--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Despair may be thick, but friendship’s…" description: "\"“Despair may be thick, but friendship’s thicker.”\" — Viet Thanh Nguyen" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac8/viet-thanh-nguyen-5296_despair_despair-may-be-thick-but-friendship-s-th_3134176.jpg" --- # Despair may be thick, but friendship’s thicker. ![“Despair may be thick, but friendship’s thicker.” quote by Viet Thanh Nguyen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac8/viet-thanh-nguyen-5296_despair_despair-may-be-thick-but-friendship-s-th_3134176.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac8/viet-thanh-nguyen-5296_despair_despair-may-be-thick-but-friendship-s-th_3134176.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac8/viet-thanh-nguyen-5296_despair_despair-may-be-thick-but-friendship-s-th_3134176.jpg) > ““Despair may be thick, but friendship’s thicker.”” [Viet Thanh Nguyen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viet-thanh-nguyen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Friendship can endure and outshine even deep despair. **In simple terms:** Friendship is stronger than despair. Key Takeaway Cultivate supportive relationships. Themes friendship resilience hope Mood empathetic encouraging Type literary inspirational When to use this quote - conflict zones - personal crises - team building Key Concepts social support emotional strength Questions to Reflect On - How do you support friends in despair? - What limits does friendship have against deep suffering? A Different Perspective Friendship alone may not solve systemic problems. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Despair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despair/) [Despair Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despair-friendship-5556065/) [Friend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friend/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Friendship Thicker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship-thicker-2576049/) [Thicker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thicker/) ## Related quotes > [Let's make a resolution. I'll drink to that. Let's always stay friends. Friendship is thicker than blood...That depends...Depents on trust. Depends on true devotion.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bubbly/let-s-make-a-resolution-i-ll-drink-to-that-let-s-always-stay-friends/) [Bubbly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bubbly/) > [Blood may be thicker than water, but friendship is thicker than both.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/blood-may-be-thicker-than-water-but-friendship-is-thicker-than-both/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Whoever said blood is thicker than water needs to have some of my family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/whoever-said-blood-is-thicker-than-water-needs-to-have-some-of-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I am pleased that God made my skin black - but I wish He had made it thicker.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curt-flood/i-am-pleased-that-god-made-my-skin-black-but-i-wish-he-had-made-it/) [Curt Flood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curt-flood/) > [“Blood may be thicker than water, but oil is thicker than both.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-hagman/blood-may-be-thicker-than-water-but-oil-is-thicker-than-both/) [Larry Hagman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-hagman/) > [He told himself that he would have to start reading thicker books: they lasted longer, and made more comfortable pillows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/he-told-himself-that-he-would-have-to-start-reading-thicker-books/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [A thicker brow looks more feminine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anastasia-soare/a-thicker-brow-looks-more-feminine/) [Anastasia Soare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anastasia-soare/) > [I'm afraid Eddie the Eagle was before my time. All I know is that his glasses were three times thicker than mine, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-ammann/i-m-afraid-eddie-the-eagle-was-before-my-time-all-i-know-is-that-his/) [Simon Ammann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-ammann/) > [The bloodline of Jesus is thicker, deeper, stronger than the bloodline of race, ethnicity and family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-piper/the-bloodline-of-jesus-is-thicker-deeper-stronger-than-the-bloodline/) [John Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-piper/) > [Thicker than a Bible. I need it for survival. Lord save me! Poppin' bands for my baby.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trey-songz/thicker-than-a-bible-i-need-it-for-survival-lord-save-me-poppin-bands/) [Trey Songz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trey-songz/) > [I wear make-up, and it gets a little bit thicker every year.