--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But once in a great while he remembered…" description: "\"But once in a great while he remembered that he had felt pain, a terrible ache in his heart, and he swore he would never let himself feel love for a hu..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d26/susan-cooper-10642_ache_but-once-in-a-great-while-he-remembered_1369956.jpg" --- # But once in a great while he remembered that he had felt… ![“But once in a great while he remembered that he had felt pain, a terrible ache in his heart, and he swore he would never let himself feel love for a human again.” quote by Susan Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d26/susan-cooper-10642_ache_but-once-in-a-great-while-he-remembered_1369956.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d26/susan-cooper-10642_ache_but-once-in-a-great-while-he-remembered_1369956.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d26/susan-cooper-10642_ache_but-once-in-a-great-while-he-remembered_1369956.jpg) > “But once in a great while he remembered that he had felt pain, a terrible ache in his heart, and he swore he would never let himself feel love for a human again.” [Susan Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cooper/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. After repeated heartbreak, he vows to shield himself from love, illustrating how pain can lead to emotional withdrawal. **In simple terms:** Pain can make us close off to love. Key Takeaway Guard your heart after hurt. Themes heartbreak self‑protection emotional withdrawal Mood melancholic introspective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - relationships - therapy - friendships - personal growth - creative writing Key Concepts trauma defense mechanisms love avoidance Questions to Reflect On - Can you ever fully close off emotions? - What might healing look like? A Different Perspective Avoiding love may prevent future joy and connection. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ache](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ache/) [Ache Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ache-heart-288982/) [Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels/) [Felt Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/felt-pain/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Heart Swore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart-swore-4714396/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/) [Pain Terrible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain-terrible-2878921/) [Remembered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remembered/) [Remembered Felt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remembered-felt-3263884/) [Terrible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrible/) ## Related quotes > [… and so he tried to accept the ache in his heart as what Dr. Larch would call the common symptoms of normal life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/and-so-he-tried-to-accept-the-ache-in-his-heart-as-what-dr-larch/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [“There was the ache in his heart, and now over his shoulder and down his arm, as”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mcdermott/there-was-the-ache-in-his-heart-and-now-over-his-shoulder-and-down/) [Alice McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mcdermott/) > [And as the ax bites into the wood, be comforted in the fact that the ache in your heart and the confusion in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-harding/and-as-the-ax-bites-into-the-wood-be-comforted-in-the-fact-that-the-2/) [Paul Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-harding/) > [There is an ache in my heart for the imagined beauty of a life I haven't had, from which I had been locked out,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-goolrick/there-is-an-ache-in-my-heart-for-the-imagined-beauty-of-a-life-i/) [Robert Goolrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-goolrick/) > [Pain is a more terrible lord of mankind than even death itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-schweitzer/pain-is-a-more-terrible-lord-of-mankind-than-even-death-itself/) [Albert Schweitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-schweitzer/) > [“Emotional pain is a terrible thing to endure, but the solution is not anything unbiblical.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mowday-rabey/emotional-pain-is-a-terrible-thing-to-endure-but-the-solution-is-not/) [Lois Mowday Rabey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mowday-rabey/) > [... once you get beyond the crust of the first pang it is all the same and you can easily bear it. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/once-you-get-beyond-the-crust-of-the-first-pang-it-is-all-the-same/) [Anne Morrow Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) > [“She remembered what it felt like to have her hands in that hair, how holding him had anchored her not just to the world,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/she-remembered-what-it-felt-like-to-have-her-hands-in-that-hair-how/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [“And the strange thing was that it felt absolutely familiar, the curve of her arm under my hand and the weight of her head…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-charles-wilson/and-the-strange-thing-was-that-it-felt-absolutely-familiar-the-curve/) [Robert Charles Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-charles-wilson/) > [“Beauty exists not in what is seen and remembered, but in what is felt and never forgotten.