---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I will never be able to say what is in my…"
description: "\"I will never be able to say what is in my heart because words fail us, because it is in our nature to protect, because there are times when what is pub..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/366/terry-tempest-williams-835_able_i-will-never-be-able-to-say-what-is-in-m_390220.jpg"
---

#  I will never be able to say what is in my heart because…

![“I will never be able to say what is in my heart because words fail us, because it is in our nature to protect, because there are times when what is public and what is private must be discerned.” quote by Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/366/terry-tempest-williams-835_able_i-will-never-be-able-to-say-what-is-in-m_390220.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/366/terry-tempest-williams-835_able_i-will-never-be-able-to-say-what-is-in-m_390220.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/366/terry-tempest-williams-835_able_i-will-never-be-able-to-say-what-is-in-m_390220.jpg)

> “I will never be able to say what is in my heart because words fail us, because it is in our nature to protect, because there are times when what is public and what is private must be discerned.”

[Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Words often fail to convey deep emotions, leading us to protect inner truths and distinguish public from private.

**In simple terms:** Words can’t fully express our heart’s truth.

Key Takeaway

Seek non‑verbal ways to honor inner feelings.

Themes

communication privacy emotional honesty vulnerability

Mood

reflective poignant

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

- therapy sessions
- confessional writing
- activism
- family discussions

Key Concepts

psychology philosophy literature

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you balance sharing and protecting your inner self?
- When is silence more powerful than speech?

A Different Perspective

Over‑protectiveness may isolate us from needed support.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/)

## Related quotes

> [Many times you will fail. That is the nature of the world, and the truth of life. But when you find your horse again,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/many-times-you-will-fail-that-is-the-nature-of-the-world-and-the/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“I will never be able to say what is in my heart, because words fail us, because it is in our nature to protect,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/i-will-never-be-able-to-say-what-is-in-my-heart-because-words-fail-us-2/)

[Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/)

> [“When words fail, then real language arrives, that rare guest.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-chun/when-words-fail-then-real-language-arrives-that-rare-guest/)

Carolyn Chun

> [When words fail, the guitar speaks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-szell/when-words-fail-the-guitar-speaks/)

[George Szell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-szell/)

> [So now what? What happens when words fail us?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/so-now-what-what-happens-when-words-fail-us/)

[Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/)

> [When youre in love, you feel like getting everything off your chest. But, the words always fail you, and you end up making trivial,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehdi-guichi/when-youre-in-love-you-feel-like-getting-everything-off-your-chest/)

[Mehdi Guichi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehdi-guichi/)

> [Words may fail me so I use expressions instead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-saquan-wren-iii/words-may-fail-me-so-i-use-expressions-instead/)

[Mike Saquan Wren III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-saquan-wren-iii/)

> [These gems have life in them: their colors speak, say what words fail of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/these-gems-have-life-in-them-their-colors-speak-say-what-words-fail-of/)

[George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/)

> [The beauty of music has the ability to speak where words fail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suman-rai/the-beauty-of-music-has-the-ability-to-speak-where-words-fail/)

[Suman Rai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suman-rai/)

> [“Love can only be expressed through actions. Words fail to encompass its enormity”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anupama-garg/love-can-only-be-expressed-through-actions-words-fail-to-encompass/)

[Anupama Garg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anupama-garg/)

> [If my words fail, let my eyes and my heart be my language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mirtha-michelle/if-my-words-fail-let-my-eyes-and-my-heart-be-my-language/)

[Mirtha Michelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mirtha-michelle/)

> [When Words Fail.. Action Speaks.. When Action Fails.. Eyes Speak.. When Eyes Fail.. Tears Speak.. And When Everything Else Fails.. 'Silence' Speaks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-words-fail-action-speaks-when-action-fails-eyes-speak-when-eyes/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Words fail to express our love! Even if you try to hide it¦Truth cant be hidden for long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abdul-basith-nazeem/words-fail-to-express-our-love-even-if-you-try-to-hide-it-truth-cant/)

[Abdul Basith Nazeem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abdul-basith-nazeem/)

> [When words fail, music speaks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irena-huang/when-words-fail-music-speaks/)

Irena Huang

> [Where words fail, music speaks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-christian-andersen/where-words-fail-music-speaks/)

[Hans Christian Andersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-christian-andersen/)

## More by Terry Tempest Williams

> [I admire how she protects her energy and understands her limitations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/i-admire-how-she-protects-her-energy-and-understands-her-limitations/)

[Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/)

> [Buddha says there are two kinds of suffering: the kind that leads to more suffering and the kind that brings an end to suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/buddha-says-there-are-two-kinds-of-suffering-the-kind-that-leads-to/)

[Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/)

> [I wonder how, among the Fremont, mothers and daughters shared their world. Did they walk side by side along the lake edge? What stories…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/i-wonder-how-among-the-fremont-mothers-and-daughters-shared-their/)

[Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/)

> [I believe the personal is the collective. One of the ironies of writing memoir is in using the "I" it becomes an alchemical "we."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/i-believe-the-personal-is-the-collective-one-of-the-ironies-of/)

[Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/)

> [“I write to discover. I write to uncover. I write to meet my ghosts... I write because it is dangerous, a bloody risk, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/i-write-to-discover-i-write-to-uncover-i-write-to-meet-my-ghosts-i/)

[Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/)

> [“I write to make peace with the things I cannot control. I write to create red in a world that often appears black and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/i-write-to-make-peace-with-the-things-i-cannot-control-i-write-to/)

[Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/)

> [Hope is not attached to outcomes but is a state of mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/hope-is-not-attached-to-outcomes-but-is-a-state-of-mind/)

[Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/)

