--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I divide my life into two parts. Not…" description: "\"“I divide my life into two parts. Not really a Before and After, more as if they are bookends, holding together flaccid years of empty musings, years o..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f61/sarah-winman-10153_adulthood_i-divide-my-life-into-two-parts-not-real_1574381.jpg" --- # I divide my life into two parts. Not really a Before and… ![“I divide my life into two parts. Not really a Before and After, more as if they are bookends, holding together flaccid years of empty musings, years of late adolescent or the twentysomething whose coat of adulthood simply does not fit.” quote by Sarah Winman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f61/sarah-winman-10153_adulthood_i-divide-my-life-into-two-parts-not-real_1574381.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f61/sarah-winman-10153_adulthood_i-divide-my-life-into-two-parts-not-real_1574381.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f61/sarah-winman-10153_adulthood_i-divide-my-life-into-two-parts-not-real_1574381.jpg) > ““I divide my life into two parts. Not really a Before and After, more as if they are bookends, holding together flaccid years of empty musings, years of late adolescent or the twentysomething whose coat of adulthood simply does not fit.”” [Sarah Winman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-winman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life feels like two bookends holding empty, mismatched years that don’t fit adulthood. **In simple terms:** Life can feel disjointed and ill‑fitting. Key Takeaway Seek meaning beyond the empty stretches. Themes identity existence midlife Mood melancholic introspective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - career transition - relationship shifts - midlife crisis Key Concepts narrative dissonance self‑reflection Questions to Reflect On - What “bookends” define your personal narrative? - How can you reconcile mismatched expectations? A Different Perspective The metaphor may oversimplify complex life phases. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adulthood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adulthood/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ## Related quotes > [“I can easily divide my life into two parts—before her and after.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurelin-paige/i-can-easily-divide-my-life-into-two-parts-before-her-and-after/) [Laurelin Paige](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurelin-paige/) > [To divide one's life by years is of course to tumble into a trap set by our own arithmetic. The calendar consents to carry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifton-fadiman/to-divide-one-s-life-by-years-is-of-course-to-tumble-into-a-trap-set/) [Clifton Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifton-fadiman/) > [You can divide my life into two.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-mountbatten/you-can-divide-my-life-into-two/) [Lord Mountbatten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-mountbatten/) > [Wheather it is conscious or not, you eventually make the decision to divide your life in half - before and after - with loss…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/wheather-it-is-conscious-or-not-you-eventually-make-the-decision-to/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [But we cannot unbraid the story of another person’s life and take out all the parts that don’t suit our purposes and put forth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/but-we-cannot-unbraid-the-story-of-another-person-s-life-and-take-out/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [I think for me, football is a big part of my life, but I also have other parts of my life, you know?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mac-jones/i-think-for-me-football-is-a-big-part-of-my-life-but-i-also-have/) [Mac Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mac-jones/) > [I've found in my life that the parts that you're right for are the parts that you get. It's really usually quite easy because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-torv/i-ve-found-in-my-life-that-the-parts-that-you-re-right-for-are-the/) [Anna Torv](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-torv/) > [“Life's in parts, and some go together and some don't, and some incongruously don't, and the whole scheme is better left to itself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-mcelroy/life-s-in-parts-and-some-go-together-and-some-don-t-and-some/) [Joseph McElroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-mcelroy/) > [We do not choose our own parts in life, and have nothing to do with those parts. Our duty is confined to playing them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/we-do-not-choose-our-own-parts-in-life-and-have-nothing-to-do-with/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [A mother, after all, is your entry into the world. She is the shell in which you divide and become a life. Waking up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meghan-o-rourke/a-mother-after-all-is-your-entry-into-the-world-she-is-the-shell-in/) [Meghan O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meghan-o-rourke/) > [I really feel sorry for people who are, who divide their whole life up into 'things that I like' and 'things that I must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-crowe/i-really-feel-sorry-for-people-who-are-who-divide-their-whole-life-up/) [Russell Crowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-crowe/) > [The days aren't discarded or collected, they are bees that burned with sweetness or maddened the sting: the struggle continues, the journeys go and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/the-days-aren-t-discarded-or-collected-they-are-bees-that-burned-with/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [The boundaries which divide Life from Death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where the one ends, and where the