--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I thought that I could make my life into…" description: "\"“I thought that I could make my life into a book that had no life or love in it. . . . Now I can see that my heart has crept across these pages, after ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb7/sarah-waters-2758_book_i-thought-that-i-could-make-my-life-into_1668187.png" --- # I thought that I could make my life into a book that had… ![“I thought that I could make my life into a book that had no life or love in it. . . . Now I can see that my heart has crept across these pages, after all.” quote by Sarah Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb7/sarah-waters-2758_book_i-thought-that-i-could-make-my-life-into_1668187.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb7/sarah-waters-2758_book_i-thought-that-i-could-make-my-life-into_1668187.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb7/sarah-waters-2758_book_i-thought-that-i-could-make-my-life-into_1668187.png) > ““I thought that I could make my life into a book that had no life or love in it. . . . Now I can see that my heart has crept across these pages, after all.”” [Sarah Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-waters/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator realizes that love and feeling have finally entered her story, turning a lifeless manuscript into a living experience. **In simple terms:** Love finally fills a once empty story. Key Takeaway Allow emotions to shape your life narrative. Themes love self‑discovery creativity Mood reflective hopeful Type literary inspirational When to use this quote - writing - personal growth - relationships - overcoming emptiness Key Concepts narrative transformation emotional authenticity Questions to Reflect On - How does love change your perception of your own story? - What does it mean to let your heart guide your actions? A Different Perspective A life without love cannot truly be a story. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Book Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book-life/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Crept Pages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crept-pages-830234/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Heart Crept](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart-crept-830233/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-book/) [Life Or Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-or-love-217423/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) ## Related quotes > [“Your life is a book. Some have written half-way, some, three-quarter way. You have the opportunity to write and rewrite the book of your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nike-campbell-fatoki/your-life-is-a-book-some-have-written-half-way-some-three-quarter-way/) [Nike Campbell-Fatoki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nike-campbell-fatoki/) > [The Bible is the book of my life. It's the book I live with, the book I live by, the book I want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright-2/the-bible-is-the-book-of-my-life-it-s-the-book-i-live-with-the-book-i/) [N. T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright-2/) > [You want to give him the book of his own life, the book that will locate him, parent him, arm him for the changes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cunningham/you-want-to-give-him-the-book-of-his-own-life-the-book-that-will/) [Michael Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cunningham/) > [“Love, is it morning risen or night deceased That makes the mirth of this triumphant east? Is it bliss given or bitterness put by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/algernon-charles-swinburne/love-is-it-morning-risen-or-night-deceased-that-makes-the-mirth-of/) [Algernon Charles Swinburne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/algernon-charles-swinburne/) > [“She had never brought courage to either life or love. Her eyes ransacked her heart. She thought of the amulets and of her beads,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/she-had-never-brought-courage-to-either-life-or-love-her-eyes/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [“Love can mend your life or love can break your heart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-police/love-can-mend-your-life-or-love-can-break-your-heart/) [The Police](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-police/) > [“I'd had no idea what life or love was. Life didn't explode in the sunshine and pretty places. Life took the strongest root with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/i-d-had-no-idea-what-life-or-love-was-life-didn-t-explode-in-the/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [“Time Out To Cry © All alone at the end of the day The time, just a little past ten Evening has come for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannen-wrass/time-out-to-cry-all-alone-at-the-end-of-the-day-the-time-just-a/) [Shannen Wrass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannen-wrass/) > [“But when it comes to life or love, I choose life. I’m here right now, ready to live and love another day. I could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karina-halle/but-when-it-comes-to-life-or-love-i-choose-life-i-m-here-right-now/) [Karina Halle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karina-halle/) > [Anyone doesn't teach you much more quickly as the book of life,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/anyone-doesn-t-teach-you-much-more-quickly-as-the-book-of-life/) [Mak\_786](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mak-786/) > [I've been writing the same book my whole life - that you're in one family, and all of a sudden, you're in another family,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/i-ve-been-writing-the-same-book-my-whole-life-that-you-re-in-one/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [In the book of life each story is essential. Each unpack has a strange But did you know the form of my story? ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/innah-delos-angeles/in-the-book-of-life-each-story-is-essential-each-unpack-has-a-strange/) [Innah Delos Angeles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/innah-delos-angeles/) > [“Your life is like a book you decide what to write on it or erase from it; But you might not be able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/topsy-gift/your-life-is-like-a-book-you-decide-what-to-write-on-it-or-erase-from/) [Topsy Gift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/topsy-gift/) > [I often like to think that our map of the world is wrong, that where we have centered physics, we should actually place literature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/i-often-like-to-think-that-our-map-of-the-world-is-wrong-that-where/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [In the Book of Life, The answers aren't in the back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-the-book-of-life-the-answers-aren-t-in-the-back/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Sarah Waters > [“Now, from the crown of my head to the curve of my toe-nails, there was an unguent for every part of me - oil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-waters/now-from-the-crown-of-my-head-to-the-curve-of-my-toe-nails-there-was/) [Sarah Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-waters/) > [“Miss Craven held up a pair she thought would fit me—monstrous great things they were, of course, and I thought she smiled as