--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I remember first learning about death…" description: "\"“I remember first learning about death quite vividly. I'm not sure how old I was, but I remember the conversation like it was yesterday. My grandfather..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b01/warren-ellis-2541_death_i-remember-first-learning-about-death-qu_3172489.jpg" --- # I remember first learning about death quite vividly. I'm… ![“I remember first learning about death quite vividly. I'm not sure how old I was, but I remember the conversation like it was yesterday. My grandfather had died, and my mother was trying to explain it to me. 'Sometimes, when someone gets ill, and they're very very old, they don't get better again…” quote by Warren Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b01/warren-ellis-2541_death_i-remember-first-learning-about-death-qu_3172489.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b01/warren-ellis-2541_death_i-remember-first-learning-about-death-qu_3172489.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b01/warren-ellis-2541_death_i-remember-first-learning-about-death-qu_3172489.jpg) > ““I remember first learning about death quite vividly. I'm not sure how old I was, but I remember the conversation like it was yesterday. My grandfather had died, and my mother was trying to explain it to me. 'Sometimes, when someone gets ill, and they're very very old, they don't get better again. They just get iller and iller and then... then their body stops working.' 'I don't understand.' 'What's in them just goes away, and doesn't come back.' 'Grandpa isn't coming back?' 'No,' she said. 'Not ever again.' 'Grandpa said he was going away and not ever coming back after he held Grandma's head in that cotton-dump outside of town and kicked Skeeter seventy-three times.' 'Grandpa was very drunk. That's not the same as being dead. Grandpa's dead, son. He's not there anymore.' And I remember saying, 'Hold everything right fucking THERE. 'You went to all the trouble of conceiving me, and giving birth to me, and raising me and feeding me and clothing me and all-- and, YEAH, whipping me from time to time, and making me live in a house that's freezing fucking cold all the goddamn time-- and you make me cry and things hurt so much and disappointments crush my heart every day and I can't do half the things I want to do and sometimes I just want to scream-- and what I've got to look forward to is my body breaking and something flipping off the switch in my head-- I go through all this-- and then there's death? 'What is the motherfucking deal here?”” [Warren Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-ellis/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A child’s vivid, confusing encounter with death reveals how adults simplify mortality, leading to existential frustration and questioning of life’s meaning. **In simple terms:** A child learns about death through confusing explanations, feeling angry and confused. Key Takeaway Seek honest, age‑appropriate conversations about mortality. Themes family grief existential crisis Mood reflective somber introspective Type philosophical emotional When to use this quote - parent‑child talks - school counseling - therapy sessions - support groups Key Concepts psychology death education trauma communication Questions to Reflect On - How can we explain death without causing terror? - What role does honesty play in coping with loss? A Different Perspective Over‑simplification can cause fear and misunderstanding. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dead Grandpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dead-grandpa-5780632/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Every day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/every-day/) [Giving birth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving-birth/) [Grandfather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grandfather/) [Grandpa Dead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grandpa-dead-5780633/) [Grandpa Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grandpa-said-881144/) [Said Grandpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/said-grandpa-881143/) [Spider-jerusalem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spider-jerusalem-175558/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [I cherish the memories of a question my grandson asked me the other day when he said, 'Grandpa, were you a hero in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-winters/i-cherish-the-memories-of-a-question-my-grandson-asked-me-the-other/) [Richard Winters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-winters/) > [“Grandpa,” I asked, “what good’s it going to do us, knowing his name?” “It might do a lot of good,” Grandpa said. “This trainer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilson-rawls/grandpa-i-asked-what-good-s-it-going-to-do-us-knowing-his-name-it/) [Wilson Rawls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilson-rawls/) > [“Think about it; the quicktank is given a job most of us would laugh out of town. Build a sophisticated camera capable of full…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-ellis/think-about-it-the-quicktank-is-given-a-job-most-of-us-would-laugh/) [Warren Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-ellis/) > [“...You people don't know what the truth is! It's there, just under their bullshit, but you never look! That's what I hate most about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-ellis/you-people-don-t-know-what-the-truth-is-it-s-there-just-under-their/) [Warren Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-ellis/) > [It's poor judgment', said Grandpa 'to call anything by a name. We don't know what a hobgoblin or a vampire or a troll is.