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dolly-parton/i-wear-make-up-and-it-gets-a-little-bit-thicker-every-year/) [Dolly Parton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dolly-parton/) > [My skin got thicker. I don't listen to stuff from outside or even if I hear or if I read something, I just let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zaza-pachulia/my-skin-got-thicker-i-don-t-listen-to-stuff-from-outside-or-even-if-i/) [Zaza Pachulia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zaza-pachulia/) > [Oh my god you're thicker than you look](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-landy/oh-my-god-you-re-thicker-than-you-look/) [Derek Landy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-landy/) > [It is said that blood is thicker than water. It is what joins us, binds us, curses us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barnabas/it-is-said-that-blood-is-thicker-than-water-it-is-what-joins-us-binds/) [Barnabas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barnabas/) > [The more success you get, you start to be harder on yourself or more afraid of the looking glass. You have to learn to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idina-menzel/the-more-success-you-get-you-start-to-be-harder-on-yourself-or-more/) [Idina Menzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idina-menzel/) ## More by Viet Thanh Nguyen > [“He had a Minnesotan’s admiration for resourcefulness in the face of hardship, bred by generations of people one very bad winter away from starvation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viet-thanh-nguyen/he-had-a-minnesotan-s-admiration-for-resourcefulness-in-the-face-of/) [Viet Thanh Nguyen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viet-thanh-nguyen/) > [“When was the last time an American president found it worth his while to write a speech on the importance of art and literature?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viet-thanh-nguyen/when-was-the-last-time-an-american-president-found-it-worth-his-while/) [Viet Thanh Nguyen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viet-thanh-nguyen/) > [“We don't succeed or fail because of fortune or luck. We succeed because we understand the way the world works and what we have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viet-thanh-nguyen/we-don-t-succeed-or-fail-because-of-fortune-or-luck-we-succeed/) [Viet Thanh Nguyen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viet-thanh-nguyen/) > [“Innocence and guilt. These are cosmic issues. We’re all innocent on one level and guilty on another. Isn’t that what Original Sin is all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viet-thanh-nguyen/innocence-and-guilt-these-are-cosmic-issues-we-re-all-innocent-on-one/) [Viet Thanh Nguyen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viet-thanh-nguyen/) > [“After all, nothing was more American than wielding a gun and committing oneself to die for freedom and independence, unless it was wielding that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viet-thanh-nguyen/after-all-nothing-was-more-american-than-wielding-a-gun-and/) [Viet Thanh Nguyen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viet-thanh-nguyen/) > [“She wondered what, if anything, she knew about love. Not much, perhaps, but enough to know that what she would do for him now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viet-thanh-nguyen/she-wondered-what-if-anything-she-knew-about-love-not-much-perhaps/) [Viet Thanh Nguyen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viet-thanh-nguyen/) > [“One could choose between innocence and experience, but one could not have both.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viet-thanh-nguyen/one-could-choose-between-innocence-and-experience-but-one-could-not/) [Viet Thanh Nguyen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viet-thanh-nguyen/) > [“then, to present myself as just another immigrant, glad to be in the land where the pursuit of happiness was guaranteed in writing, which,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viet-thanh-nguyen/then-to-present-myself-as-just-another-immigrant-glad-to-be-in-the/) [Viet Thanh Nguyen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viet-thanh-nguyen/) > [“He was more embarrassed and discreet about sex than about things I thought more difficult, like killing people, which pretty much defined the history…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viet-thanh-nguyen/he-was-more-embarrassed-and-discreet-about-sex-than-about-things-i/) [Viet Thanh Nguyen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viet-thanh-nguyen/) > [“Perhaps forgiveness is overrated,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viet-thanh-nguyen/perhaps-forgiveness-is-overrated/) [Viet Thanh Nguyen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viet-thanh-nguyen/) > [“While it is better to be loved than hated, it is also far better to be hated than ignored”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viet-thanh-nguyen/while-it-is-better-to-be-loved-than-hated-it-is-also-far-better-to-be/) [Viet Thanh Nguyen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viet-thanh-nguyen/) > [“Every full bottle of alcohol has a message in it, a surprise that one will not discover until one drinks it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viet-thanh-nguyen/every-full-bottle-of-alcohol-has-a-message-in-it-a-surprise-that-one/) [Viet Thanh Nguyen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viet-thanh-nguyen/) > [“We shared a passion for words, but I preferred the silence of writing while she loved to talk. She”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viet-thanh-nguyen/we-shared-a-passion-for-words-but-i-preferred-the-silence-of-writing/) [Viet Thanh Nguyen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viet-thanh-nguyen/) > [“Are you going to be the kind of person who always pays the asking price?” my mother demanded. “Or the kind who fights to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viet-thanh-nguyen/are-you-going-to-be-the-kind-of-person-who-always-pays-the-asking/) [Viet Thanh Nguyen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viet-thanh-nguyen/) > [“Even if they found themselves in Heaven, our countrymen would find occasion to remark that it was not as warm as Hell.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viet-thanh-nguyen/even-if-they-found-themselves-in-heaven-our-countrymen-would-find/) [Viet Thanh Nguyen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viet-thanh-nguyen/) [Explore all 99 Viet Thanh Nguyen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viet-thanh-nguyen/) ## More Despair quotes > [“As ofttimes as it rains on my little spot of earth, you'd think I'd grow accustomed to the gloom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/as-ofttimes-as-it-rains-on-my-little-spot-of-earth-you-d-think-i-d/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [“She searched her mind for a single day when it had felt good to be alive. There must have been one, surely?