There are an endless number of people who have left a love-shaped hole in the heart of someone else. Eventually someone brave and stupid will come along and try to fill that hole. But it never works, and so instead, that selfless soul winds up with a gap in heart, too. And so on. It's a miracle that anyone survives, when so much of us is missing.
The quote from Jodi Picoult's "Leaving Time" reflects on the enduring impact of lost love. It speaks to the universal experience of heartache, suggesting that many individuals leave a significant emotional void when they depart from one’s life. This emptiness often leads others to attempt to heal or fill that void, but more often than not, these efforts result in further emotional loss and complications.
This cycle of heartache illustrates the fragility of human connections and the profound effect they have on our emotional well-being. Picoult's words resonate with the idea that the search for love can leave us vulnerable, creating a chain reaction of loss where each replacement can also become a source of pain, ultimately leading to a collective emotional struggle in relationships.