--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Times like this it did seem real I was…" description: "\"Times like this it did seem real I was leaving, and even more that my family, and this life, would go on without me. And again I felt that emptiness ri..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bf/sarah-dessen-110_doorways_times-like-this-it-did-seem-real-i-was-l_81215.png" --- # Times like this it did seem real I was leaving, and even… ![“Times like this it did seem real I was leaving, and even more that my family, and this life, would go on without me. And again I felt that emptiness rise up, but pushed it away. Still, I lingered there, in the doorway, memorizing the noise. The moment. Tucking it away out of sight, to be…” quote by Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bf/sarah-dessen-110_doorways_times-like-this-it-did-seem-real-i-was-l_81215.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bf/sarah-dessen-110_doorways_times-like-this-it-did-seem-real-i-was-l_81215.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bf/sarah-dessen-110_doorways_times-like-this-it-did-seem-real-i-was-l_81215.png) > “Times like this it did seem real I was leaving, and even more that my family, and this life, would go on without me. And again I felt that emptiness rise up, but pushed it away. Still, I lingered there, in the doorway, memorizing the noise. The moment. Tucking it away out of sight, to be remembered when I needed it most.” [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. The speaker confronts a fleeting sense of departure, choosing to tuck away the moment’s emotional imprint for future solace. **In simple terms:** Preserving a poignant memory for later comfort. Key Takeaway Memories can be stored and recalled when needed. Themes transience memory emptiness family resilience Mood nostalgic reflective hopeful Type personal reflection emotional insight When to use this quote - facing a personal loss - leaving home - reflecting on family ties Key Concepts departure emotional coping Practical Applications - journaling emotional experiences - using memory anchors in therapy Questions to Reflect On - What moments do you keep for future strength? - How does recalling a past feeling affect present resilience? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Doorways](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doorways/) [Emptiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emptiness/) [Family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/family/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [This life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/this-life/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [We are remembered only when we are needed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/we-are-remembered-only-when-we-are-needed/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [Like all children I had taken my father for granted. Now that I had lost him, I felt an emptiness that could never be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benazir-bhutto/like-all-children-i-had-taken-my-father-for-granted-now-that-i-had/) [Benazir Bhutto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benazir-bhutto/) > [Jill felt an emptiness open inside of her as she lifted her arm, a sense that something vital was being subtracted from her life.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-perrotta/jill-felt-an-emptiness-open-inside-of-her-as-she-lifted-her-arm-a/) [Tom Perrotta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-perrotta/) > [At the height of Earth, Wind & Fire's success, I felt an emptiness and void. I studied lots of philosophies and cults and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-bailey/at-the-height-of-earth-wind-fire-s-success-i-felt-an-emptiness-and/) [Philip Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-bailey/) > [“I thought about how my life had drastically changed after the last few days. I had been on a downward spiral, but after meeting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teresa-mummert/i-thought-about-how-my-life-had-drastically-changed-after-the-last/) [Teresa Mummert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teresa-mummert/) > [“But the thing was the more time I spent with her the more I just needed her, I needed her in my life because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirsty-mosely/but-the-thing-was-the-more-time-i-spent-with-her-the-more-i-just/) [kirsty mosely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirsty-mosely/) > [“And my life . . . my life felt big, filled with love and with meaning.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mia-sheridan/and-my-life-my-life-felt-big-filled-with-love-and-with-meaning/) [Mia Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mia-sheridan/) > [My whole life I felt like I was sticking out like a sore thumb, and I think eventually I've found comfort in that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/griff/my-whole-life-i-felt-like-i-was-sticking-out-like-a-sore-thumb-and-i/) [Griff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/griff/) > [“I felt I had thrown away so much in my life, but I also felt an unspoken bond between me and my city. I'd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-kiedis/i-felt-i-had-thrown-away-so-much-in-my-life-but-i-also-felt-an/) [Anthony Kiedis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-kiedis/) > [“If certain places you came to in life felt right, then how many others were just as clearly the wrong place to be?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-russell/if-certain-places-you-came-to-in-life-felt-right-then-how-many-others/) [Paul Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-russell/) > [“It's just that life felt the right size in there... not too big and not too small. Wasn't so hard to work up a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/athol-fugard/it-s-just-that-life-felt-the-right-size-in-there-not-too-big-and-not/) [Athol Fugard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/athol-fugard/) > [It has been an interesting road, but I wouldn't trade any of it for the world, because I feel like all of those instances…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drew-brees/it-has-been-an-interesting-road-but-i-wouldn-t-trade-any-of-it-for/) [Drew Brees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drew-brees/) > [I never believed in fate until you came into my life. Nothing has been the same since…or felt so right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kemis-khan/i-never-believed-in-fate-until-you-came-into-my-life-nothing-has-been/) [Kemis Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kemis-khan/) > [“Life felt gargantuan.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chloe-caldwell/life-felt-gargantuan/) [Chloe Caldwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chloe-caldwell/) > [At one point in my life, I felt as if fighting was everything. It was everything. I put life second.