“When you give up junk, you give up a way of life.”

— William S. Burroughs , book Junkie

Junkie (1953)
Context: When you give up junk, you give up a way of life. I have seen junkies kick and hit the lush and wind up dead in a few years. Suicide is frequent among ex-junkies. Why does a junky quit junk of his own will? You never know the answer to that question. No conscious tabulation of the disadvantages and horrors of junk gives you the emotional drive to kick. The decision to quit junk is a cellular decision, and once you have decided to quit you cannot go back to junk permanently any more than you could stay away from it before.

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William S. Burroughs 110

American novelist, short story writer, essayist, painter, a… 1914–1997

Elizabeth Chandler (1954) writer

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Variant: She didn't want to let go of him, or the baby, but sometimes life made you give up what you loved most.
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“In life, not giving up is more easier than giving up.”

Yusuf Cornelius Otijenu

“You are ready to give your life for your honour … Be ready to give up your honour for your soul.”

Josemaría Escrivá (1902–1975) Spanish theologian

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The Furrow (1986)

“Here then is the secret: You must give yourself, if you desire to find yourself. "Give up thy life if thou wouldst live."”

Gottfried de Purucker (1874–1942) Author, Theosophist

Give up the small life, the petty life, the mean life, the restricted life, the little personal life which shuts you in - give it up and follow the light of the Star within you.
The Masters and the Path of Occultism (1939)