--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I had no illusions about love anymore. It…" description: "\"I had no illusions about love anymore. It came, it went, it left casualties or it didn't. People weren't meant to be together forever, regardless of wh..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21a/sarah-dessen-110_casualties_i-had-no-illusions-about-love-anymore-it_20660.png" --- # I had no illusions about love anymore. It came, it went… ![“I had no illusions about love anymore. It came, it went, it left casualties or it didn't. People weren't meant to be together forever, regardless of what the songs say.” quote by Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21a/sarah-dessen-110_casualties_i-had-no-illusions-about-love-anymore-it_20660.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21a/sarah-dessen-110_casualties_i-had-no-illusions-about-love-anymore-it_20660.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21a/sarah-dessen-110_casualties_i-had-no-illusions-about-love-anymore-it_20660.png) > “I had no illusions about love anymore. It came, it went, it left casualties or it didn't. People weren't meant to be together forever, regardless of what the songs say.” [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Love is portrayed as fleeting and imperfect, not the eternal ideal often romanticized. **In simple terms:** Love is temporary and messy. Key Takeaway Romantic myths clash with reality. Themes love impermanence realism disillusionment relationships Mood melancholy reflective Type observation philosophical When to use this quote - breakups - long‑term dating - friend‑to‑partner transitions - post‑breakup reflection Key Concepts human connection expectations loss Practical Applications - counseling guidance - relationship education Questions to Reflect On - What evidence supports lasting love? - How do cultural narratives shape our expectations? A Different Perspective Some argue love can endure with effort and commitment, contrary to the quote’s fatalism. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Illusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illusion/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Lullaby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lullaby/) [Meant to be together](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meant-to-be-together/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [This lullaby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/this-lullaby/) [Together forever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/together-forever/) ## Related quotes > [Because you can never go from going out to being friends, just like that. It's a lie. It's just something that people say they'll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/because-you-can-never-go-from-going-out-to-being-friends-just-like/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [closed my eyes and listened. It was like music I'd heard all my life, even more than "This Lullaby." All those keystrokes, all those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/closed-my-eyes-and-listened-it-was-like-music-i-d-heard-all-my-life/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [This Lullaby is only a few words, a simple run of chords, quiet here in this spare room, but you can hear it, hear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/this-lullaby-is-only-a-few-words-a-simple-run-of-chords-quiet-here-in/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [Wherever you will go, I will let you down, But this lullaby goes on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/wherever-you-will-go-i-will-let-you-down-but-this-lullaby-goes-on/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [Let the rain sing you a lullaby.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/langston-hughes/let-the-rain-sing-you-a-lullaby/) [Langston Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/langston-hughes/) > [Some things don't last forever, but some things do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/some-things-don-t-last-forever-but-some-things-do/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [Holding people away from you, and denying yourself love, that doesn't make you strong. if anything, it makes you weaker. Because you're doing it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/holding-people-away-from-you-and-denying-yourself-love-that-doesn-t/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [Love can make up for a lot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/love-can-make-up-for-a-lot/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [No relationship is perfect, ever. There are always some ways you have to bend, to compromise, to give something up in order to gain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/no-relationship-is-perfect-ever-there-are-always-some-ways-you-have-2/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [“It was the only time I'd ever heard someone ask, "Can you grab me the spoon?" as opposed to "a spoon," which at least…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/it-was-the-only-time-i-d-ever-heard-someone-ask-can-you-grab-me-the/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [We all need illusions. That's why we love movies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-bellucci/we-all-need-illusions-that-s-why-we-love-movies/) [Monica Bellucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-bellucci/) > [Does he make you cry, make you break down, shatter your illusions of love? You need to know how to pick up the pieces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/does-he-make-you-cry-make-you-break-down-shatter-your-illusions-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Friendship has its illusions no less than love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stendhal/friendship-has-its-illusions-no-less-than-love/) [Stendhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stendhal/) > [“You did your job. You protected me. You saved me. Well, I don't need saving anymore, OK? Especially not from you. I love you."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/to-the-edge-cindy-gerard/you-did-your-job-you-protected-me-you-saved-me-well-i-don-t-need/) To The Edge Cindy Gerard > [Without illusions. I love you because you are fallible and because your poor misguided testosterone-corrupted brain has you doing cartwheels trying not to be.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cindy-gerard/without-illusions-i-love-you-because-you-are-fallible-and-because/) [Cindy Gerard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cindy-gerard/) ## More by Sarah Dessen > [Sometimes a question can hurt more than an answer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/sometimes-a-question-can-hurt-more-than-an-answer/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [“if i were a book i would be so open”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/if-i-were-a-book-i-would-be-so-open/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [Harder to get in than out, like so little else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/harder-to-get-in-than-out-like-so-little-else/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [“At times, I found myself questioning his very existence, even though I knew I had, in fact, spotted him, with my own eyes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/at-times-i-found-myself-questioning-his-very-existence-even-though-i/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [You don't have to say it out loud. I already know why you like me.' 'You do, huh?' 