--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But the thing about remembering is that…" description: "\"But the thing about remembering is that you don't forget.\" — Tim O'Brien" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d92/tim-o-brien-1818_forget_but-the-thing-about-remembering-is-that_3114268.png" --- # But the thing about remembering is that you don't forget. ![“But the thing about remembering is that you don't forget.” quote by Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d92/tim-o-brien-1818_forget_but-the-thing-about-remembering-is-that_3114268.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d92/tim-o-brien-1818_forget_but-the-thing-about-remembering-is-that_3114268.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d92/tim-o-brien-1818_forget_but-the-thing-about-remembering-is-that_3114268.png) > “But the thing about remembering is that you don't forget.” [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Suggests that memory persists; forgetting is not truly possible **In simple terms:** Memories stay with us Key Takeaway Accept that past experiences shape present Themes memory psychology human experience Mood nostalgic thoughtful Type philosophical introspective When to use this quote - personal reflection - historical recollection - storytelling - therapeutic writing Key Concepts recollection trauma identity Questions to Reflect On - What memories influence your decisions? - How do you reconcile painful recollections? A Different Perspective Memories can be painful or distorted ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Don Forget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/don-forget/) [Forget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forget/) [Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) [Remember](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remember/) [Remembering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remembering/) [Remembering Don](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remembering-don-5447325/) [Thing Remembering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thing-remembering-533480/) ## Related quotes > [The hardest thing is remembering that you have some complicity in the things that happen to you in your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-smith/the-hardest-thing-is-remembering-that-you-have-some-complicity-in-the/) [Kiki Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiki-smith/) > [But the thing about remembering is that you don't forget. You take your material where you find it, which is in your life, at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/but-the-thing-about-remembering-is-that-you-don-t-forget-you-take/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [“Forty-three years old, and the war occurred half a lifetime ago, and yet the remembering makes it now. And sometimes remembering will lead to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/forty-three-years-old-and-the-war-occurred-half-a-lifetime-ago-and/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [“If you remember one thing, even above remembering me, remember that there is not a monster dreamt that hasn't walked withing the soul of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-robert-cargill/if-you-remember-one-thing-even-above-remembering-me-remember-that/) [C. Robert Cargill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-robert-cargill/) > [I'm 32 now. I'm getting old. It's gone in the blink of an eye. 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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/) ## More by Tim O'Brien > [“Yes, the issue was courage. It always had been, even as a kid. Things scared him. He couldn't help it. Noise scared him, dark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/yes-the-issue-was-courage-it-always-had-been-even-as-a-kid-things/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [It's very hard to articulate the things that are important about writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/it-s-very-hard-to-articulate-the-things-that-are-important-about/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [The thing about a story is that you dream it as you tell it, hoping that others might then dream along with you, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/the-thing-about-a-story-is-that-you-dream-it-as-you-tell-it-hoping/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [Fiction, maybe art in general, is a tentative, uncertain enterprise; it's not science, it's an exploration, but you never find much in the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/fiction-maybe-art-in-general-is-a-tentative-uncertain-enterprise-it-s/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [“I learned that words make a difference. 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You could put fancy spin on it, you could make it dance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/on-occasions-the-war-was-like-a-ping-pong-ball-you-could-put-fancy/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [“They were afraid of dying, but they were even more afraid to show it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/they-were-afraid-of-dying-but-they-were-even-more-afraid-to-show-it/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [“Forty-three years old, and the war occurred half a lifetime ago, and yet the remembering makes it now. 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I believe in stories, in their incredible power to keep people alive, to keep the living alive, and the dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/my-life-is-storytelling-i-believe-in-stories-in-their-incredible/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [With a hangover and with fear, it is difficult to put a helmet on your head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/with-a-hangover-and-with-fear-it-is-difficult-to-put-a-helmet-on-your/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [“Peace never bragged. If you didn't look for it, it wasn't there.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/peace-never-bragged-if-you-didn-t-look-for-it-it-wasn-t-there/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) [Explore all 201 Tim O'Brien quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) ## More Forget quotes > [I Never met her,i never talked to her,but in my whole day I am either thinking about her or trying to forget her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/subhananda/i-never-met-her-i-never-talked-to-her-but-in-my-whole-day-i-am-either/) [Subhananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/subhananda/) > [What people tend to forget is the journey that I had getting to Formula One. There were plenty of years where I had to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-hamilton/what-people-tend-to-forget-is-the-journey-that-i-had-getting-to/) [Lewis Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-hamilton/) > [Once upon a time. 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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/) > [“Which people take the time to care for their souls, these days? I reckon not many. But...hear this: I think that maybe in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-fletcher/which-people-take-the-time-to-care-for-their-souls-these-days-i/) [Susan Fletcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-fletcher/) > [The problem with people is they forget that most of the time it's the small things that count.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-niven/the-problem-with-people-is-they-forget-that-most-of-the-time-it-s-the/) [Jennifer Niven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-niven/) > [Remind a man of what he remembers, and you will make him forget it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/remind-a-man-of-what-he-remembers-and-you-will-make-him-forget-it/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [“So you try, and try, to move past it and forget about them, but it's like they're stuck in your head -- you can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abby-mcdonald/so-you-try-and-try-to-move-past-it-and-forget-about-them-but-it-s/) [Abby McDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abby-mcdonald/) > [People forget that there is a big difference between coercion and persuasion. The idea that evangelism is coercive is nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/people-forget-that-there-is-a-big-difference-between-coercion-and/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [People are disturbed not by things but by the view they take of them. 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