He never said "Don't tell your mama." He never had to say it. I did not know how to tell anyone what I felt, what scared me and shamed me... (109)

I was born trash in a land where the people all believe themselves natural aristocrats.

my life has been saved over and over again by picking up a book in which someone captured the whole experience of being despised and not dying.

she got a reputation for an easy smile and a sharp tongue, and using one to balance the other, she seemed friendly but distant

If I could have found what I needed at thirteen, I would not have lost so much of my life chasing vindication or death. Give some child, some thirteen-year old, the hope of the remade life. Tell the truth. Write the story that you were always afraid to tell. I swear to you there is magic in it.

That was what gospel was meant to do - make you hate and love yourself at the same time, make you ashamed and glorified.

Don't go taking that gospel stuff seriously. It's nice to clean you out now and then, but it ain't for real. It's like bad whiskey. Run through you fast and leave you with pain.