"After a break-up people always claim that things will get better, and in fact they do. ( but not because we in fact ARE better but that the pain, has beaten every last ounce of feeling from us. after we are wasted away, because food and drink seems to be like sand being choked down, and sleep is no comfort because you know you'll dream of them, and have to wake with knowing they'll not be there. after all this is accepted, we are what people claim is 'better'"
About this Quote
The quote’s power is in its almost petty specificity. Food tastes like "sand", sleep becomes a trap because dreams turn the person into a jump scare. These are familiar breakup symptoms, but they’re framed like physiological sabotage. The subtext is that heartbreak is less romantic tragedy than a grinding, unglamorous attrition that makes you functional again only by numbing you. Acceptance here isn’t enlightenment; it’s resignation.
As an actor’s line, it reads like a monologue you can hear: breathless, looping, the punctuation cracking under the strain. That messy cadence is the point. It mimics how grief actually talks - repetitive, over-explained, trying to convince itself. The cultural sting is the final twist: society rewards the appearance of recovery. When you stop crying in public, when you can swallow dinner, you’re "better" by consensus. Macht’s speaker suggests that “better” is often just quieter pain, made palatable for everyone else.
Quote Details
| Topic | Heartbreak |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite | Cite this Quote |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Macht, Gabriel. (2026, January 15). After a break-up people always claim that things will get better, and in fact they do. ( but not because we in fact ARE better but that the pain, has beaten every last ounce of feeling from us. after we are wasted away, because food and drink seems to be like sand being choked down, and sleep is no comfort because you know you'll dream of them, and have to wake with knowing they'll not be there. after all this is accepted, we are what people claim is 'better'. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/after-a-break-up-people-always-claim-that-things-173016/
Chicago Style
Macht, Gabriel. "After a break-up people always claim that things will get better, and in fact they do. ( but not because we in fact ARE better but that the pain, has beaten every last ounce of feeling from us. after we are wasted away, because food and drink seems to be like sand being choked down, and sleep is no comfort because you know you'll dream of them, and have to wake with knowing they'll not be there. after all this is accepted, we are what people claim is 'better'." FixQuotes. January 15, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/after-a-break-up-people-always-claim-that-things-173016/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"After a break-up people always claim that things will get better, and in fact they do. ( but not because we in fact ARE better but that the pain, has beaten every last ounce of feeling from us. after we are wasted away, because food and drink seems to be like sand being choked down, and sleep is no comfort because you know you'll dream of them, and have to wake with knowing they'll not be there. after all this is accepted, we are what people claim is 'better'." FixQuotes, 15 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/after-a-break-up-people-always-claim-that-things-173016/. Accessed 4 Feb. 2026.
