“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.”

“Though life has to be lived forward, it can only be understood backwards”

“Life can only be understood backward; the trouble is, it has to be lived forward.”

“Our lives can only be lived forward and understood backwards. Living a life and understanding it occupy different dimensions.”

“It is perfectly true, as the philosophers say, that life must be understood backwards. But they forget the other proposition, that it must be lived forwards.”

“There is no difference in quality between a life lived forward and a life lived backwards, she thinks. She had come to love this backward life. It was, after all, the only life she had.”

“Life is like that. You live it forward but understand it backward.”

“Life, too, is like that. You live it forward, but understand it backward. It is only when you stop and look to the rear that you see the corpse caught under your wheel.”

“Life swings like a pendulum backward and forward between pain and boredom.”

“Life is a succesion of lessons which must be lived to be understood.”