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/it-s-poor-judgment-said-grandpa-to-call-anything-by-a-name-we-don-t/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [Everybody's got the seam of goodness in them, Kit," said Grandpa. "Just a matter of whether it can be found and brought out into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-almond/everybody-s-got-the-seam-of-goodness-in-them-kit-said-grandpa-just-a/) [David Almond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-almond/) > [“One day my grandson said to me, grandpa were you a hero in the war? And i said to him no I'm not a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-winters/one-day-my-grandson-said-to-me-grandpa-were-you-a-hero-in-the-war-and/) [Dick Winters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-winters/) > [I was watching cartoons on television and a commercial came on for one of the Batman series where I played a butler. And then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-caine/i-was-watching-cartoons-on-television-and-a-commercial-came-on-for/) [Michael Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-caine/) > [“What are all those people doing under the trees?” I asked. “Those are students,” Grandpa said. “They’re probably studying their lessons. They have their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilson-rawls/what-are-all-those-people-doing-under-the-trees-i-asked-those-are/) [Wilson Rawls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilson-rawls/) > [“The best thing my grandpa ever said to me was, “Gladys, bring me some more damn soup.” Well, maybe he wasn’t talking to me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/the-best-thing-my-grandpa-ever-said-to-me-was-gladys-bring-me-some/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“My grandfather ran off the V-2 rocket film a dozen times and then hoped that someday our cities would open up more and let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/my-grandfather-ran-off-the-v-2-rocket-film-a-dozen-times-and-then/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“It’s like my grandpa always used to say, ‘A butter knife would make a deadlier weapon than a melting stick of butter.’” “Your grandpa…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/it-s-like-my-grandpa-always-used-to-say-a-butter-knife-would-make-a/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“You like vodka, and I like carpet cleaner. You should try it. It’ll put hair on your chest—really clean hair. Grandpa said it would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/you-like-vodka-and-i-like-carpet-cleaner-you-should-try-it-it-ll-put/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“When Jesus said ast and you’ll get it, He meant things of the spirit, not the flesh. Grandpa said Jesus meant us to ast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olive-ann-burns/when-jesus-said-ast-and-you-ll-get-it-he-meant-things-of-the-spirit/) [Olive Ann Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olive-ann-burns/) > [“I like people watching. My favorite places are cemeteries. Tell your great grandpa I said hi next time you see him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-like-people-watching-my-favorite-places-are-cemeteries-tell-your/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) ## More by Warren Ellis > [“Small things bring joy, somedays.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-ellis/small-things-bring-joy-somedays/) [Warren Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-ellis/) > [When I'm working in finite serials, I always think in terms of the entire book rather than the individual episode because, by far, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-ellis/when-i-m-working-in-finite-serials-i-always-think-in-terms-of-the/) [Warren Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-ellis/) > [“IT TOOK a conscious effort for Tallow to keep his hand off his gun as he walked up the apartment building’s stairs. There was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-ellis/it-took-a-conscious-effort-for-tallow-to-keep-his-hand-off-his-gun-as/) [Warren Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-ellis/) > [“The ECTs are moving the guns in small batches," Bat said. "We're making them take so many photos that one of them asked if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-ellis/the-ects-are-moving-the-guns-in-small-batches-bat-said-we-re-making/) [Warren Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-ellis/) > [“I wish I still had that photo.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-ellis/i-wish-i-still-had-that-photo/) [Warren Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-ellis/) > [Listen to the Chair Leg of Truth! It does not lie!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-ellis/listen-to-the-chair-leg-of-truth-it-does-not-lie/) [Warren Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-ellis/) > [“The two most dangerous things in the world are rich people and crazy people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-ellis/the-two-most-dangerous-things-in-the-world-are-rich-people-and-crazy/) [Warren Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-ellis/) > [Here's the thing about Apple technology: once you own a piece, you want to use it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-ellis/here-s-the-thing-about-apple-technology-once-you-own-a-piece-you-want/) [Warren Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-ellis/) > [“I feel...a terrible need to piss in a Christening font.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-ellis/i-feel-a-terrible-need-to-piss-in-a-christening-font/) [Warren Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-ellis/) > [Journalism is just a gun. It’s only got one bullet in it, but if you aim right, that’s all you need. Aim it right,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-ellis/journalism-is-just-a-gun-it-s-only-got-one-bullet-in-it-but-if-you/) [Warren Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-ellis/) > [“The book is almost always better than the movie. You could have no better case in point than FROM HELL, Alan Moore's best graphic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-ellis/the-book-is-almost-always-better-than-the-movie-you-could-have-no/) [Warren Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-ellis/) > [“Life is something very short that happens in between deaths.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-ellis/life-is-something-very-short-that-happens-in-between-deaths/) [Warren Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-ellis/) > [It's a strange world. Let's keep it that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-ellis/it-s-a-strange-world-let-s-keep-it-that-way/) [Warren Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-ellis/) > [“He tried to close a hand around the precious coffee but had to jerk his fingers away, sharply enough that his wrist popped painfully.