--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Most people have no reason to know how…" description: "\"“Most people have no reason to know how memory can turn rogue and feral, becoming a force of its own and one to be reckoned with. Losing a chunk of you..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/323/tana-french-1016_memory_most-people-have-no-reason-to-know-how-m_433789.png" --- # Most people have no reason to know how memory can turn… ![“Most people have no reason to know how memory can turn rogue and feral, becoming a force of its own and one to be reckoned with. Losing a chunk of your memory is a tricky thing, a deep-sea quake triggering shifts and upheavals too far distant from the epicenter to be easily predictable.” quote by Tana French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/323/tana-french-1016_memory_most-people-have-no-reason-to-know-how-m_433789.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/323/tana-french-1016_memory_most-people-have-no-reason-to-know-how-m_433789.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/323/tana-french-1016_memory_most-people-have-no-reason-to-know-how-m_433789.png) > ““Most people have no reason to know how memory can turn rogue and feral, becoming a force of its own and one to be reckoned with. Losing a chunk of your memory is a tricky thing, a deep-sea quake triggering shifts and upheavals too far distant from the epicenter to be easily predictable.”” [Tana French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tana-french/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Memory can become uncontrollable, reshaping identity and reality in unpredictable ways, especially after loss, like an unseen earthquake altering the landscape. **In simple terms:** Memory can change us unpredictably. Key Takeaway Acknowledge memory’s power and limits. Themes memory identity change uncertainty Mood introspective melancholic Type psychological literary When to use this quote - therapy - creative writing - personal reflection - trauma recovery Key Concepts neuroscience psychology narrative structure Questions to Reflect On - How do we trust our memories? - What strategies help manage memory gaps? A Different Perspective Memory loss can be destabilizing, leading to false confidence in recollection. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) ## Related quotes > [“Losing a chunk of your memory is a tricky thing, a deep-sea quake triggering shifts and upheavals too far distant from the epicenter to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tana-french/losing-a-chunk-of-your-memory-is-a-tricky-thing-a-deep-sea-quake/) [Tana French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tana-french/) > [“Today I have so much to do: I must kill memory once and for all, I must turn my soul to stone, I must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-akhmatova/today-i-have-so-much-to-do-i-must-kill-memory-once-and-for-all-i-must-2/) [Anna Akhmatova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-akhmatova/) > [Memory is a slippery thing. When something terrible happens to you, like the loss of someone you love...memory can turn into a soft blanket…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathi-appelt/memory-is-a-slippery-thing-when-something-terrible-happens-to-you/) [Kathi Appelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathi-appelt/) > [“Memory was a tricky thing, but reality was even trickier. Once you made up your mind about something, it was hard to comprehend that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-shepard/memory-was-a-tricky-thing-but-reality-was-even-trickier-once-you-made/) [Sara Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-shepard/) > [Sometimes you don't know if your memory is because you really experienced it or because you look at your old pictures. I have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-corbijn/sometimes-you-don-t-know-if-your-memory-is-because-you-really/) [Anton Corbijn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-corbijn/) > [Even as I think of myself as a 'rememberer,' I also know my memory is probably doing all this work to reconstruct a narrative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-trethewey/even-as-i-think-of-myself-as-a-rememberer-i-also-know-my-memory-is/) [Natasha Trethewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-trethewey/) > [We know that if memory is destroyed in one part of the brain, it can be sometimes re-created on a different part of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-michael-straczynski/we-know-that-if-memory-is-destroyed-in-one-part-of-the-brain-it-can/) [J. Michael Straczynski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-michael-straczynski/) > [I don't know if I have a memory of not thinking I was a writer - it goes that far back. I went to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/i-don-t-know-if-i-have-a-memory-of-not-thinking-i-was-a-writer-it/) [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) > [“I only know two things in life for certain: I know I love her and I know when her memory of our time together…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-moran/i-only-know-two-things-in-life-for-certain-i-know-i-love-her-and-i/) [Kelly Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-moran/) > [You tell me these two were my parents, so now I know but it's a memory that you've given me. I'll remember the photo…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/you-tell-me-these-two-were-my-parents-so-now-i-know-but-it-s-a-memory/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [All of us roughly know what memory is. I mean, memory is sort of the storage of the past. It's the storage of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/all-of-us-roughly-know-what-memory-is-i-mean-memory-is-sort-of-the/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [“How often since then has she wondered what might have happened if she'd tried to remain with him; if she’d returned Richard's kiss on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cunningham/how-often-since-then-has-she-wondered-what-might-have-happened-if-she/) [Michael Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cunningham/) > [Sam dropped me off. When she was too far away to see me, I started to cry again. Because she was my friend again.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-chbosky/sam-dropped-me-off-when-she-was-too-far-away-to-see-me-i-started-to/) [Stephen Chbosky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-chbosky/) > [People do want to know the personal things. How far is too far to go with personal lives?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-hart/people-do-want-to-know-the-personal-things-how-far-is-too-far-to-go/) [Mary Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-hart/) > [“Not that it matters, when you dream, there's no outside or in. Your mind is an unimaginable bloom. A willow catkin as big as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-shapero/not-that-it-matters-when-you-dream-there-s-no-outside-or-in-your-mind/) [Rich Shapero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-shapero/) ## More by Tana French > [“...the solitude was intoxicating. On my first night there I lay on my back on the sticky carpet for hours, in the murky orange…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tana-french/the-solitude-was-intoxicating-on-my-first-night-there-i-lay-on-my/) [Tana French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tana-french/) > [“I remember this country back when I was growing up. We went to church, we ate family suppers around the table, and it would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tana-french/i-remember-this-country-back-when-i-was-growing-up-we-went-to-church/) [Tana French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tana-french/) > [“That house shimmered in my mind like some fairy fort that appeared for one day in a lifetime, tantalizing and charged, with those four…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tana-french/that-house-shimmered-in-my-mind-like-some-fairy-fort-that-appeared/) [Tana French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tana-french/) > [“It would take a while to occur to him that my rules had sweet fuck-all in common with his.