--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Forgetting is as integral to memory as…" description: "\"“Forgetting is as integral to memory as death is to life.”\" — Rabih Alameddine" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76a/rabih-alameddine-7394_death_forgetting-is-as-integral-to-memory-as-d_2280919.jpg" --- # Forgetting is as integral to memory as death is to life. ![“Forgetting is as integral to memory as death is to life.” quote by Rabih Alameddine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76a/rabih-alameddine-7394_death_forgetting-is-as-integral-to-memory-as-d_2280919.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76a/rabih-alameddine-7394_death_forgetting-is-as-integral-to-memory-as-d_2280919.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76a/rabih-alameddine-7394_death_forgetting-is-as-integral-to-memory-as-d_2280919.jpg) > ““Forgetting is as integral to memory as death is to life.”” [Rabih Alameddine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabih-alameddine/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Memory works by discarding as much as it stores, just as life needs death to give meaning to existence. **In simple terms:** Forgetting shapes memory like death shapes life. Key Takeaway Accept forgetting as part of learning. Themes memory impermanence learning Mood reflective melancholic Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - studying - grieving - personal growth - creative work Key Concepts cognitive psychology philosophy of mind Questions to Reflect On - How do you decide what to let go? - What role does forgetting play in personal identity? A Different Perspective Forgetting can erase valuable details unintentionally. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Forgetting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forgetting/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) [Remembering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remembering/) ## Related quotes > [Death augments distance and dulls the memory. Death reconciles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonid-andreyev/death-augments-distance-and-dulls-the-memory-death-reconciles/) [Leonid Andreyev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonid-andreyev/) > [It is curious how sometimes the memory of death lives on for so much longer than the memory of the life that is purloined.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/it-is-curious-how-sometimes-the-memory-of-death-lives-on-for-so-much-2/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [It is curious how sometimes the memory of death lives on for so much longer than the memory of the life that it purloined.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/it-is-curious-how-sometimes-the-memory-of-death-lives-on-for-so-much/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [That was one of the most fundamental and sacred duties good friends and families performed for one another! They tended the flame of memory,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/that-was-one-of-the-most-fundamental-and-sacred-duties-good-friends/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [I will have spent my life trying to understand the function of remembering, which is not the opposite of forgetting, but rather its lining.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-marker/i-will-have-spent-my-life-trying-to-understand-the-function-of/) [Chris Marker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-marker/) > [Forgetting and remembering are governed by laws, but we cannot find out what they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/forgetting-and-remembering-are-governed-by-laws-but-we-cannot-find/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Time is as necessary for remembering as it is for forgetting. Even the smallest embrace of pain needs time larger than a pause; the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvonne-vera/time-is-as-necessary-for-remembering-as-it-is-for-forgetting-even-the/) Yvonne Vera > [I did the searching and remembering, she did the disappearing and the forgetting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-brashares/i-did-the-searching-and-remembering-she-did-the-disappearing-and-the/) [Ann Brashares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-brashares/) > [Perhaps it would have been easier if I said that not being able to find something is like suddenly not remembering the words to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/perhaps-it-would-have-been-easier-if-i-said-that-not-being-able-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“It seems like it’s all just remembering and forgetting. Things happen so fast, and then they’re gone before you notice them. Events ambush you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-galloway/it-seems-like-it-s-all-just-remembering-and-forgetting-things-happen/) [Gregory Galloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-galloway/) > [“Maybe that’s why I was so afraid of Sasha’s love. With him comes the remembering part that I was so good at forgetting. ~Piper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexia-purdy/maybe-that-s-why-i-was-so-afraid-of-sasha-s-love-with-him-comes-the/) [Alexia Purdy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexia-purdy/) > [“It wasn't the forgetting Caleb didn't like, it was the remembering”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-j-roberts/it-wasn-t-the-forgetting-caleb-didn-t-like-it-was-the-remembering/) [C.J. Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-j-roberts/) > [“. . .though the names of lovers are forgotten in time, their names written across the sky as ogham threads are traced between the stars”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-daniel-thieme/though-the-names-of-lovers-are-forgotten-in-time-their-names-written/) [John Daniel Thieme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-daniel-thieme/) > [“I don't like remembering. Remembering makes me feel things. I don't like to feel things. I'm thinking I could spend the rest of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-alire-s-enz/i-don-t-like-remembering-remembering-makes-me-feel-things-i-don-t/) [Benjamin Alire Saenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-alire-s-enz/) > [“You wouldn't think you can forget but sometimes you can—for a moment or two. I've never been able to decide if I think that’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ally-condie/you-wouldn-t-think-you-can-forget-but-sometimes-you-can-for-a-moment/) [Ally Condie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ally-condie/) ## More by Rabih Alameddine > [“I like men and women who don't fit well in the dominant culture, or, as Alvar de Campos calls them, strangers in this place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabih-alameddine/i-like-men-and-women-who-don-t-fit-well-in-the-dominant-culture-or-as/) [Rabih Alameddine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabih-alameddine/) > [I believe one has to escape oneself to discover oneself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabih-alameddine/i-believe-one-has-to-escape-oneself-to-discover-oneself/) [Rabih Alameddine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabih-alameddine/) > [“I was always alone, Doc, solitary whether I wished to be or not, ever since I could remember I wished to be lost in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabih-alameddine/i-was-always-alone-doc-solitary-whether-i-wished-to-be-or-not-ever/) [Rabih Alameddine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabih-alameddine/) > [“When you write about the past, you lie with each letter, with every grapheme, including the goddamn comma.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabih-alameddine/when-you-write-about-the-past-you-lie-with-each-letter-with-every/) [Rabih Alameddine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabih-alameddine/) > [“Causation extraction makes Jack a dull reader.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabih-alameddine/causation-extraction-makes-jack-a-dull-reader/) [Rabih Alameddine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabih-alameddine/) > [“He may be my half brother, but we're not related. A chasm of incommunicable worlds lies between us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabih-alameddine/he-may-be-my-half-brother-but-we-re-not-related-a-chasm-of/) [Rabih Alameddine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabih-alameddine/) > [You look at the Koran or the Bible, they all tell the same stories. You see them as the stories of the Middle East.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabih-alameddine/you-look-at-the-koran-or-the-bible-they-all-tell-the-same-stories-you/) [Rabih Alameddine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabih-alameddine/) > [“Other people are hazy phenomena that become corporeal only in my memories.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabih-alameddine/other-people-are-hazy-phenomena-that-become-corporeal-only-in-my/) [Rabih Alameddine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabih-alameddine/) > [“In reality, the only true model of a successful woman was the Divine Sarah.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabih-alameddine/in-reality-the-only-true-model-of-a-successful-woman-was-the-divine/) [Rabih Alameddine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabih-alameddine/) > [“I told her I was not sure I could bear living with memories, she said, Look up at the stars, look, they are not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabih-alameddine/i-told-her-i-was-not-sure-i-could-bear-living-with-memories-she-said/) [Rabih Alameddine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabih-alameddine/) > [“In Beirut, death’s unremitting light shines bright for all to see, brighter than the Mediterranean sun, brighter than the night’s Russian missiles, brighter than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabih-alameddine/in-beirut-death-s-unremitting-light-shines-bright-for-all-to-see/) [Rabih Alameddine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabih-alameddine/) > [“I read books—read, read, one can learn everything from books.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabih-alameddine/i-read-books-read-read-one-can-learn-everything-from-books/) [Rabih Alameddine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabih-alameddine/) > [“In the summer of 1982, while Israeli armored tanks and gunships imposed a siege of another age on rampartless Beirut, cutting off the water…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabih-alameddine/in-the-summer-of-1982-while-israeli-armored-tanks-and-gunships/) [Rabih Alameddine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabih-alameddine/) > [How can I expect readers to know who I am if I do not tell them about my family, my friends, the relationships in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabih-alameddine/how-can-i-expect-readers-to-know-who-i-am-if-i-do-not-tell-them-about/) [Rabih Alameddine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabih-alameddine/) > [By nature, a storyteller is a plagiarist. Everything one comes across--each incident, book, novel, life episode, story, person, news clip--is a coffee bean that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabih-alameddine/by-nature-a-storyteller-is-a-plagiarist-everything-one-comes-across/) [Rabih Alameddine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabih-alameddine/) [Explore all 85 Rabih Alameddine quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabih-alameddine/) ## 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 > [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 > [“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": "“Forgetting is as integral to memory as death is to life.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rabih Alameddine" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabih-alameddine/forgetting-is-as-integral-to-memory-as-death-is-to-life/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Death" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabih-alameddine/forgetting-is-as-integral-to-memory-as-death-is-to-life/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76a/rabih-alameddine-7394_death_forgetting-is-as-integral-to-memory-as-d_2280919.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76a/rabih-alameddine-7394_death_forgetting-is-as-integral-to-memory-as-d_2280919.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76a/rabih-alameddine-7394_death_forgetting-is-as-integral-to-memory-as-d_2280919.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Forgetting is as integral to memory as death is to life.” — Rabih Alameddine", "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": "Rabih Alameddine", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabih-alameddine/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Forgetting is as integral to memory...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabih-alameddine/forgetting-is-as-integral-to-memory-as-death-is-to-life/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabih-alameddine/forgetting-is-as-integral-to-memory-as-death-is-to-life/#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 } } ] } ```