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-ellis/he-tried-to-close-a-hand-around-the-precious-coffee-but-had-to-jerk/) [Warren Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-ellis/) > [I was originally going to train as a journalist, passing a series of exams that winnowed ten thousand applicants down to one hundred places…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-ellis/i-was-originally-going-to-train-as-a-journalist-passing-a-series-of/) [Warren Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-ellis/) [Explore all 161 Warren Ellis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-ellis/) ## More Death quotes > [“He wondered how it was fair that your dying should depend so much on when you were born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/he-wondered-how-it-was-fair-that-your-dying-should-depend-so-much-on/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [I do not want to live at the cost of the life even of a snake. I should let him bite me to death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-to-live-at-the-cost-of-the-life-even-of-a-snake-i/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“It was beautiful. He thought he had never seen anything so beautiful in all his life; that, having seen it, he could die content,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/it-was-beautiful-he-thought-he-had-never-seen-anything-so-beautiful/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [Retirement? You're talking about death, right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-altman/retirement-you-re-talking-about-death-right/) [Robert Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-altman/) > [With multiplayer, permanent death, and an ever-changing world to explore and conquer, 'A Valley Without Wind' might be the place you're looking for if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-manuel/with-multiplayer-permanent-death-and-an-ever-changing-world-to/) [Rob Manuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-manuel/) > [“What did you see?” she asked gently. His brow furrowed, as if he could not understand the question. Then his eyes turned to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-anthony-torino/what-did-you-see-she-asked-gently-his-brow-furrowed-as-if-he-could/) [J. Anthony Torino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-anthony-torino/) > [Those whose life is long still strive for gain, and for all mortals all things take second place to money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/those-whose-life-is-long-still-strive-for-gain-and-for-all-mortals/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [“I practice Dying--every night-- But have not learned to, still-- Though Talented--by Mortal bones-- For such a common Skill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-powers/i-practice-dying-every-night-but-have-not-learned-to-still-though/) [Alan W. Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-w-powers/) > [“You must understand the pain and grief of losing someone is nothing more than a function of survival.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-cooper/you-must-understand-the-pain-and-grief-of-losing-someone-is-nothing/) [Steven Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-cooper/) > [I am not a depressive person at all, but I reflect a lot on my life, and life in general, from the perspective of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/i-am-not-a-depressive-person-at-all-but-i-reflect-a-lot-on-my-life/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [“Death is a reality that calls the rest of life and all of our assorted strivings into sharp relief.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/death-is-a-reality-that-calls-the-rest-of-life-and-all-of-our/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [I love life. I love life to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuelle-riva/i-love-life-i-love-life-to-death/) [Emmanuelle Riva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuelle-riva/) > [I think when you’re dying you start looking for important things in the corners. You can’t let anything that seems even semi-important pass, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-crutcher/i-think-when-you-re-dying-you-start-looking-for-important-things-in/) [Chris Crutcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-crutcher/) [Browse all 39,127 Death quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I remember first learning about death quite vividly. I'm not sure how old I was, but I remember the conversation like it was yesterday. My grandfather had died, and my mother was trying to explain it to me. 'Sometimes, when someone gets ill, and they're very very old, they don't get better again. They just get iller and iller and then... then their body stops working.' 'I don't understand.' 'What's in them just goes away, and doesn't come back.' 'Grandpa isn't coming back?' 'No,' she said. 'Not ever again.' 'Grandpa said he was going away and not ever coming back after he held Grandma's head in that cotton-dump outside of town and kicked Skeeter seventy-three times.' 'Grandpa was very drunk. That's not the same as being dead. Grandpa's dead, son. He's not there anymore.' And I remember saying, 'Hold everything right fucking THERE. 'You went to all the trouble of conceiving me, and giving birth to me, and raising me and feeding me and clothing me and all-- and, YEAH, whipping me from time to time, and making me live in a house that's freezing fucking cold all the goddamn time-- and you make me cry and things hurt so much and disappointments crush my heart every day and I can't do half the things I want to do and sometimes I just want to scream-- and what I've got to look forward to is my body breaking and something flipping off the switch in my head-- I go through all this-- and then there's death? 'What is the motherfucking deal here?”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Warren Ellis" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-ellis/i-remember-first-learning-about-death-quite-vividly-i-m-not-sure-how/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Death" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-ellis/i-remember-first-learning-about-death-quite-vividly-i-m-not-sure-how/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b01/warren-ellis-2541_death_i-remember-first-learning-about-death-qu_3172489.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b01/warren-ellis-2541_death_i-remember-first-learning-about-death-qu_3172489.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b01/warren-ellis-2541_death_i-remember-first-learning-about-death-qu_3172489.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I remember first learning about death quite vividly. I'm not sure how old I was, but I remember the…” — Warren Ellis", "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": "Warren Ellis", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-ellis/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I remember first learning about death...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-ellis/i-remember-first-learning-about-death-quite-vividly-i-m-not-sure-how/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-ellis/i-remember-first-learning-about-death-quite-vividly-i-m-not-sure-how/#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 } } ] } ```