It sucks to be poor, and it sucks to feel that you somehow deserve to be poor. You start believing that you're poor because you're stupid and ugly. And then you start believing that you're stupid and ugly because you're Indian. And because you're Indian you start believing you're destined to be poor. It's an ugly circle and there's nothing you can do about it.

If one reads enough books, one has a fighting chance.

Humor was an antiseptic that cleaned the deepest of personal wounds.

The world, even the smallest parts of it, is filled with things you don't know.

I had the feeling I was going to be successful, and I didn't want to be another disappointing Indian.

He made me realize that hard work--that the act of finishing, of completing, of accomplishing a task--is joyous

I'm not a pacifist by any measure, but I'm also fully aware that the reasons I might go to war could be very dubious.