Sadness is more or less like a head cold - with patience, it passes. Depression is like cancer.
Barbara KingsolverRead
Last time I talked to her she didn't sound like herself. She's depressed. It's awful what happens when people run out of money. They start thinking they're no good.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote highlights the emotional toll that financial hardship can take on a person's self-worth.
Barbara Kingsolver emphasizes the profound impact that financial struggles can have on mental health and self-perception. When individuals face dire economic situations, it can lead to feelings of inadequacy and depression, illustrating how societal and personal value can shift dangerously when resources dwindle.
Themes
DepressionMoneySelf-WorthFinancial HardshipMental Health
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the effects of economic downturns, I might share this quote to highlight the connection between finances and mental health.
More from Barbara Kingsolver
All quotes βChildren can be your heartache. But that doesn't matter, you have to go on and have them . . . it works out.
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I'm of a fearsome mind to throw my arms around every living librarian who crosses my path, on behalf of the souls they never knew they saved.
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I did it to win love, and to prove myself capable. Not to move mountains. In my opinions, mountains don't move. They only look changed when you look down on them from great height.
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Memory is a complicated thing, a relative to truth, but not its twin.
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Empathy is really the opposite of spiritual meanness. It's the capacity to understand that every war is both won and lost. And that someone else's pain is as meaningful as your own.
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