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Meaning
This reads as a darkly comic way of saying that what people dread is often the slow shrinking of life, not the end itself. It can be taken to mean that suffering, dependence, and loss of self are the real terror here. The line lands for anyone watching aging or illness make daily life harder than death seems.
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Original Language & Translation
Originally said in English.
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About Mary Roach
American author of popular science and humor
Mary Roach is an American author of popular science and humor. She is known for writing bestselling books that turn science into accessible, often playful nonfiction. 138 quotes on the site. Her books include Stiff, Spook, Bonk, Packing for Mars, Gulp, Grunt, Fuzz, and Replaceable You, all New York Times bestsellers. Her work often explores unusual corners of science, from human cadavers and the afterlife to sex, space, digestion, war, nature, and anatomy.
More from Mary Roach (138 quotes) →Keep reading Mary Roach
- “Masters points out that the heterosexuals were at a disadvantage, as they do not benefit from what he called…”Mary Roach
- “If ergonomists have their way, future products won't be built for some hypothetical average person but will c…”Mary Roach
- “If I couldn't use food or love to define contentment, I would use reading.”Mary Roach
- “Gravity disappears again, and we rise up off the floor like spooks from a grave. It's like the Rapture in her…”Mary Roach
Explore Depression
- “When I was a kid, I used to watch that show, sitting on the couch in my pajamas and wishing more than anythin…”Michael Thomas Ford
- “The light that filled my house was deep and livid, half magnolia, half rainwater. Things sat in it, dark and…”Helen Macdonald
- “Kids in the entertainment industry are at a risk of developing depression, as they see glamour at an early ag…”Divyanka Tripathi
More Loneliness quotes
- “I grew up in a small house with just my mam and felt quite lonely at times.”Laura Whitmore
- “When I was a kid, I used to watch that show, sitting on the couch in my pajamas and wishing more than anythin…”Michael Thomas Ford
- “Prince or commoner, tenor or bass,Painter or plumber or never-do-well,Do me a favor and shut your face -Poets…”Dorothy Parker
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Books by Mary Roach
Stiff
2004
Bonk
2008
Packing for Mars
2011
Grunt
2016
Gulp
2014