit, revealing unfulfilled dreams that can be pursued. **In simple terms:** Death makes you review life and chase missed goals. Key Takeaway Identify and act on your true aspirations. Themes mortality self‑reflection purpose legacy Mood introspective hopeful Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - career change - creative projects - personal development Key Concepts existentialism goal setting grief processing Questions to Reflect On - What dream have you postponed? - How can you start pursuing it now? A Different Perspective Grief may cloud clarity; fear of failure can stall action. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cinema](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cinema/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/family/) [Film](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/film/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Mom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mom/) ## Related quotes > [I've been working with a holistic specialist, trying to bring my body into balance, and part of making that happen is putting my mom's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corbin-bernsen/i-ve-been-working-with-a-holistic-specialist-trying-to-bring-my-body/) [Corbin Bernsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corbin-bernsen/) > [“I felt hollowed out. My mom's death was not useful. 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A place where I could finally listen to God and he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-a-dixon/death-took-me-to-a-place-where-time-no-longer-separated-the-earth-a/) [Carl A Dixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-a-dixon/) > [“His death took place on the same day, at the same time of the same month as Katie’s: Monday 12th November at 4am in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annette-j-dunlea/his-death-took-place-on-the-same-day-at-the-same-time-of-the-same/) [Annette J Dunlea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annette-j-dunlea/) > [What is life? It departs covertly. Like a thief Death took him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gunther/what-is-life-it-departs-covertly-like-a-thief-death-took-him/) [John Gunther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gunther/) ## More by Peter Hedges > [There was a part of me that wanted to take my place next to, you know, Debra Granik. She's such a hero for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-hedges/there-was-a-part-of-me-that-wanted-to-take-my-place-next-to-you-know/) [Peter Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-hedges/) > [Ultimately what I try to do is work on stories I love with people I admire, and sometimes they get made and sometimes they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-hedges/ultimately-what-i-try-to-do-is-work-on-stories-i-love-with-people-i/) [Peter Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-hedges/) > [I want to make a series of films of contemporary America that feel urgent and deal with sometimes-topical matters, but hopefully in a universal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-hedges/i-want-to-make-a-series-of-films-of-contemporary-america-that-feel/) [Peter Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-hedges/) > [Let the story lead you. If the story needs to be dark, let it go dark. 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That a car had flipped over and the baby was trapped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-hedges/i-once-heard-a-story-it-s-probably-apocryphal-but-i-love-the-notion/) [Peter Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-hedges/) > [“A man who works all day, every day and loves each apple he uncrates, who cherishes each can of soup - a man like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-hedges/a-man-who-works-all-day-every-day-and-loves-each-apple-he-uncrates/) [Peter Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-hedges/) > [Everything good in my life can be traced back to my mother's sobriety. She showed me that broken people can - with the help…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-hedges/everything-good-in-my-life-can-be-traced-back-to-my-mother-s-sobriety/) [Peter Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-hedges/) > [Writing a really good screenplay is not easy. It can be a very punishing form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-hedges/writing-a-really-good-screenplay-is-not-easy-it-can-be-a-very/) [Peter Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-hedges/) > [It's not easy to be a good or wise parent. You do the best you can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-hedges/it-s-not-easy-to-be-a-good-or-wise-parent-you-do-the-best-you-can/) [Peter Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-hedges/) > [The kinds of movies I make are not easy to get made.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-hedges/the-kinds-of-movies-i-make-are-not-easy-to-get-made/) [Peter Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-hedges/) > [When I was a young lad just out of college at the North Carolina School of the Arts, I directed several plays that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-hedges/when-i-was-a-young-lad-just-out-of-college-at-the-north-carolina/) [Peter Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-hedges/) [Explore all 102 Peter Hedges quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-hedges/) ## More Cinema quotes > [I made, like, five movies while I was in college. I think they just weren't memorable movies. I've taken breaks as the years have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodie-foster/i-made-like-five-movies-while-i-was-in-college-i-think-they-just/) [Jodie Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodie-foster/) > [You have to have a great director to make a great movie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thelma-schoonmaker/you-have-to-have-a-great-director-to-make-a-great-movie/) [Thelma Schoonmaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thelma-schoonmaker/) > [I'm trying to write a film with my friend. 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Next to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-crimp/to-an-ever-greater-extent-out-experience-is-governed-by-pictures/) [Douglas Crimp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-crimp/) > [In the future, I would like to do more films with contemporary themes. Perhaps comedy, which is something I have done in theater but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-evans/in-the-future-i-would-like-to-do-more-films-with-contemporary-themes/) [Luke Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-evans/) > [I am tired of our characters being so incomplete. When do we ever save the day in a film? 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I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepika-padukone/i-am-not-interested-in-churning-out-a-certain-number-of-films-every/) [Deepika Padukone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepika-padukone/) [Browse all 23,940 Cinema quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cinema/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When you have an intimate encounter with mortality as my family and I did with my mom's death, I took a long look at my life and I asked myself what was the one thing that I hadn't done that I had really wanted to do. 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