Nothing was solved when the fight was over, but nothing mattered.

You had to risk your life to get love. You had to get right to the edge of death to ever be saved.

No matter what else you came up against, if you could smile and laugh while a monkey did you with chestnuts in a dank concrete basement while somebody took pictures, well, any other situation would be a piece of cake

You could go church and you could describe your worst behavior, your worst self, and despite your worst behavior you would be forgiven and then redeemed and then accepted back into the community through communion. So you didn't have to carry this burden your entire life. Once a week you went someplace you went someplace where you could really look terrible and be loved despite how terrible you were.

We opened our hearts. Hear me, heal me, save me, believe me.

I don't know the difference between what I want and what I'm trained to want.

The truth is, immigrants tend to be more American than people born here.