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rashad-evans/at-one-point-in-my-life-i-felt-as-if-fighting-was-everything-it-was/) [Rashad Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rashad-evans/) ## 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/) > [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,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/i-had-no-illusions-about-love-anymore-it-came-it-went-it-left/) [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/) [Explore all 1,251 Sarah Dessen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) ## More Doorways quotes > [Now I'm starting to think he wasn't supposed to be my whole life, he was just this doorway to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/now-i-m-starting-to-think-he-wasn-t-supposed-to-be-my-whole-life-he/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [Yelena.” I halted in the doorway, looking back over my shoulder. “You once said I wasn’t ready to believe your reason for killing Reyad.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-v-snyder/yelena-i-halted-in-the-doorway-looking-back-over-my-shoulder-you-once/) [Maria V. Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-v-snyder/) > [“Dreams are doorways into other dimensions that you forget how to open once you’re awake.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-m-arcejaeger/dreams-are-doorways-into-other-dimensions-that-you-forget-how-to-open/) [R.M. ArceJaeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-m-arcejaeger/) > [Shamanism is a path of knowledge, not of faith, and that knowledge cannot come from me or anyone else in this reality. To acquire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-harner/shamanism-is-a-path-of-knowledge-not-of-faith-and-that-knowledge/) [Michael Harner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-harner/) > [Now that I'm out and I'm shouting in doorways Freed from a love more like murder I should be singing but in liberation Feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-partridge/now-that-i-m-out-and-i-m-shouting-in-doorways-freed-from-a-love-more/) [Andy Partridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-partridge/) > [The world is full of people who have stopped listening to themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-world-is-full-of-people-who-have-stopped-listening-to-themselves/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [She was standing in the airport of Copenhagen, staring at a doorway, trying to figure out if it was (a) a bathroom and (b)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-johnson/she-was-standing-in-the-airport-of-copenhagen-staring-at-a-doorway/) [Maureen Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-johnson/) > [I am sorry I ran from you. I am still running, running from that knowledge, that eye, that love from which there is no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/i-am-sorry-i-ran-from-you-i-am-still-running-running-from-that/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [It comes down to risk, again and again. If you risk coming out, if you risk making pictures that aren’t good, you might discover…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-meyerowitz/it-comes-down-to-risk-again-and-again-if-you-risk-coming-out-if-you/) [Joel Meyerowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-meyerowitz/) > [I was tired of men. Hanging in doorways, standing too close, men who made you love them then changed their minds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/i-was-tired-of-men-hanging-in-doorways-standing-too-close-men-who/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [Your very eyes. How they have always been for me the command to obey, the inviolable and beautiful commandment. No, no, I'm not telling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-walser/your-very-eyes-how-they-have-always-been-for-me-the-command-to-obey/) [Robert Walser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-walser/) > [Good questions work on us, we don't work on them. They are not a project to be completed but a doorway opening onto greater…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-block/good-questions-work-on-us-we-don-t-work-on-them-they-are-not-a/) [Peter Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-block/) > [What’s with her?” says the painter. “She’s mad because she’s a woman,” Jon says. This is something I haven’t heard for years, not since…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/what-s-with-her-says-the-painter-she-s-mad-because-she-s-a-woman-jon/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Shadowy figures watched them from doorways, as shadowy figures are wont to fucking do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-bullington/shadowy-figures-watched-them-from-doorways-as-shadowy-figures-are/) Jesse Bullington > [A war is like when it rains in New York and everybody crowds into doorways. They all get chummy together perfect strangers. The only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-gelbart/a-war-is-like-when-it-rains-in-new-york-and-everybody-crowds-into/) [Larry Gelbart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-gelbart/) [Browse all 293 Doorways quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doorways/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Times like this it did seem real I was leaving, and even more that my family, and this life, would go on without me. And again I felt that emptiness rise up, but pushed it away. Still, I lingered there, in the doorway, memorizing the noise. The moment. Tucking it away out of sight, to be remembered when I needed it most.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sarah Dessen" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/times-like-this-it-did-seem-real-i-was-leaving-and-even-more-that-my/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Doorways" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/times-like-this-it-did-seem-real-i-was-leaving-and-even-more-that-my/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bf/sarah-dessen-110_doorways_times-like-this-it-did-seem-real-i-was-l_81215.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bf/sarah-dessen-110_doorways_times-like-this-it-did-seem-real-i-was-l_81215.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bf/sarah-dessen-110_doorways_times-like-this-it-did-seem-real-i-was-l_81215.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Times like this it did seem real I was leaving, and even more that my family, and this life, would go on…” — Sarah Dessen", "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": "Sarah Dessen", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Times like this it did seem...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/times-like-this-it-did-seem-real-i-was-leaving-and-even-more-that-my/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/times-like-this-it-did-seem-real-i-was-leaving-and-even-more-that-my/#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 } } ] } ```