other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/the-boundaries-which-divide-life-from-death-are-at-best-shadowy-and/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [“To divide life into areas of sacred and secular, letting our devotions take care of the former while becoming secular reformers during the week,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-r-van-til/to-divide-life-into-areas-of-sacred-and-secular-letting-our-devotions/) [Henry R. Van Til](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-r-van-til/) > [“It was in fact during the month of May 1889 that Carnegie was finishing up a magazine article to become known as “The Gospel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/it-was-in-fact-during-the-month-of-may-1889-that-carnegie-was/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) ## More by Sarah Winman > [You can hold onto anything to make you carry on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-winman/you-can-hold-onto-anything-to-make-you-carry-on/) [Sarah Winman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-winman/) > [“... I wrote about ... my childhood, when dreams were small and attainable for all. When sweets were a penny and god was a rabbit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-winman/i-wrote-about-my-childhood-when-dreams-were-small-and-attainable-for/) [Sarah Winman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-winman/) > [“Autumn knocks on the window. I pull back the sliding doors and let it in. Lights from the meat market flicker and car lights…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-winman/autumn-knocks-on-the-window-i-pull-back-the-sliding-doors-and-let-it/) [Sarah Winman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-winman/) > [“The first thing we need to find,' said Mr Golan, 'is a reason to live'. ... 'Without a reason, why bother? Existence needs purpose:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-winman/the-first-thing-we-need-to-find-said-mr-golan-is-a-reason-to-live/) [Sarah Winman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-winman/) > [“You said I could be anything I wanted when I was older', I said. She smiled and said, 'And you can be. But it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-winman/you-said-i-could-be-anything-i-wanted-when-i-was-older-i-said-she/) [Sarah Winman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-winman/) > [“He started to do that, started to inform me of everything; the inconsequential, the meaningful; conversations that ended in a cul-de-sac of unanswerable rhetoric.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-winman/he-started-to-do-that-started-to-inform-me-of-everything-the/) [Sarah Winman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-winman/) > [ “\[My mum\] was always like that: grateful for life itself. Her glass was not only half full, it was gold plated with a permanent… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-winman/my-mum-was-always-like-that-grateful-for-life-itself-her-glass-was/) [Sarah Winman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-winman/) > [“It was the final chapter of his breakdown, the moment when his glass drained of everything, and its emptiness awaited only for choices to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-winman/it-was-the-final-chapter-of-his-breakdown-the-moment-when-his-glass/) [Sarah Winman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-winman/) > [“There's something about first love, isn't there? she said. It's untouchable to those who played no part in it. But it's the measure of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-winman/there-s-something-about-first-love-isn-t-there-she-said-it-s/) [Sarah Winman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-winman/) > [Memories no matter how small or inconsequential are the pages that define us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-winman/memories-no-matter-how-small-or-inconsequential-are-the-pages-that/) [Sarah Winman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-winman/) > [“And I wonder what the sound of a heart breaking might be. And I think it might be quiet, unperceptively so, and not dramatic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-winman/and-i-wonder-what-the-sound-of-a-heart-breaking-might-be-and-i-think/) [Sarah Winman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-winman/) > [“I'd been feeling like this for a while, the continual looking back, the stuckness of it all. I blamed it on the coming New…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-winman/i-d-been-feeling-like-this-for-a-while-the-continual-looking-back-the/) [Sarah Winman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-winman/) > [“Everyone had a story of grief. Everyone else's was worse than yours.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-winman/everyone-had-a-story-of-grief-everyone-else-s-was-worse-than-yours/) [Sarah Winman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-winman/) > [“I thought that probably I was worth more when I was younger.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-winman/i-thought-that-probably-i-was-worth-more-when-i-was-younger/) [Sarah Winman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-winman/) > [“... shunning all offers of help, all offers of the more practical... This was his task, he said, and it would be carried out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-winman/shunning-all-offers-of-help-all-offers-of-the-more-practical-this-was/) [Sarah Winman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-winman/) [Explore all 61 Sarah Winman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-winman/) ## More Adulthood quotes > [Age is an accumulation of life and loss. Adulthood is a series of lines crossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-goodman/age-is-an-accumulation-of-life-and-loss-adulthood-is-a-series-of/) [Ellen Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-goodman/) > [People often say that you should never work with child actors. I think that's all wrong. Children have not had the imagination kicked out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-cage/people-often-say-that-you-should-never-work-with-child-actors-i-think/) [Nicolas Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-cage/) > [Two things suck about becoming an adult male - paying taxes and getting a finger in your butt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-code/two-things-suck-about-becoming-an-adult-male-paying-taxes-and-getting/) Guy Code > [You can only pretend for so long before reality hits and you realize he/she is not who you thought or what you truly want.