One of the earliest lessons I learned as a child was that if you looked away from something, it might not be there when you looked back.

To be a survivor as an African American man - maybe any man - you have to be pretty tough. Or at least that's what we all understand.

I'm still divided in my principles and what I think is right and what I'm actually able to do, whether talking about writing or being a citizen or being a husband or being a father. And I'm trying to get better.

The hardship, the pain, the suffering of my brother and my son in prison, that's absolutely their experience, that's not mine. I don't get any credit for enduring that. I never give myself any credit for enduring that.

Remember that a book is many drafts - mine certainly are. It's improvisation. It's as much jazz and the way we talk and the way I heard people preach coming up as it is writing.

My father combined many of the elements that were feared in the culture, but also he was a warm figure, a figure we needed. We depended on him to give us a little bit of strength and courage.

Hell, I'm going to play pro basketball. I'm going to maybe be famous. I'm going to write books.