--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I was worn out, broken: He had taken…" description: "\"I was worn out, broken: He had taken almost everything. But he'd been all I'd had, all this time. And when the police led him away, I pulled out of the..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba3/sarah-dessen-110_broken_i-was-worn-out-broken-he-had-taken-almos_1232807.jpg" --- # I was worn out, broken: He had taken almost everything… ![“I was worn out, broken: He had taken almost everything. But he'd been all I'd had, all this time. And when the police led him away, I pulled out of the hands of all these loved one, sobbing, screaming, everything hurting, to try and make him stay.” quote by Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba3/sarah-dessen-110_broken_i-was-worn-out-broken-he-had-taken-almos_1232807.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba3/sarah-dessen-110_broken_i-was-worn-out-broken-he-had-taken-almos_1232807.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba3/sarah-dessen-110_broken_i-was-worn-out-broken-he-had-taken-almos_1232807.jpg) > “I was worn out, broken: He had taken almost everything. But he'd been all I'd had, all this time. And when the police led him away, I pulled out of the hands of all these loved one, sobbing, screaming, everything hurting, to try and make him stay.” [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. A character feels exhausted and desperate, clinging to a loved one while confronting loss and trauma. **In simple terms:** He was exhausted and desperate. Key Takeaway Seek support but set healthy boundaries. Themes grief desperation attachment Mood sad intense Type emotional reflective When to use this quote - family crisis - mental health - support groups Key Concepts trauma resilience Questions to Reflect On - How do you protect yourself while caring for others? - What steps help you process grief? A Different Perspective Clinging can prevent healing if not balanced. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Loved ones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loved-ones/) [Police](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/police/) ## Related quotes > [I'm can't live without you, I'm slowly dying. You leave just me, these walls watching me bleed. 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He was strong, though, and she had to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larissa-ione/easy-vampire-she-pulled-his-hands-away-from-his-neck-and-held-them/) [Larissa Ione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larissa-ione/) > [... He didn't know how to say good-bye. His throat ached from the strain of holding back his emotions. “I don't want to leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-kleypas/he-didn-t-know-how-to-say-good-bye-his-throat-ached-from-the-strain/) [Lisa Kleypas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kleypas/) > [Morgan sighed. "I," she announced, "am so pathetic." "You are not," I said. "I am." She went over and straightened the cling wrap, corner…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/morgan-sighed-i-she-announced-am-so-pathetic-you-are-not-i-said-i-am/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [“I’d never been in love, never felt that surge of feeling or that fall from its graces. I’d only watched as others weathered it:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/i-d-never-been-in-love-never-felt-that-surge-of-feeling-or-that-fall/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [I wanted to be somewhere else ... Someplace where the sight of me sobbing would tie me to no one and no one to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/i-wanted-to-be-somewhere-else-someplace-where-the-sight-of-me-sobbing/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [“The tight, throbbing feeling in my throat made me want to start sobbing, to break down, right there on an unfamiliar corner in front…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/the-tight-throbbing-feeling-in-my-throat-made-me-want-to-start/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [The fantasy never got beyond that—I didn’t let it—and though the tears rolled down my face, I wasn’t sobbing or out of control. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/the-fantasy-never-got-beyond-that-i-didn-t-let-it-and-though-the/) [Kazuo Ishiguro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/) > [The sobbing wind is fierce and strong; its cry is like a human wail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-chauncey-woolsey/the-sobbing-wind-is-fierce-and-strong-its-cry-is-like-a-human-wail/) [Sarah Chauncey Woolsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-chauncey-woolsey/) > [I can hear, underground, that sucking and sobbing, In my veins, in my bones I feel it,- The small water seeping upward, The tight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/i-can-hear-underground-that-sucking-and-sobbing-in-my-veins-in-my/) [Theodore Roethke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/) > [“He peered down at me. “Jesus Christ. 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