--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To be lost and forgotten-to be…" description: "\"To be lost and forgotten-to be abandoned-is a shared and terrible fear, just as our fondest hope, as we grow older, is that we might leave some parts o..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7bb/stewart-o-nan-16780_abandoned_to-be-lost-and-forgotten-to-be-abandoned_1727838.jpg" --- # To be lost and forgotten-to be abandoned-is a shared and… ![“To be lost and forgotten-to be abandoned-is a shared and terrible fear, just as our fondest hope, as we grow older, is that we might leave some parts of us behind in the hearts of those we love and in that way live on.” quote by Stewart O'Nan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7bb/stewart-o-nan-16780_abandoned_to-be-lost-and-forgotten-to-be-abandoned_1727838.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7bb/stewart-o-nan-16780_abandoned_to-be-lost-and-forgotten-to-be-abandoned_1727838.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7bb/stewart-o-nan-16780_abandoned_to-be-lost-and-forgotten-to-be-abandoned_1727838.jpg) > “To be lost and forgotten-to be abandoned-is a shared and terrible fear, just as our fondest hope, as we grow older, is that we might leave some parts of us behind in the hearts of those we love and in that way live on.” [Stewart O'Nan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-o-nan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People fear being forgotten, yet hope to live on through loved ones' memories. **In simple terms:** Fear of being forgotten, hope for lasting impact. Key Takeaway Cherish relationships and create lasting memories. Themes mortality legacy memory love fear Mood nostalgic reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - family gatherings - writing memoirs - creating art - celebrating anniversaries Key Concepts existentialism psychology human connection Questions to Reflect On - How do you want to be remembered? - What actions preserve your memory? A Different Perspective Legacy can fade if not actively nurtured. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abandoned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abandoned/) [Abandoned Shared](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abandoned-shared-1402802/) [Behinds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behinds/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Forgotten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forgotten/) [Forgotten Abandoned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forgotten-abandoned-1402801/) [Grows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grows/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Lost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lost/) [Lost Forgotten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lost-forgotten-1402803/) [Might](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/might/) [Terrible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrible/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [“And those who were awake and walking the streets were a fascinating blend of the wild, the lost, and the forgotten. Very few of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christa-faust/and-those-who-were-awake-and-walking-the-streets-were-a-fascinating/) [Christa Faust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christa-faust/) > [“Feeling lost is not the same as being forgotten. It just means you are in a place God already knows by heart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibrahim-b-amunikoro/feeling-lost-is-not-the-same-as-being-forgotten-it-just-means-you-are/) [Ibrahim B. Amunikoro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibrahim-b-amunikoro/) > [Some very beautiful things get lost and forgotten. Just as I got lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luise-rainer/some-very-beautiful-things-get-lost-and-forgotten-just-as-i-got-lost/) [Luise Rainer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luise-rainer/) > [Nothing is hidden, nothing is ever lost, nothing is ever forgotten. That's always been part of my problem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-r-green/nothing-is-hidden-nothing-is-ever-lost-nothing-is-ever-forgotten-that/) [Simon R. Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-r-green/) > [“The more Henry though about the shabby old knickknacks, the forgotten treasures, the more he wondered if his own broken heart might be found…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-ford/the-more-henry-though-about-the-shabby-old-knickknacks-the-forgotten/) [Jamie Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-ford/) > [You made me an option, now I'm going to make you history. Lost and forgotten.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-made-me-an-option-now-i-m-going-to-make-you-history-lost-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [All men have parties and are pals who never let each other down. A pal can say terrible things which are forgotten the next…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tove-jansson/all-men-have-parties-and-are-pals-who-never-let-each-other-down-a-pal/) [Tove Jansson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tove-jansson/) > [The whole force of the respectable circles to which I belonged, that respectable circle which knew as I did notthe value of security won,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-tarbell/the-whole-force-of-the-respectable-circles-to-which-i-belonged-that/) [Ida Tarbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-tarbell/) > [In the eyes of those lovers of perfection, a work is never finished a word that for them has no sense but abandoned; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/in-the-eyes-of-those-lovers-of-perfection-a-work-is-never-finished-a/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [We should be recklessly abandoned to Jesus, and just turn it over to Him. Through the support I think the sacrifices will be made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacie-orrico/we-should-be-recklessly-abandoned-to-jesus-and-just-turn-it-over-to/) [Stacie Orrico](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacie-orrico/) > [Early on in my life, I had a broken soul. I was abused by my father, abandoned by my mother and ended up