she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-waters/miss-craven-held-up-a-pair-she-thought-would-fit-me-monstrous-great/) [Sarah Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-waters/) > [I barely knew I had skin before I met you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-waters/i-barely-knew-i-had-skin-before-i-met-you/) [Sarah Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-waters/) > [I suppose I really seemed mad, then; but it was only through the awfulness of having said nothing but the truth, and being thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-waters/i-suppose-i-really-seemed-mad-then-but-it-was-only-through-the/) [Sarah Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-waters/) > [My nan was a nursery maid. Most people weren't in big houses. They were maids of all work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-waters/my-nan-was-a-nursery-maid-most-people-weren-t-in-big-houses-they-were/) [Sarah Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-waters/) > [Being in love, you know... it's not like having a canary, in a cage. When you lose one sweetheart, you can't just go out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-waters/being-in-love-you-know-it-s-not-like-having-a-canary-in-a-cage-when/) [Sarah Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-waters/) > [For was that all, she thought bleakly, that love ever was? Something that saved one from loneliness? A sort of insurance policy against not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-waters/for-was-that-all-she-thought-bleakly-that-love-ever-was-something/) [Sarah Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-waters/) > [“And yet, I seemed to feel my eyes bound, too, with bands of silk. And at my throat there was a velvet collar.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-waters/and-yet-i-seemed-to-feel-my-eyes-bound-too-with-bands-of-silk-and-at/) [Sarah Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-waters/) > [“No-one speaks. No-one moves (…). We glide, softly, in silence, into our dark and separate hells”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-waters/no-one-speaks-no-one-moves-we-glide-softly-in-silence-into-our-dark/) [Sarah Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-waters/) > [“She loved these walks through London. She seemed, as she made them, to become porous, to soak in detail after detail; or else, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-waters/she-loved-these-walks-through-london-she-seemed-as-she-made-them-to/) [Sarah Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-waters/) > [“Oh, for shame! Nancy, have you never seen Florrie's face in a chrysanthemum, or a rose?' 'Never.' I said. 'Though there was a flounder…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-waters/oh-for-shame-nancy-have-you-never-seen-florrie-s-face-in-a/) [Sarah Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-waters/) > [“My locket hangs in my closet beside the glass, the only shining thing among so many shadows.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-waters/my-locket-hangs-in-my-closet-beside-the-glass-the-only-shining-thing/) [Sarah Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-waters/) > [“Mr Bliss looked grave. 'Your brother was very sensible to warn you, Miss Astley - but sadly misinformed. There are no trams in Trafalgur…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-waters/mr-bliss-looked-grave-your-brother-was-very-sensible-to-warn-you-miss/) [Sarah Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-waters/) > [I knew Id always be a second-rate academic, and I thought, Well, Id rather be a second-rate novelist or even a third-rate one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-waters/i-knew-id-always-be-a-second-rate-academic-and-i-thought-well-id/) [Sarah Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-waters/) > [“It is a world that is made of love. Did you think there is only the kind of love your sister knows for her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-waters/it-is-a-world-that-is-made-of-love-did-you-think-there-is-only-the/) [Sarah Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-waters/) [Explore all 148 Sarah Waters quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-waters/) ## More Book quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [I don't think I have made as much of my life as I should have. I should have written more books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/i-don-t-think-i-have-made-as-much-of-my-life-as-i-should-have-i/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [There are great books in this world and great worlds in books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/there-are-great-books-in-this-world-and-great-worlds-in-books/) [Anne Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [The purpose of this book is to supply, in the form suitable for laymen, guidance in the adoption and execution of an investment policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/the-purpose-of-this-book-is-to-supply-in-the-form-suitable-for-laymen/) [Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/) > [But I think that of all the literature that I studied, the book that did more than any other to fire my enthusiasm was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-nkrumah/but-i-think-that-of-all-the-literature-that-i-studied-the-book-that/) [Kwame Nkrumah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-nkrumah/) > [It's amazing to see things that are suggested in the book fully developed and so brilliantly realized through the artistry of the designers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/it-s-amazing-to-see-things-that-are-suggested-in-the-book-fully/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [“But I’ve developed a great reputation for wisdom by ordering more books than I ever had time to read, and reading more books, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/but-i-ve-developed-a-great-reputation-for-wisdom-by-ordering-more/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) [Browse all 29,378 Book quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I thought that I could make my life into a book that had no life or love in it. . . . Now I can see that my heart has crept across these pages, after all.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sarah Waters" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-waters/i-thought-that-i-could-make-my-life-into-a-book-that-had-no-life-or/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Book" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-waters/i-thought-that-i-could-make-my-life-into-a-book-that-had-no-life-or/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb7/sarah-waters-2758_book_i-thought-that-i-could-make-my-life-into_1668187.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb7/sarah-waters-2758_book_i-thought-that-i-could-make-my-life-into_1668187.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb7/sarah-waters-2758_book_i-thought-that-i-could-make-my-life-into_1668187.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I thought that I could make my life into a book that had no life or love in it. . . . Now I can see that my…” — Sarah Waters", "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 Waters", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-waters/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I thought that I could make...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-waters/i-thought-that-i-could-make-my-life-into-a-book-that-had-no-life-or/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-waters/i-thought-that-i-could-make-my-life-into-a-book-that-had-no-life-or/#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 } } ] } ```