This was a land of lost souls. Human beings who had weathered great storms in life, had suffered unspeakable loss, had been put to painful tests of existence, and still remained standing-but just barely.

...the person you encounter is often more than the person you see.

Finding your way doesn't mean you always know where you're going. It's knowing how to find your way back home that's important.

I'd heard of really bad things Klan folks did to Negroes. Mean, hateful, deadly things. I didn't know they were hateful toward white folks too.

If there is such a thing as a universal--and I wasn't ready to throw all of mine out the window--it's that there is power in a story. And if someone pays you such a kindness as to make up a tale so you'll enjoy a gingersnap, you go along with that story and enjoy every last bite.

Who would dream that one can love without being crushed under the weight of it?

When there is suffering, we look for a reason. That reason is easiest found within oneself.