in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/early-on-in-my-life-i-had-a-broken-soul-i-was-abused-by-my-father/) [Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/) > [In Russia there is an emigration of intelligence: émigrés cross the frontier in order to read and to write good books. But in doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/in-russia-there-is-an-emigration-of-intelligence-migr-s-cross-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [When good media takes a bounded form, and comes once in a period of time, it begs to be consumed as a whole -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-battelle/when-good-media-takes-a-bounded-form-and-comes-once-in-a-period-of/) [John Battelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-battelle/) > [It’s hard to feel attracted to someone who has abandoned her sense of autonomy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-perel/it-s-hard-to-feel-attracted-to-someone-who-has-abandoned-her-sense-of/) [Esther Perel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-perel/) > [“I'm surprised when I walk right into yet another abandoned hunters' camp. Tattered plastic sheeting still hangs askew here and there. Blackened aerosol cans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-bass/i-m-surprised-when-i-walk-right-into-yet-another-abandoned-hunters/) [Rick Bass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-bass/) ## More by Stewart O'Nan > [The happiest she'd ever been was with him, and the saddest. Was that the true test of love?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-o-nan/the-happiest-she-d-ever-been-was-with-him-and-the-saddest-was-that/) [Stewart O'Nan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-o-nan/) > [It is not brilliance or facility that is necessary, but the determination to bear and even enjoy the dull process of wading into one's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-o-nan/it-is-not-brilliance-or-facility-that-is-necessary-but-the/) [Stewart O'Nan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-o-nan/) > [You couldn't relive your life, skipping the awful parts, without losing what made it worthwhile. You had to accept it as a whole--like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-o-nan/you-couldn-t-relive-your-life-skipping-the-awful-parts-without-losing/) [Stewart O'Nan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-o-nan/) > [I always squirm when I read what's called 'creative nonfiction,' and the writer is lobbing gobs of emotion and language at the world, hoping…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-o-nan/i-always-squirm-when-i-read-what-s-called-creative-nonfiction-and-the/) [Stewart O'Nan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-o-nan/) > [Local teenagers killed in a car crash is a suburban legend, a stock plot line.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-o-nan/local-teenagers-killed-in-a-car-crash-is-a-suburban-legend-a-stock/) [Stewart O'Nan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-o-nan/) > [“He could no longer be that Ed Larsen, but, through a lack of imagination or just sheer exhaustion, he couldn't come up with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-o-nan/he-could-no-longer-be-that-ed-larsen-but-through-a-lack-of/) [Stewart O'Nan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-o-nan/) > [“They should." "Should be like a wood bee," she said. It was a private joke, a mocking appreciation of the slipperiness of even the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-o-nan/they-should-should-be-like-a-wood-bee-she-said-it-was-a-private-joke/) [Stewart O'Nan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-o-nan/) > [I've always been a big reader.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-o-nan/i-ve-always-been-a-big-reader/) [Stewart O'Nan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-o-nan/) > [I'm not sure the risks I take are any different from what other writers take, since we all serve at the pleasure of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-o-nan/i-m-not-sure-the-risks-i-take-are-any-different-from-what-other/) [Stewart O'Nan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-o-nan/) > [“Come then, come with us, out into the night. Come now, America the lovesick, America the timid, the blessed, the educated, come stalk the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-o-nan/come-then-come-with-us-out-into-the-night-come-now-america-the/) [Stewart O'Nan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-o-nan/) > [“Often, as she leafed through the sticky, plastic-coated pages, spotting herself with a frizzy perm or wearing a loud, printed blouse, she was struck…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-o-nan/often-as-she-leafed-through-the-sticky-plastic-coated-pages-spotting/) [Stewart O'Nan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-o-nan/) > [As a fiction writer, my favorite tools are my imagination and the peculiar opportunities offered by different points of view.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-o-nan/as-a-fiction-writer-my-favorite-tools-are-my-imagination-and-the/) [Stewart O'Nan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-o-nan/) > [You can't run from your roots.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-o-nan/you-can-t-run-from-your-roots/) [Stewart O'Nan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-o-nan/) > [The two hardest things about writing are starting and not stopping.