I think I would have died if there hadn't been the women's movement.

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

Two or three things I know for sure, and one of them is the way you can both hate and love something you are not sure you understand.

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.

One of the strengths I derive from my class background is that I am accustomed to contempt.

I tell my students you have an absolute right to write about people you know and love. You do. But the kicker is you have a responsibility to make the characters large enough that you will not have sinned against them.

My heart broke all over again. I wanted my life back, my mama, but I knew I would never have that. The child I had been was gone with the child she had been. We were new people, and we didn't know each other anymore. I shook my head desperately.