'Yep.' He wrapped his arms around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/you-don-t-have-to-say-it-out-loud-i-already-know-why-you-like-me-you/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [No relationship is perfect, ever. There are always some ways you have to bend, to compromise, to give something up in order to gain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/no-relationship-is-perfect-ever-there-are-always-some-ways-you-have/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [When you had to do something, you had to do it. And eventually, if you were lucky, you did it well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/when-you-had-to-do-something-you-had-to-do-it-and-eventually-if-you/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [the truth about forever is that it is happening right now](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/the-truth-about-forever-is-that-it-is-happening-right-now/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [I jammed my hand in my jacket pocket, bracing myself fo the next hit, and fel something. Something grainy and samll, sticking to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/i-jammed-my-hand-in-my-jacket-pocket-bracing-myself-fo-the-next-hit/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [“But maybe that isn't so bad. You can't love anyone that way more than once in a lifetime. It's too hard and it hurts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/but-maybe-that-isn-t-so-bad-you-can-t-love-anyone-that-way-more-than/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [This was just one night, one chance to vary and see where it took me. The fireflies were probably already out: maybe it wasn’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/this-was-just-one-night-one-chance-to-vary-and-see-where-it-took-me/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [call it chicken salad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/call-it-chicken-salad/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [“For me, however, it was a mix of the two, this constant push and pull. I loved it here. But I'd been in that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/for-me-however-it-was-a-mix-of-the-two-this-constant-push-and-pull-i/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [I think whenever a writer is really enjoying themselves and liking what they are doing, that shows on the page.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/i-think-whenever-a-writer-is-really-enjoying-themselves-and-liking/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [I wondered if he ever thought of me, and hated the pang I felt when I told myself he didn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/i-wondered-if-he-ever-thought-of-me-and-hated-the-pang-i-felt-when-i/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) [Explore all 1,251 Sarah Dessen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) ## More Casualties quotes > [We went over there and fought the war and eventually burned down every town in North Korea anyway, someway or another, and some in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-lemay/we-went-over-there-and-fought-the-war-and-eventually-burned-down/) [Curtis LeMay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-lemay/) > [“Meanwhile nothing happened, nothing ever happened. The English had got into the habit of saying that this wasn’t a war, it was a bloody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/meanwhile-nothing-happened-nothing-ever-happened-the-english-had-got/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [We read our mail and counted up our missions In bombers named for girls, we burned The cities we had learned about in school…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/we-read-our-mail-and-counted-up-our-missions-in-bombers-named-for/) [Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/) > [The cost of an on-site inspection team would be minuscule compared to war, Saddam would have no choice except to comply, the results would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/the-cost-of-an-on-site-inspection-team-would-be-minuscule-compared-to/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) > [“The first-day casualties on the Somme totaled 57,470.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-e-persico/the-first-day-casualties-on-the-somme-totaled-57-470/) [Joseph E. Persico](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-e-persico/) > [Their casualties and bodies are many. Their equipment and vehicles, several were destroyed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/their-casualties-and-bodies-are-many-their-equipment-and-vehicles/) [Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/) > [When war is declared, truth is the first casualty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-war-is-declared-truth-is-the-first-casualty/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There is no battle space the U.S. Military cannot access. They said we couldn't do Afghanistan. We did it with ease. They said we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-p-m-barnett/there-is-no-battle-space-the-u-s-military-cannot-access-they-said-we/) [Thomas P.M. Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-p-m-barnett/) > [We're giving them a real lesson today. Heavy doesn't accurately describe the level of casualties we have inflicted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/we-re-giving-them-a-real-lesson-today-heavy-doesn-t-accurately/) [Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/) > [I wanted people who wouldn't become too worried about casualties. One always should be concerned about casualties, but the risk of incurring casualties can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-vokes/i-wanted-people-who-wouldn-t-become-too-worried-about-casualties-one/) [Christopher Vokes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-vokes/) > [WikiLeaks exposed corruption, war crimes, torture and cover-ups. It showed that we were lied to about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jemima-khan/wikileaks-exposed-corruption-war-crimes-torture-and-cover-ups-it/) [Jemima Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jemima-khan/) > [The Civil War was fought in 10,000 places, from Valverde, New Mexico, and Tullahoma, Tennessee, to St. Albans, Vermont, and Fernandina on the Florida…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-catton/the-civil-war-was-fought-in-10-000-places-from-valverde-new-mexico/) [Bruce Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-catton/) > [By citing the UN Charter I indicate that the defensive party to the conflict should use only proportionate force, try to avoid civilian casualties,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bhikkhu-bodhi/by-citing-the-un-charter-i-indicate-that-the-defensive-party-to-the/) [Bhikkhu Bodhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhikkhu-bodhi/) > [A martyr's just a casualty with really good PR.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/a-martyr-s-just-a-casualty-with-really-good-pr/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [The battle was over. Our casualties were some thirteen thousand killed--thirteen thousand minds, memories, loves, sensations, worlds, universes--because the human mind is more a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/the-battle-was-over-our-casualties-were-some-thirteen-thousand-killed/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) Browse all 251 Casualties quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I had no illusions about love anymore. It came, it went, it left casualties or it didn't. 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