--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: How do you talk to the real person whose…" description: "\"“How do you talk to the real person whose ghost has haunted you? How do you tell the difference between the two?”\" — Sherman Alexie" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68c/sherman-alexie-444_ghost_how-do-you-talk-to-the-real-person-whose_1677052.png" --- # How do you talk to the real person whose ghost has haunted… ![“How do you talk to the real person whose ghost has haunted you? How do you tell the difference between the two?” quote by Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68c/sherman-alexie-444_ghost_how-do-you-talk-to-the-real-person-whose_1677052.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68c/sherman-alexie-444_ghost_how-do-you-talk-to-the-real-person-whose_1677052.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68c/sherman-alexie-444_ghost_how-do-you-talk-to-the-real-person-whose_1677052.png) > ““How do you talk to the real person whose ghost has haunted you? How do you tell the difference between the two?”” [Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) ## 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 wonders how to confront the lingering influence of a past relationship and distinguish between the real person and the memory that haunts them. **In simple terms:** How to face a haunting past and tell the real person from the memory. Key Takeaway Seek honest conversation and self‑reflection. Themes identity memory relationships Mood reflective melancholic Type philosophical introspective When to use this quote - breakups - grief counseling - personal journaling Key Concepts psychology attachment self‑awareness Questions to Reflect On - What does “real” mean in this context? - How can you differentiate memory from current reality? A Different Perspective The quote assumes a single “real person” exists, ignoring complex relational dynamics. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ghost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ghost/) ## Related quotes > [“The connection was good. I could hear her breathing in the spaces between our words. How do you talk to the real person whose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/the-connection-was-good-i-could-hear-her-breathing-in-the-spaces/) [Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) > [“Better to join a ghost than to be haunted by them. Better no life than an empty one-”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/better-to-join-a-ghost-than-to-be-haunted-by-them-better-no-life-than/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [“On this home by Horror haunted— tell me truly, I implore— Is there— is there balm in Gilead”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/on-this-home-by-horror-haunted-tell-me-truly-i-implore-is-there-is/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [I don't speak, I float in the air wrapped in a sheet I'm not a real person, I'm a ghost trapped in a beat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eminem/i-don-t-speak-i-float-in-the-air-wrapped-in-a-sheet-i-m-not-a-real/) [Eminem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eminem/) > [“Gatsby's ghost may have haunted me, because even in high school I knew that promise lay in the East, particularly in New York City,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/gatsby-s-ghost-may-have-haunted-me-because-even-in-high-school-i-knew/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) > [For time is inches And the heart's changes, Where ghost has haunted Lost and wanted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/for-time-is-inches-and-the-heart-s-changes-where-ghost-has-haunted/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [If each dead person became a ghost, there'd be more than 100 billion of them haunting us all. Creepy, but cool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/if-each-dead-person-became-a-ghost-there-d-be-more-than-100-billion/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [“But a person can be genocided-can have every connection to his past severed- and live to be an old man whose rib cage is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/but-a-person-can-be-genocided-can-have-every-connection-to-his-past/) [Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) > [“What role were we playing? The ghosts or the haunted?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jac-jemc/what-role-were-we-playing-the-ghosts-or-the-haunted/) [Jac Jemc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jac-jemc/) > [When I was sixteen, I wrote the first hundred or so pages of a novel about a piano that was haunted by the ghost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-tropper/when-i-was-sixteen-i-wrote-the-first-hundred-or-so-pages-of-a-novel/) [Jonathan Tropper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-tropper/) > [A house with old furniture has no need of ghosts to be haunted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-mirrlees/a-house-with-old-furniture-has-no-need-of-ghosts-to-be-haunted/) [Hope Mirrlees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-mirrlees/) > [“Every town has ‘THAT house’: the one that once held dark secrets. You know the house… the one no one will purchase? The one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-caskey/every-town-has-that-house-the-one-that-once-held-dark-secrets-you/) [James Caskey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-caskey/) > [...you don't need ghosts to be haunted. Memory does that just fine without any supernatural help at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/you-don-t-need-ghosts-to-be-haunted-memory-does-that-just-fine/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [They call them the haunted shores, these stretches of Devonshire and Cornwall and Ireland which rear up against the westward ocean. Mists gather here,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/they-call-them-the-haunted-shores-these-stretches-of-devonshire-and/) [Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/) > [I love ghost stories, I love to read them, and I love the idea of being haunted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/micah-perks/i-love-ghost-stories-i-love-to-read-them-and-i-love-the-idea-of-being/) [Micah Perks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/micah-perks/) ## More by Sherman Alexie > [“He says the earth is an oval marble that nobody can win. He says the sky is not blue and the grass is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/he-says-the-earth-is-an-oval-marble-that-nobody-can-win-he-says-the/) [Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) > [“Now, in the old days, Indians used to be forgiving of any kind of eccentricity. In fact, weird people were often celebrated. Epileptics were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/now-in-the-old-days-indians-used-to-be-forgiving-of-any-kind-of/) [Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) > [Since Jesus was human then he most assuredly farted and burped. And if God did create us in God's image then God must fart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/since-jesus-was-human-then-he-most-assuredly-farted-and-burped-and-if/) [Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) > [“A century ago she might have been beautiful, her face reflected in the river instead of a mirror. But all the years have changed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/a-century-ago-she-might-have-been-beautiful-her-face-reflected-in-the/) [Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) > [“In all those stories, I could fly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/in-all-those-stories-i-could-fly/) [Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) > [I don't think there's a whole lot of class literature at all. I think most of that has become racially based, and people don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/i-don-t-think-there-s-a-whole-lot-of-class-literature-at-all-i-think/) [Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) > [She wanted to be buried in a coffin filled with used paperbacks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/she-wanted-to-be-buried-in-a-coffin-filled-with-used-paperbacks/) [Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) > [“Is there really a difference between that killing and this killing? Does God approve of some killing and not other killing? If I kill…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/is-there-really-a-difference-between-that-killing-and-this-killing/) [Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) > [“Son, things have never been like how you think they used to be.