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-abbott/she-searched-her-mind-for-a-single-day-when-it-had-felt-good-to-be/) [Rachel Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-abbott/) > [“Men circle like bees around honey, buzzing to communicate their sexual despair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carla-h-krueger/men-circle-like-bees-around-honey-buzzing-to-communicate-their-sexual/) [Carla H Krueger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carla-h-krueger/) > [I think what was special about 'Music by Prudence' was the classic story of the title subject's life path - from being an outcast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-think-what-was-special-about-music-by-prudence-was-the-classic/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [Your spirit is the part of you that seeks meaning and purpose. It's the part drawn to hope, that will not give in to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-myss/your-spirit-is-the-part-of-you-that-seeks-meaning-and-purpose-it-s/) [Caroline Myss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-myss/) > [My God, whose son, as on this night, took on Him the form of man, and for man vouchsafed to suffer and bleed, controls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/my-god-whose-son-as-on-this-night-took-on-him-the-form-of-man-and-for/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [The modernist writers found despair inspirational.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/the-modernist-writers-found-despair-inspirational/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [The skin and shell of things Though fair are not Thy wish nor prayer but got My meer despair of wings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-vaughan/the-skin-and-shell-of-things-though-fair-are-not-thy-wish-nor-prayer/) [Henry Vaughan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-vaughan/) > [“A fine setting for a fit of despair,” it occurred to him, “if I were only standing here by accident instead of design.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/a-fine-setting-for-a-fit-of-despair-it-occurred-to-him-if-i-were-only/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [Enough for this bow & arrow. It caused me nothing but sorrow. No need for another tomorrow. In your heart, I will never be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louaiq8/enough-for-this-bow-arrow-it-caused-me-nothing-but-sorrow-no-need-for/) [Louaiq8](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louaiq8/) > [True repentance never leads to despair. Its leads home. It leads to grace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ortberg/true-repentance-never-leads-to-despair-its-leads-home-it-leads-to/) [John Ortberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ortberg/) > [Do not consider despair as a thick and high wall standing on your way; it is just a darkness and you can still walk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/do-not-consider-despair-as-a-thick-and-high-wall-standing-on-your-way/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Despair is the price one pays for setting oneself an impossible aim. It is, one is told, the unforgivable sin, but it is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/despair-is-the-price-one-pays-for-setting-oneself-an-impossible-aim/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [A speculative despair is unpardonable where it our duty to act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/a-speculative-despair-is-unpardonable-where-it-our-duty-to-act/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [I have noticed that there is no dissatisfaction like that of the rich. Feed a man, clothe him, put him in a good house,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-have-noticed-that-there-is-no-dissatisfaction-like-that-of-the-rich/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) [Browse all 3,181 Despair quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despair/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Despair may be thick, but friendship’s thicker.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Viet Thanh Nguyen" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viet-thanh-nguyen/despair-may-be-thick-but-friendship-s-thicker/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Despair" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viet-thanh-nguyen/despair-may-be-thick-but-friendship-s-thicker/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac8/viet-thanh-nguyen-5296_despair_despair-may-be-thick-but-friendship-s-th_3134176.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac8/viet-thanh-nguyen-5296_despair_despair-may-be-thick-but-friendship-s-th_3134176.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac8/viet-thanh-nguyen-5296_despair_despair-may-be-thick-but-friendship-s-th_3134176.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Despair may be thick, but friendship’s thicker.” — Viet Thanh Nguyen", "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": "Viet Thanh Nguyen", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viet-thanh-nguyen/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Despair may be thick, but friendship’s...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viet-thanh-nguyen/despair-may-be-thick-but-friendship-s-thicker/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viet-thanh-nguyen/despair-may-be-thick-but-friendship-s-thicker/#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 } } ] } ```