> [I have spoken about what we can do as citizens, what we can do as a responsive citizenry, and this is where we have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/i-have-spoken-about-what-we-can-do-as-citizens-what-we-can-do-as-a/)

[Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/)

> [The moment Eve bit into the apple, her eyes opened and she became free. She exposed the truth of what every woman knows: to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/the-moment-eve-bit-into-the-apple-her-eyes-opened-and-she-became-free/)

[Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/)

> [I accept the Organic Trinity of Mineral, Vegetable, and Animal with as much authority as I accept the Holy Trinity. Both are sacred.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/i-accept-the-organic-trinity-of-mineral-vegetable-and-animal-with-as/)

[Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/)

> [Good writing must stay open to the questions and not fall prey to the pull of a polemic, otherwise, words simply become predictable, sentimental,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/good-writing-must-stay-open-to-the-questions-and-not-fall-prey-to-the/)

[Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/)

> [“I believe we must do things in our lives for the right reasons, because we enjoy doing them, with no expectation of getting something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/i-believe-we-must-do-things-in-our-lives-for-the-right-reasons/)

[Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/)

> [A mother and daughter are an edge. Edges are ecotones, transitional zones, places of danger or opportunity. House-dwelling tension. When I stand on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/a-mother-and-daughter-are-an-edge-edges-are-ecotones-transitional/)

[Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/)

> [“To be read. To be heard. To be seen. I want to be read, I want to be heard. I don't need to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/to-be-read-to-be-heard-to-be-seen-i-want-to-be-read-i-want-to-be/)

[Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/)

> [The Eyes of the Future are looking back at us and they are praying for us to see beyond our own time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/the-eyes-of-the-future-are-looking-back-at-us-and-they-are-praying/)

[Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/)

[Explore all 357 Terry Tempest Williams quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/)

## More Able quotes

> [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/)

[Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/)

> [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/)

[Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/)

> [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/)

> [In the '80s, the way radio was programmed, if you didn't have a hit record you weren't going to be able to make any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huey-lewis/in-the-80s-the-way-radio-was-programmed-if-you-didn-t-have-a-hit/)

[Huey Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huey-lewis/)

> [I think I've had the longest career of strength, focus, and still being able to sell records. I think I'm that guy. I'm still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/i-think-i-ve-had-the-longest-career-of-strength-focus-and-still-being/)

[Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/)

> [I have that need in me, I want everyone to love me, but I'm embarrassed by that need, so I wanted to cover it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-jeselnik/i-have-that-need-in-me-i-want-everyone-to-love-me-but-i-m-embarrassed/)

[Anthony Jeselnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-jeselnik/)

> [Thinking about the things that happened, I don't know any other ball player would could have done what he (Jackie Robinson) did. To be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pee-wee-reese/thinking-about-the-things-that-happened-i-don-t-know-any-other-ball/)

[Pee Wee Reese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pee-wee-reese/)

> [I wanted to remember in order to be able to return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/i-wanted-to-remember-in-order-to-be-able-to-return/)

[Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/)

> [Government schools, with your tax money, now discourage the teaching of multiplication tables by rote memorization but teach reading by the 'look-and-say' method which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-perry/government-schools-with-your-tax-money-now-discourage-the-teaching-of/)

Greg Perry

> [I don't know if I would qualify as mainstream. I think I have managed to function pretty successfully on the fringes of the music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-metheny/i-don-t-know-if-i-would-qualify-as-mainstream-i-think-i-have-managed/)

[Pat Metheny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-metheny/)

> [What we're supposed to do as actors is be able to portray real human beings and emotions. And if you grow up in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-browning/what-we-re-supposed-to-do-as-actors-is-be-able-to-portray-real-human/)

[Emily Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-browning/)

> [The reason that Apple is able to create products like iPad is because we always try to be at the intersection of technology and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/the-reason-that-apple-is-able-to-create-products-like-ipad-is-because/)

[Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/)

> [It was an important period for us, because even though we weren't a "punk band", and what became a model for a punk band,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-mallinder/it-was-an-important-period-for-us-because-even-though-we-weren-t-a/)

[Stephen Mallinder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-mallinder/)

> [- You look fine. - Right. I look fine. Except I don't, said Zora, tugging sadly at her man's nightshirt. This was why Kiki…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/you-look-fine-right-i-look-fine-except-i-don-t-said-zora-tugging/)

[Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/)

> [There is a way to be a woman, ask for what we deserve and be able to negotiate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracee-ellis-ross/there-is-a-way-to-be-a-woman-ask-for-what-we-deserve-and-be-able-to/)

[Tracee Ellis Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracee-ellis-ross/)

Browse all 17,257 Able quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "I will never be able to say what is in my heart because words fail us, because it is in our nature to protect, because there are times when what is public and what is private must be discerned.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Terry Tempest Williams"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/i-will-never-be-able-to-say-what-is-in-my-heart-because-words-fail-us/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Able"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/i-will-never-be-able-to-say-what-is-in-my-heart-because-words-fail-us/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/366/terry-tempest-williams-835_able_i-will-never-be-able-to-say-what-is-in-m_390220.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/366/terry-tempest-williams-835_able_i-will-never-be-able-to-say-what-is-in-m_390220.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/366/terry-tempest-williams-835_able_i-will-never-be-able-to-say-what-is-in-m_390220.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I will never be able to say what is in my heart because words fail us, because it is in our nature to…” — Terry Tempest Williams",
                "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": "Terry Tempest Williams",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I will never be able to...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/i-will-never-be-able-to-say-what-is-in-my-heart-because-words-fail-us/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/i-will-never-be-able-to-say-what-is-in-my-heart-because-words-fail-us/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