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhishek-tiwari/you-can-only-pretend-for-so-long-before-reality-hits-and-you-realize/) [Abhishek Tiwari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhishek-tiwari/) > [If I were entering adulthood now instead of in the environment of fifty years ago, I would choose a career that kept me in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lindbergh/if-i-were-entering-adulthood-now-instead-of-in-the-environment-of/) [Charles Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lindbergh/) > [“English: "Being an adult doesn't mean killing the child we once were; it means being able to protect him." Česky: „Být dospělým neznamená zabít…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebasti-n-wortys/english-being-an-adult-doesn-t-mean-killing-the-child-we-once-were-it/) [Sebastián Wortys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebasti-n-wortys/) > [“I wondered what a man I had encountered the day before on the plane en route to Chicago's O'Hare airport would have made of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-moss/i-wondered-what-a-man-i-had-encountered-the-day-before-on-the-plane/) [Robert Moss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-moss/) > [“Sometimes your kids will say the nastiest things, won't they, Rose? You want to ask,'Whose child is this?'" Rose chuckled. "But usually, they're just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/sometimes-your-kids-will-say-the-nastiest-things-won-t-they-rose-you/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [No one, it has been said, will ever look at the Moon in the same way again. More significantly can one say that no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/no-one-it-has-been-said-will-ever-look-at-the-moon-in-the-same-way/) [Anne Morrow Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) > [Being an adult is the ability to postpone a want for the sake of a family need.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hogan/being-an-adult-is-the-ability-to-postpone-a-want-for-the-sake-of-a/) [Chris Hogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hogan/) > [“one Secret of Adulthood is “Never start a sentence with the words ‘No offense’”? “And”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretchen-rubin/one-secret-of-adulthood-is-never-start-a-sentence-with-the-words-no/) [Gretchen Rubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretchen-rubin/) > [In their youth, mortals behave more like nymphs. Adulthood seems impossibly distant, let alone the enfeeblement of old age. But ponderously, inevitably, it overtakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-mull/in-their-youth-mortals-behave-more-like-nymphs-adulthood-seems/) [Brandon Mull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-mull/) > [Public schools were designed as the great equalizers of our society - the place where all children could have access to educational opportunities to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-napolitano/public-schools-were-designed-as-the-great-equalizers-of-our-society/) [Janet Napolitano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-napolitano/) > [“Yet GenX'er teens didn't slow down--they were just as likely to drive, drink alcohol, and date as their Boomer peers and more likely to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-m-twenge/yet-genx-er-teens-didn-t-slow-down-they-were-just-as-likely-to-drive/) [Jean M. Twenge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-m-twenge/) > [“The entrepreneurs are only about my age, probably younger, but they don't seem so. Their tailored clothes and unbending hairdos, their clipboards and laser…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-baume/the-entrepreneurs-are-only-about-my-age-probably-younger-but-they-don/) [Sara Baume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-baume/) [Browse all 651 Adulthood quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adulthood/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I divide my life into two parts. Not really a Before and After, more as if they are bookends, holding together flaccid years of empty musings, years of late adolescent or the twentysomething whose coat of adulthood simply does not fit.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sarah Winman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-winman/i-divide-my-life-into-two-parts-not-really-a-before-and-after-more-as/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Adulthood" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-winman/i-divide-my-life-into-two-parts-not-really-a-before-and-after-more-as/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f61/sarah-winman-10153_adulthood_i-divide-my-life-into-two-parts-not-real_1574381.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f61/sarah-winman-10153_adulthood_i-divide-my-life-into-two-parts-not-real_1574381.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f61/sarah-winman-10153_adulthood_i-divide-my-life-into-two-parts-not-real_1574381.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I divide my life into two parts. Not really a Before and After, more as if they are bookends, holding…” — Sarah Winman", "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 Winman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-winman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I divide my life into two...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-winman/i-divide-my-life-into-two-parts-not-really-a-before-and-after-more-as/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-winman/i-divide-my-life-into-two-parts-not-really-a-before-and-after-more-as/#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 } } ] } ```