I have ventured to write more intimately about my personal life than is customary for a member of the Supreme Court, and with that candor comes a measure of vulnerability.

So many people grew up with challenges, as I did. There weren't always happy things happening to me or around me. But when you look at the core of goodness within yourself - at the optimism and hope - you realize it comes from the environment you grew up in.

I hope in my book [My Beloved World], that the sense that I really feel connected comes through.

I am willing to bet that there are some Puerto Ricans who don’t know about [their status].

Remember that no one succeeds alone. Never walk alone in your future paths.

I savor life. When you have anything that threatens life... it prods you into stepping back and really appreciating the value of life and taking from it what you can.

Although I grew up in very modest and challenging circumstances, I consider my life to be immeasurably rich.