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tana-french/it-would-take-a-while-to-occur-to-him-that-my-rules-had-sweet-fuck/) [Tana French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tana-french/) > [I love writing. I feel ridiculously lucky that this is what I get to do all day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tana-french/i-love-writing-i-feel-ridiculously-lucky-that-this-is-what-i-get-to/) [Tana French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tana-french/) > [“…out here in the real world, my man, you would be amazed how seldom murder has to break into people’s lives. Ninety-nine times out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tana-french/out-here-in-the-real-world-my-man-you-would-be-amazed-how-seldom/) [Tana French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tana-french/) > [“Before I could get my bearings he was on top of me and shoving my face down into the dirt. He was bigger and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tana-french/before-i-could-get-my-bearings-he-was-on-top-of-me-and-shoving-my/) [Tana French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tana-french/) > [We think of mortality so little these days... I thought of the stern Victorian determination to keep death in mind, the uncompromising tombstones. Remember,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tana-french/we-think-of-mortality-so-little-these-days-i-thought-of-the-stern/) [Tana French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tana-french/) > [I read a lot. I always have, but in those two years I gorged myself on books with a voluptuous, almost erotic gluttony. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tana-french/i-read-a-lot-i-always-have-but-in-those-two-years-i-gorged-myself-on/) [Tana French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tana-french/) > [“For ten years Dublin’s been changing faster than our minds can handle. The economic boom has given us too many people with helicopters and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tana-french/for-ten-years-dublin-s-been-changing-faster-than-our-minds-can-handle/) [Tana French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tana-french/) > [When we can't see a pattern, we fit pieces together until one takes shape, because we have to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tana-french/when-we-can-t-see-a-pattern-we-fit-pieces-together-until-one-takes/) [Tana French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tana-french/) > [“Stephen shrugged. “Yeah. Well. I said I would.” “Ah. Are we having issues?” “This feels sleazy.” “I promise I’ll respect you in the morning.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tana-french/stephen-shrugged-yeah-well-i-said-i-would-ah-are-we-having-issues/) [Tana French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tana-french/) > [“She hears all the voices from when she was little, soothing, strengthening: Don’t be scared, not of monsters, not of witches, not of big…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tana-french/she-hears-all-the-voices-from-when-she-was-little-soothing/) [Tana French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tana-french/) > [“Our relationship with truth is fundamental but cracked, refracting confusingly like fragmented glass.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tana-french/our-relationship-with-truth-is-fundamental-but-cracked-refracting/) [Tana French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tana-french/) > [My night stand is permanently jammed with books I want to read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tana-french/my-night-stand-is-permanently-jammed-with-books-i-want-to-read/) [Tana French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tana-french/) [Explore all 303 Tana French quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tana-french/) ## More Memory quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [“Maybe there is something when it all ends. Maybe there is memory, memory of the person you loved, when you lived. Maybe this is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-ellison/maybe-there-is-something-when-it-all-ends-maybe-there-is-memory/) [Kate Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-ellison/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [Memory is funny. Once you hit a vein the problem is not how to remember but how to control the flow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-wolff/memory-is-funny-once-you-hit-a-vein-the-problem-is-not-how-to/) [Tobias Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-wolff/) > [Once upon a time. Ah forget it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/once-upon-a-time-ah-forget-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I am told many children block out the memory of trauma. In fact, the healing process can only truly begin when we are willing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phoebe-stone/i-am-told-many-children-block-out-the-memory-of-trauma-in-fact-the/) [Phoebe Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phoebe-stone/) > [“The whole town rushed outside to celebrate this crowded minute when the time of suffering had ended and the time of forgetting had not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-whole-town-rushed-outside-to-celebrate-this-crowded-minute-when/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [I have a memory like an elephant. I remember every elephant I've ever met.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herb-caen/i-have-a-memory-like-an-elephant-i-remember-every-elephant-i-ve-ever/) [Herb Caen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herb-caen/) > [Your memory is a monster; you forget - it doesn't. It simply files things away. It keeps things for you, or hides things from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/your-memory-is-a-monster-you-forget-it-doesn-t-it-simply-files-things/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [My first Olympics memory was watching Haile Gebrselassie in Sydney 2000. His sprint finish to defend his title really moved me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-farah/my-first-olympics-memory-was-watching-haile-gebrselassie-in-sydney/) [Mo Farah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-farah/) > [That old man dies prematurely whose memory records no benefits conferred. They only have lived long who have lived virtuously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/that-old-man-dies-prematurely-whose-memory-records-no-benefits/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > [My greatest memories as a kid were playing sports with my dad and watching sports with my dad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-teixeira/my-greatest-memories-as-a-kid-were-playing-sports-with-my-dad-and/) [Mark Teixeira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-teixeira/) > [What’s the use of remembering anything? If it was unpleasant it was unpleasant and if it was pleasant it’s over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-dundy/what-s-the-use-of-remembering-anything-if-it-was-unpleasant-it-was/) [Elaine Dundy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-dundy/) > [Always remember a little thing can change everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/always-remember-a-little-thing-can-change-everything/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If God knows me I will never forget him](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trunxbeats/if-god-knows-me-i-will-never-forget-him/) Trunxbeats [Browse all 12,248 Memory quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Most people have no reason to know how memory can turn rogue and feral, becoming a force of its own and one to be reckoned with. 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