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-o-nan/the-two-hardest-things-about-writing-are-starting-and-not-stopping/) [Stewart O'Nan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-o-nan/) > [I like the idea of being a working writer, not of saying that it's going to take me 30 years to write my magnum opus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-o-nan/i-like-the-idea-of-being-a-working-writer-not-of-saying-that-it-s/) [Stewart O'Nan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-o-nan/) [Explore all 39 Stewart O'Nan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-o-nan/) ## More Abandoned quotes > [“I'm surprised when I walk right into yet another abandoned hunters' camp. Tattered plastic sheeting still hangs askew here and there. Blackened aerosol cans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-bass/i-m-surprised-when-i-walk-right-into-yet-another-abandoned-hunters/) [Rick Bass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-bass/) > [It’s hard to feel attracted to someone who has abandoned her sense of autonomy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-perel/it-s-hard-to-feel-attracted-to-someone-who-has-abandoned-her-sense-of/) [Esther Perel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-perel/) > [When good media takes a bounded form, and comes once in a period of time, it begs to be consumed as a whole -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-battelle/when-good-media-takes-a-bounded-form-and-comes-once-in-a-period-of/) [John Battelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-battelle/) > [In Russia there is an emigration of intelligence: émigrés cross the frontier in order to read and to write good books. But in doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/in-russia-there-is-an-emigration-of-intelligence-migr-s-cross-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Early on in my life, I had a broken soul. I was abused by my father, abandoned by my mother and ended up in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/early-on-in-my-life-i-had-a-broken-soul-i-was-abused-by-my-father/) [Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/) > [We should be recklessly abandoned to Jesus, and just turn it over to Him. Through the support I think the sacrifices will be made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacie-orrico/we-should-be-recklessly-abandoned-to-jesus-and-just-turn-it-over-to/) [Stacie Orrico](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacie-orrico/) > [In the eyes of those lovers of perfection, a work is never finished a word that for them has no sense but abandoned; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/in-the-eyes-of-those-lovers-of-perfection-a-work-is-never-finished-a/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [The whole force of the respectable circles to which I belonged, that respectable circle which knew as I did notthe value of security won,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-tarbell/the-whole-force-of-the-respectable-circles-to-which-i-belonged-that/) [Ida Tarbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-tarbell/) > [Barack Obama became president, and he abandoned Iraq. He left, and when he left Al Qaida was done for. ISIS was created because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeb-bush/barack-obama-became-president-and-he-abandoned-iraq-he-left-and-when/) [Jeb Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeb-bush/) > [“The desperate loneliness is nothing compared to the torture of falling in love and then being abandoned.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-nuest/the-desperate-loneliness-is-nothing-compared-to-the-torture-of/) [A.J. Nuest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-nuest/) > [Through it all, this wild life on and off the road , through Jordanian deserts , Spanish islands, German prisons, Caribbean tax scams, halls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-burdon/through-it-all-this-wild-life-on-and-off-the-road-through-jordanian/) [Eric Burdon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-burdon/) > [I've never been keen on open adoption. It doesn't seem to solve the main problem with adoption, which is that somebody feels she was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-ve-never-been-keen-on-open-adoption-it-doesn-t-seem-to-solve-the/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [Blacks abandoned morals, fathers, and real belief in God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-lee-peterson/blacks-abandoned-morals-fathers-and-real-belief-in-god/) [Jesse Lee Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-lee-peterson/) > [I just feel abandoned. And I feel, I don't feel represented by the Republican Party. I have always had to defend the social side…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-johnson/i-just-feel-abandoned-and-i-feel-i-don-t-feel-represented-by-the/) [Gary Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-johnson/) > [While society cannot provide employment for its members, the production/work/income nexus has to be abandoned as a justification for our present parsimony to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-hawke/while-society-cannot-provide-employment-for-its-members-the/) [Bob Hawke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-hawke/) [Browse all 932 Abandoned quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abandoned/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To be lost and forgotten-to be abandoned-is a shared and terrible fear, just as our fondest hope, as we grow older, is that we might leave some parts of us behind in the hearts of those we love and in that way live on.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Stewart O'Nan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-o-nan/to-be-lost-and-forgotten-to-be-abandoned-is-a-shared-and-terrible/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Abandoned" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-o-nan/to-be-lost-and-forgotten-to-be-abandoned-is-a-shared-and-terrible/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7bb/stewart-o-nan-16780_abandoned_to-be-lost-and-forgotten-to-be-abandoned_1727838.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7bb/stewart-o-nan-16780_abandoned_to-be-lost-and-forgotten-to-be-abandoned_1727838.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7bb/stewart-o-nan-16780_abandoned_to-be-lost-and-forgotten-to-be-abandoned_1727838.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“To be lost and forgotten-to be abandoned-is a shared and terrible fear, just as our fondest hope, as we grow…” — Stewart O'Nan", "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": "Stewart O'Nan", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-o-nan/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "To be lost and forgotten-to be...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-o-nan/to-be-lost-and-forgotten-to-be-abandoned-is-a-shared-and-terrible/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-o-nan/to-be-lost-and-forgotten-to-be-abandoned-is-a-shared-and-terrible/#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 } } ] } ```