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnathan-jena/beauty-exists-not-in-what-is-seen-and-remembered-but-in-what-is-felt/) [Johnathan Jena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnathan-jena/) > [“She remembered how it had felt and tasted, that slowly descending depression, like a thick glass jar that closed around you, sucking away the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-hannah/she-remembered-how-it-had-felt-and-tasted-that-slowly-descending/) [Kristin Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-hannah/) > [“This is the problem with making a thing forbidden. It does nothing but build an ache in the heart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-bardugo/this-is-the-problem-with-making-a-thing-forbidden-it-does-nothing-but/) [Leigh Bardugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-bardugo/) > [“And as the ax bites into the wood, be comforted in the fact that the ache in your heart and the confusion in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-harding/and-as-the-ax-bites-into-the-wood-be-comforted-in-the-fact-that-the/) [Paul Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-harding/) > [“For what else is nostalgia but this? That immense ache in the heart that seems immeasurable, massive, spilling over the future that longs for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rica-bolipata-santos/for-what-else-is-nostalgia-but-this-that-immense-ache-in-the-heart/) [Rica Bolipata-Santos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rica-bolipata-santos/) > [Remembering you is easy, I do it every day. But there is an ache within my heart that will never go away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/remembering-you-is-easy-i-do-it-every-day-but-there-is-an-ache-within/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Susan Cooper > [“Still in the black hemisphere the stars blazed and slowly wheeled; beneath them, Will felt so infinitesimally small that it seemed impossible he should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cooper/still-in-the-black-hemisphere-the-stars-blazed-and-slowly-wheeled/) [Susan Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cooper/) > [The future cannot blame the present, just as the present cannot blame the past. The hope is always here, always alive, but only your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cooper/the-future-cannot-blame-the-present-just-as-the-present-cannot-blame/) [Susan Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cooper/) > [“He was tall, and straight, with a lot of very thick, wild, white hair. In his grim brown face the nose curved fiercely, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cooper/he-was-tall-and-straight-with-a-lot-of-very-thick-wild-white-hair-in/) [Susan Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cooper/) > [“The snow lay thin and apologetic over the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cooper/the-snow-lay-thin-and-apologetic-over-the-world/) [Susan Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cooper/) > [“But those men who know anything at all about the Light also know that there is a fierceness to its power, like the bare…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cooper/but-those-men-who-know-anything-at-all-about-the-light-also-know-that/) [Susan Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cooper/) > [“On the day of the dead, when the year too dies, Must the youngest open the oldest hills Through the door of the birds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cooper/on-the-day-of-the-dead-when-the-year-too-dies-must-the-youngest-open/) [Susan Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cooper/) > [“If you are concerned for the future of our civilization, there is no more cheering sight than a boy or girl who is lost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cooper/if-you-are-concerned-for-the-future-of-our-civilization-there-is-no/) [Susan Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cooper/) > [“When the dark comes rising, six shall turn it back; Three from the circle, three from the track; Wood, bronze, iron; water, fire, stone;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cooper/when-the-dark-comes-rising-six-shall-turn-it-back-three-from-the/) [Susan Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cooper/) > [“Trance is fragile.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cooper/trance-is-fragile/) [Susan Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cooper/) > [“Somewhere in Barney's mind, as a spark flickers and finds tinder and blazes up into a flame, a small light of resentment flared suddenly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cooper/somewhere-in-barney-s-mind-as-a-spark-flickers-and-finds-tinder-and/) [Susan Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cooper/) > [“The Herdsman passed, nodding, the bright star Arcturus at his knee; the Bull roared by, bearing the great sun Aldebaran and the small group…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cooper/the-herdsman-passed-nodding-the-bright-star-arcturus-at-his-knee-the/) [Susan Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cooper/) > [Will picked a single blossom from a gorse bush beside him; it shone bright yellow on his grubby hand. "People are very complicated," he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cooper/will-picked-a-single-blossom-from-a-gorse-bush-beside-him-it-shone/) [Susan Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cooper/) > [“It says, loving doesn't change just because someone isn't there, or because time gets in the way, or even death. It's always with you,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cooper/it-says-loving-doesn-t-change-just-because-someone-isn-t-there-or/) [Susan Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cooper/) > [“Now especially since man has the strength to destroy the world, it is the responsibility of man to keep it alive, in all its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cooper/now-especially-since-man-has-the-strength-to-destroy-the-world-it-is/) [Susan Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cooper/) > [“Great-Uncle Merry, coming back towards the car from the Grey House, had suddenly stopped in his tracks in the middle of the road. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cooper/great-uncle-merry-coming-back-towards-the-car-from-the-grey-house-had/) [Susan Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cooper/) [Explore all 64 Susan Cooper quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cooper/) ## More Ache quotes > [… and so he tried to accept the ache in his heart as what Dr. Larch would call the common symptoms of normal life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/and-so-he-tried-to-accept-the-ache-in-his-heart-as-what-dr-larch/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [When we went into the ocean, I watched his body as he dove into the waves, and it gave me a feeling in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/when-we-went-into-the-ocean-i-watched-his-body-as-he-dove-into-the/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [A woman who lives with the stress of an overwhelmed schedule will often ache with the sadness of an underwhelmed soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lysa-terkeurst/a-woman-who-lives-with-the-stress-of-an-overwhelmed-schedule-will/) [Lysa TerKeurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysa-terkeurst/) > [I ache for the touch of your lips dear, but much more for the touch of your whips dear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/i-ache-for-the-touch-of-your-lips-dear-but-much-more-for-the-touch-of/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [I was not wounded in any part of my body, but I had never experienced such intense pain, such a ripping of the nerves,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/i-was-not-wounded-in-any-part-of-my-body-but-i-had-never-experienced/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [And the flavor of Pippa's kiss--bittersweet and strange--stayed with me all the way back uptown, swaying and sleepy as I sailed home on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/and-the-flavor-of-pippa-s-kiss-bittersweet-and-strange-stayed-with-me/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [They are enthusiasts, devotees. Addicts. Something about the circus stirs their souls, and they ache for it when it is absent. They seek each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/they-are-enthusiasts-devotees-addicts-something-about-the-circus/) [Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/) > [as we acquire new aches and new pains, our health care is, of necessity, being supplied by internists, cardiologists, dermatologists, podiatrists, urologists, periodontists, gynecologists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-viorst/as-we-acquire-new-aches-and-new-pains-our-health-care-is-of-necessity/) [Judith Viorst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-viorst/) > [Jamie enjoyed solitude, but loneliness was a constant ache.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-sheldon/jamie-enjoyed-solitude-but-loneliness-was-a-constant-ache/) [Sidney Sheldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-sheldon/) > [Some men make money not for the sake of living, but ache In the blindness of greed and live just for their fortune's sake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juvenal/some-men-make-money-not-for-the-sake-of-living-but-ache-in-the/) [Juvenal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juvenal/) > [Staring at her face, she began to fancy her outer layer had begun to melt away while she wasn't paying attention, and something --…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laini-taylor/staring-at-her-face-she-began-to-fancy-her-outer-layer-had-begun-to/) [Laini Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laini-taylor/) > [O thou beautiful And unimaginable ether! and Ye multiplying masses of increased And still increasing lights! what are ye? what Is this blue wilderness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/o-thou-beautiful-and-unimaginable-ether-and-ye-multiplying-masses-of/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [An emotion is a thought, yes, an idea, but it is also a sensation, an ache in your body. Desire, love, hate, fear, repulsion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-landay/an-emotion-is-a-thought-yes-an-idea-but-it-is-also-a-sensation-an/) [William Landay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-landay/) > [He that sleeps feels not the tooth-ache](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/he-that-sleeps-feels-not-the-tooth-ache/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I will live this day as if it is my last. …I will waste not a moment mourning yesterday’s misfortunes, Yesterday’s defeats, yesterday’s aches…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/og-mandino/i-will-live-this-day-as-if-it-is-my-last-i-will-waste-not-a-moment/) [Og Mandino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/og-mandino/) [Browse all 489 Ache quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ache/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "But once in a great while he remembered that he had felt pain, a terrible ache in his heart, and he swore he would never let himself feel love for a human again.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Susan Cooper" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cooper/but-once-in-a-great-while-he-remembered-that-he-had-felt-pain-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ache" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cooper/but-once-in-a-great-while-he-remembered-that-he-had-felt-pain-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d26/susan-cooper-10642_ache_but-once-in-a-great-while-he-remembered_1369956.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d26/susan-cooper-10642_ache_but-once-in-a-great-while-he-remembered_1369956.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d26/susan-cooper-10642_ache_but-once-in-a-great-while-he-remembered_1369956.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“But once in a great while he remembered that he had felt pain, a terrible ache in his heart, and he swore he…” — Susan Cooper", "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": "Susan Cooper", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cooper/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "But once in a great while...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cooper/but-once-in-a-great-while-he-remembered-that-he-had-felt-pain-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cooper/but-once-in-a-great-while-he-remembered-that-he-had-felt-pain-a/#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 } } ] } ```