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/son-things-have-never-been-like-how-you-think-they-used-to-be/) [Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) > [My parents banned nothing, though the Christian fundamentalists in my tribe held book-and-record burnings every now and again. So, yes, fundamentalist assholes can also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/my-parents-banned-nothing-though-the-christian-fundamentalists-in-my/) [Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) > [“Or maybe I could have anesthetized myself with homework and extra credit and binge-reading.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/or-maybe-i-could-have-anesthetized-myself-with-homework-and-extra/) [Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) > [“Dear wife, I'm sorry that I am mysteriously incapable of folding clean laundry, but I iron, oh, I iron. Sweetheart, I'll make your white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/dear-wife-i-m-sorry-that-i-am-mysteriously-incapable-of-folding-clean/) [Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) > [“Gordy,” I said. “I need to talk to you." "I don't have time," he said. "Mr. Orcutt and I have to debug some PCs.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/gordy-i-said-i-need-to-talk-to-you-i-don-t-have-time-he-said-mr/) [Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) > [“The United States wants all of us to forget the crimes it committed against the indigenous. The United States wants us to forget. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/the-united-states-wants-all-of-us-to-forget-the-crimes-it-committed/) [Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) > [I think that white women are more apt to read laterally. So I think there's some strong identification for women, and their political and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/i-think-that-white-women-are-more-apt-to-read-laterally-so-i-think/) [Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) [Explore all 546 Sherman Alexie quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) ## More Ghost quotes > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/) [Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/) > [“When you feel terribly angry, you're possessed by anger ghost.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/when-you-feel-terribly-angry-you-re-possessed-by-anger-ghost/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [I was overcome by the Holy Ghost one time, but in a Baptist way. I was six or seven, and I was saved. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-ditto/i-was-overcome-by-the-holy-ghost-one-time-but-in-a-baptist-way-i-was/) [Beth Ditto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-ditto/) > [Nice is a city of ghosts and specters, but I hope not to become one of them right away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-modiano/nice-is-a-city-of-ghosts-and-specters-but-i-hope-not-to-become-one-of/) [Patrick Modiano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-modiano/) > [“Who is this ghost ordered into music?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuko-shiraishi/who-is-this-ghost-ordered-into-music/) Kazuko Shiraishi > [The ghost story movie that scared me the most was The Changeling with George C. Scott. I think that's sometimes overlooked, but it's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-ghost-story-movie-that-scared-me-the-most-was-the-changeling-with/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Maybe I could be friends with a ghost. I wouldn’t be able to kill him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-harrison/maybe-i-could-be-friends-with-a-ghost-i-wouldn-t-be-able-to-kill-him/) [Kim Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-harrison/) > [I love ghost stories, I love to read them, and I love the idea of being haunted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/micah-perks/i-love-ghost-stories-i-love-to-read-them-and-i-love-the-idea-of-being/) [Micah Perks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/micah-perks/) > [The Holy Ghost is the greatest guarantor of inward peace in our unstable world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-e-faust/the-holy-ghost-is-the-greatest-guarantor-of-inward-peace-in-our/) [James E. Faust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-e-faust/) > [I saw the gooseflesh on my skin. I did not know what made it. I was not cold. Had a ghost passed over? No,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-saw-the-gooseflesh-on-my-skin-i-did-not-know-what-made-it-i-was-not/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [She knows not loves that kissed her She knows not where. Art thou the ghost, my sister, White sister there, Am I the ghost,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/algernon-charles-swinburne/she-knows-not-loves-that-kissed-her-she-knows-not-where-art-thou-the/) [Algernon Charles Swinburne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/algernon-charles-swinburne/) > [Pity the planet, all joy gone from this sweet volcanic cone; peace to our children when they fall in small war on the heel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lowell/pity-the-planet-all-joy-gone-from-this-sweet-volcanic-cone-peace-to/) [Robert Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lowell/) > [What the Church needs to-day is not more machinery or better, not new organizations or more and novel methods, but men whom the Holy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-the-church-needs-to-day-is-not-more-machinery-or-better-not-new/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Do I believe in ghosts?...I am prepared to consider evidence and accept it if it satisfies me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-r-james/do-i-believe-in-ghosts-i-am-prepared-to-consider-evidence-and-accept/) [M. R. James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-r-james/) > [Just live that life. It doesn't matter whether it is life or hell, life of the hungry ghost, life of the animal, it's okay;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taizan-maezumi/just-live-that-life-it-doesn-t-matter-whether-it-is-life-or-hell-life/) [Taizan Maezumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taizan-maezumi/) [Browse all 2,175 Ghost quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ghost/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“How do you talk to the real person whose ghost has haunted you? 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