Okay listen, you think I'm so inconsequential? Then try this on for size. All those who see unworthiness when they look at me and are given thereby to denying me value - to you I say, I'm not talking about being AS GOOD as you. I hereby declare myself BETTER than you.

Marriage is no way of life for the weak, the selfish, or the insecure.

To be compared to Jackie Robinson is an enormous compliment, but I don't think it's necessarily deserved.

In America, it is difficult to be your own man.

You don't have to become something that you aren't to become better than you are.

I was born two months early, and everyone had given up on me. But my mother insisted on my life.

As I entered this world, I would leave behind the nurturing of my family and my home, but in another sense I would take their protection with me. The lessons I had learned, the feelings of groundedness and belonging that have been woven into my character there, would be my companions on the journey.