I don't think I'll ever lose the feeling that I had when I read 'To Kill a Mockingbird' - Harper Lee was going back into her childhood. I grew up in a real small town - Lee's was in the South, mine the Northwest - but small towns have a lot in common. There was such a revelation in knowing that a story could be told like that.
Chris CrutcherMy first book, 'Running Loose', was censored back in 1983 or '84. Every book I've written since has been censored somewhere.
Chris CrutcherSo you didnโt tell me it was a messed-up idea to keep this all a secret because. . .โ โBecause experience is the only teacher,โ Hey-Soos says. โEven if I could have told you, it would have been a lecture. Why do you think kids donโt listen to their parents, or people donโt leave churches and do what the preacher tells them? Thereโs only one thing thatโs universal.โ โWhatโs that?โ โThe truth.
Chris CrutcherIt's a scary thing; moving on. Part of me wishes life were more predictable and part of me is excited that it's not. I think it's impossible to tell the good things from the bad things while they're happening.
Chris CrutcherNo amount of effort could have stopped that, because our points of view - the way we perceive things - are inextricably linked to our beliefs, ... ,our beliefs color what we see.
Chris CrutcherYou put yourself out there in the truest way you can and hope others do the same. You'll connect or you won't, but you did what you could. It's like playing ball in some way. There are guys on the team, like Cody, I'd give my life for. But you have to be willing to lay down your life for all of them if you want to put the best you on the field. Every guy on that field has to believe you'll bring nothing back off the field with you.
Chris Crutcher